Eric & Katy in Ecuador

Our last 16 months have been a tiring whirlwind, becoming residents of Cuenca, Ecuador.  Barely catching our breath after moving into our 4th apartment here, we decided to sign up for a tour of the central highlands.  The tour organizer Terra Diversa, guide Juan, and driver Danny are all the greatest — we will surely choose all three again.  The only downside for us, was that Katy came down with a bad cold and light flu.  Considering how tired we both are after the previous activity levels, greater wisdom might have seen us with our feet up in a beautiful hosteria.

Juan turned the entire journey into an educational experience with history, geology and sociology all tied together.  And a bit of excitement also:  (click on any of these pictures to see a higher resolution version)

Katy snapped my picture at takeoff, and I snapped her picture approaching landing, as we zipped over the river gorge near Banos.  10 of the 11 gringos, aged 60-83, took the leap here.  Juan was a bit surprised.

For me, having grown up in the Iowa farmlands, the mountain farming techniques were most interesting.  Shown here is mature quinoa, a grain that grows well only at high altitude.

High in the Andean plains, we travelled through the communities of the indigenous Ecuadorians, who have proudly retained so much of their heritage.  Juan maintains a business acquaintance with a family who graciously showed us their choza and farmlands.

How do these kids stay so clean?

The family’s school-age children were at the community’s new school when we visited.  There a new building with the latest in equipment provides training for the next generation.  The boy pictured above had no shyness at all toward us gringos.  What a lucky child to experience the closeness of this family, the integrity of his culture, and a progressive education as he gets older.  It will require the Wisdom of Solomon for him to choose among his options as an adult.

These two pictures illustrate some of the technology choices that this family makes.  The power line and new highway pass directly in front of their choza.  They choose not to connect to electricity inside the choza, but one family member owns a pickup truck (well-used) which also serves as a community taxi.  Inside the choza, the LP tanks (subsidised at < $2 per tank-full) and a hand grinder are used for food prep.  Notice the little guinea pigs on the grass-strewn floor; there were dozens of these critters in this choza.  Pets for the kids perhaps, a bit of added heat in a very cool environment, and (don’t turn up your noses) cuy is considered a delicacy here.

The soil throughout this area is 6-8 feet deep!  High in mineral content, but low in organic matter.  Root crops such as these onions, do very well.  All soil prep and harvesting is by hand.

This is a land that is wealthy in the most important ways.  Having seen the desolate reservations onto which the indigenous northamericans were so cruelly herded, I admire what I see here instead.  Having witnessed the loss of the “family farm” in Iowa, I regain hope when I see the Ecuadorian model.

When I returned to the old country in February to get residency stamps from the Ecuador Consulate in Chicago, there was an unexpected phone message waiting for me from a friend named Garry.  Twenty-four years ago, I began working for a very large German company (Mannesmann-Demag) which bought out a small, Chicago-based company called Barrett Vehicle Systems.  That’s when I met Garry, who was originally a principal at Barrett.  We developed a friendship and a great professional relationship.  At one point, I wrote some software to implement one of Garry’s inventions, called Q-Can Designer.  Unfortunately, the big-business owners of the former Barrett product line ran it into the ground, and drove me nuts besides.  So I left after thirteen years.  But Garry, ever the optimistic salesman, hung in there.  Six years ago, he (with other co-workers) bought back the division and its product line from the Germans, and renamed it Savant Automation.  (Taking 14 highly qualified people with him!)  They have since redefined their market niche, improved their product, and returned to profitability.  The old Q-Can Designer software that I wrote is still key to their business, but is dangerously out-of-date.  So Garry was calling around to find whether I was still alive, and willing to be returnee #15.

Instead of fully retiring, as we moved to Ecuador, I now get paid to sit at the computer while looking out the window at the view below!

Yes, that mountain range and sunset is what lies directly in front of me as I type this blog post, sitting at my desk on the 13th floor of the Palermo condominium.  Life in Ecuador is great.

At long last, here is the official proof that we are accepted as permanent residents of Ