Pros and Cons

Our first house here, living on the Malecon was dirty, we were surprised to find moving to this house
It was less dirty. It seems the road caused a lot of the dirt at that first house, here we found the salty grime takes a minute to hold on, but when it does...the Windows need washed within a couple days, the screens on the window also need attention.

With the addition of the shade structure came algae. Because the shells and wood items are never in sunlight, the green mossy algae grows. Where as things in full sun are bleached and bone dry. The shade structure is also dirty, but not as dirty as bird shit on your clean laundry, or freshly made couch cushions. (If we had wanted to spend more money, our shade could have been better)

We never knew much about ocean tides before it directly effected our lives. We don't necessarily feel MUCH smarter, but a little. The fishermen taught us much, about the ocean and tribal living. We call them tribes of fishermen, because by this time, there are multiple branches of a family tree involved. It's not just the Romero family, because uncle Raphael and Ramon are not Romero, but related to Fernando's mother Lola. I will miss hearing them laugh out front every morning, Laureano actually lives behind the new apartment, so maybe I can still hear him laugh, he is the one I called Giggles before I knew his name. Such good people, so thankful we were able to live here and build these relationships for the past two years. 

Tourists are on the pro and con column. We actually really like that people are able to come spend a weekend at the beach. It only effects us adversely by more noise, and possible power outages because of hinky connections for temporary use. But for the most part we love to see people enjoying what we know is so special. Birds are the same, they can make a mess, but I love watching them fly over, and play on the breeze.

The noisy neighbor...we actually FEEL the ocean crashing as well as hear it. That rumble is an angry feeling, and I won't miss that, but the sound can be soothing. But it is constant, never quiet, and that too can get "jangly". It's an energy, a force to be reckoned with, luckily it didn't happen often, but you've all witnessed our struggle. The sand being moved, back and forth reeks havoc, and traps water at times leaving us lakefront. The sand is also always in the house, this would be less if we didn't have the pets. They are not as good about wiping their feet as we are, but all that wonderful ocean breeze brings in the sand too.

The salt is another I knew something about, but not near the extent of its damaging effects. My mom brought cheap "gold" metal bells, they were corroded in 24 hrs. Completely eaten within 6 months. Nails, thumbtacks, eye hooks, staples forget about it, VERY temporary fix here. The plants, gosh how many plants have croaked since I brought them here. I finally realized the more tender the leaf, the less it will like the salt and wind. For instance, morning glory no...pothos, yes. The pothos leaf is much more like leather, than the tender leaf of the morning glory. I also learned about potted plants, things that should readily reseed themselves, don't get the chance, because the blooms blow off in the wind, instead of landing in the pot of dirt.

On the Pro column of course are the views, stunning sunsets and quick access to walk the beach at anytime. The fishermen neighbors, their nice hellos and good mornings, their gifts and acceptance have warmed our hearts. We have never seen so many Pelicans, there were times we sat out at sunset and counted them flying over, into the hundreds before we lost count! Amazing!

We are very much looking forward to our next chapter, town living, but we will miss this house and the pros AND cons of living here. Hope you have enjoyed the past two years worth of stories and happenings, and will join us in our next adventure. Stay tuned, the adventure continues!

San Clemente Beach House For Sale

https://nanlevin.wordpress.com/2016/09/29/beach-home-for-sale-san-clemente-manabi-ecuador-completely-furnished-79356/ 

One of the reasons we ended up here in Manabi on the coast is because of this couple's blog. They have decided to move on, and are selling before they go to Uraguay. It won't last long, what an amazing price!

The landscape alone is worth the money!! A great little beach bungalow! Check it out.

Indoor and outdoor living space

This post is for the friends and family. Pictures of our little beach house, inside and inside the courtyard, usually we only take pictures of the sunset, or the dogs. When we moved in, we were given a paint allowance from the landlord, we bought 4 gallons, at $6 a piece, some of the locals said to dilute it, but we used it full strength, and it covered beautifully. I painted both the living room and bathroom the turquoise color, and I need to get one more gallon to finish the living room. It's one of the main colors they use on the boats, we love it.

Taken from right inside the front door, looking left.

We recently moved the fridge into the other room, and brought in the table Manuel made for us. Really opens this area, and love having more work space.

Slowly getting the TV room painted, and figuring out what kind of decorations for the master. The master is painted two shades of yellow, and has skylights, so it's very light and airy, one of our favorite rooms.

Outdoors is getting prettied up too. Have been bringing the plants around to the front, testing who likes the salt and wind, and who doesn't. A lot of the plants did not like the move from house to house back in December, so I've been nursing them, and everyone is doing great. I really want to get to the plant place, but there is a pesky budget to stick to, can't do it all this month...

Manuel is working this week and next at the Boca house, then he will come see what projects we have for him. On the list is dog house for outside the fence for Dulce/Ariel, finish the fence, build another couple tables, one for our bar stools and umbrella, and then a work table for our shells. I also found these pictures to show him, so we have some nice big planters for our plants, after we get to Sosote.

Went to pay our utilities at Joffreys the other day, and he told us the landlord was planning on building a roof over the side yard with this months rent. We learned the word for roof, techo and also the word for gutter, canalon. Some time ago we bought spray paint for the pieces of sectional sofa that were too big for the house, and they are weathering quite well outside ( they'll go under the roof, after its built).  The spray paint kinda "scotch guarded" them, we'd done it before with success, so why not try here? So many possibilities, little by little, poco y poco, our little beach house is coming along. We love it, and plan to be here a good long time. So stay tuned, the adventure continues...

Year lease

Yesterday was a new bus adventure, and an all around big day. We were headed up to San Clemente to meet with Dave and talk about renting his house across from the ocean in San Alejo.

We had gone to lunch at the expat restaurant on Friday, and spoke with her about the apartment, and decided it wasn't for us. Dave's was the one, if he'd have us, and as it turns out he's pretty sure it's a perfect match. So we committed to a year at $450 plus utilities. But let me start from the beginning, the bus.

We had to get on the bus that said Manta/Rocafuerte, and it turned out to be the  second bus that came by, so far so good. Finally got a picture, looks a lot like a Greyhound, some are more decorated than this one. We had to transfer at Rocafuerte to the San Clemente/Bahia bus, and that turned out to be a piece of cake, because as soon as we got off, (looking stunned, I guess), multiple people (vendors) asked where we were going, and were quick to point to the other side of the street where we were to wait. The bus came soon enough, except it said San Clemente/PortoViejo, and it was full, standing room only. It was cooler while standing, so that was a plus, and it all added to the adventure. The ticket guy came around, and told a man that was dozing with his toddler to move over and put the child on his lap so I could sit. Not sure if that was because of my boot, or because I'm a woman, but it was nice. We kept driving, and I couldn't be sure that we weren't going to Porto Viejo first, but it didn't matter, we were being flexible. Finally (20 minutes maybe) I felt the air thru the windows turn cooler, and I figured we were headed back to the coast, we passed a really bustling little town called Charapoto, and saw a huge outdoor market (good to know, sat and sun only) and we recognized that we had driven by there the other day with Richard, so we knew we were close. Soon it all became really familiar and we knew we were to be there any minute. We called Dave, and he had a mototaxi pick us up at the town square. We met Dave and his girlfriend Aida at the house and started talking business.

To make a long story short, we've got a list of items Dave will complete before we move in, stuff we are allowed to do, and free storage for our container if it arrives as expected sometime after June 25th. Rent starts on Aug 1st. Super excited, we'll post pictures as things progress, and a video is coming a little bit later today. The pictures and vidzwe have don't really show the potential. We have vision, and that's Muy importante! Very excited for our upcoming year at the beach! 

We had a great lunch with Dave and Aida too, right down the Malecon from the house. Al muerzo, lunch special was peanut based soup, with shrimp, yucca (thought it was potato) and corn, very yummy and then a plate of fish, rice and lentils, and came with a drink. WAY too much food, and each person was $3! The soup is called Viche, and the fish was seasoned to perfection, pan fried, I couldn't eat it all, maybe next time we'll share. Mike says we could eat there twice a week for sure, within walking distance, and at $3 we probably will.

We will bus into PortoViejo this morning, Dave told us about a new grocery store, so we'll check it out. And we need fruit, so we may stop at Cruz a Verde to see Jaime. The buses are already running, but I'm sure the store doesn't open til 10am. It'll be another great day in Ecuador!

Sunrise from the porch. Buenos Dias!

House hunting

Yesterday turned out to be a great day, we had Richard pick us at 9am, he toured us around Crucita, then we headed north to meet Dave. Richard showed us a couple places here in Crucita for rent, new construction, beautiful, but one shared outdoor space with two other units, and with the pups, that's not what we're looking for. The other, happened to be Richards beach house, was beautifully landscaped, and right on the ocean, breezes were awesome, but it was really a one bedroom, and well sometimes Mike snores, and I need a good night sleep. It had grass for the pups and such nice outdoor space, but really not enough room, 600 sq feet inside. We have an apartment to look at today in Crucita , above a lunch only restaurant that some Canadian expats just opened. They are building a house that will be ready soon, we will go to the restaurant for lunch today and either see the apartment in person, or exchange emails for pictures. In the picture of the fishing boats in my last post, you can make out a car mirror on the left, that cars parked in front of the apartment, so it's right on the Malecon.

We drove yesterday with Richard to "the Boca" (mouth of the river) where the PortoViejo river empties into the Pacific, got some insight on properties near there, and the increased bug population because of the river and mangroves. ( good to know) Dave started the tour there, with a house over our budget at $750, nice house, ample room, nice outdoor space, except it had no shade, and with the bug possibility and over budget it wasn't  "the one". Next we saw a house that Dave actually owns, it is ocean front with only rocks and road between the sand and courtyard, so much potential! It is our favorite and unless we fall in love with the apartment, we will talk to Dave about doing a year lease. 

It's a fixer upper, and Dave has some plans, and we said that we could do some stuff to it too. A coat of paint, and a little landscaping would make this property a winner. It has an outdoor shower and sink, grill area and with some potted plants and hammocks, it could be a nice little yard. Three levels, 2 bedrooms  with attached baths each on the first and second floor, then third level is rooftop terrace. 

It's located in between two little towns the size of Crucita, so we have double the exploring area, a little farther from PortoViejo, but with more shopping within walking or bike distance, we'd only go into "the big city" once a month or so. 

Being right on the ocean the breeze was glorious, no need for A/C that close to the water, so our electric bill would run about $ 20 a month. Internet is ( If I remember correctly) $50 to install then $30 a month, gas tank is $15 every other month, and water is about the same. I think if we do a year lease we can get the rent down to $400, wow! What a dream come true. We will know more after we see the Crucita apartment. Opportunities are endless, we certainly made the right choice coming here, we love this part of the coast, and look forward to more exploring. Stay tuned, our adventure continues!

Beach house

Wanted to show you pictures of the beach house in Crucita where we will start our coastal living adventure.

Fully fenced, double lot, there is a doggie door that leads to this tree area. Houses on stilts give living quarters view of the ocean, and provide shaded outdoor space, brilliant!

Two bedroom, living, dining, kitchen, bath, laundry ( note the bikes we can use) rent is $500 with all utilities combined $145 per month. (I can't even pay one utility for that in NC!)

 

The beach is a 4 minute walk down the road, Crucita is known for fishing,shrimping and paragliding. Fisherman dot the ocean, and boats line the shore.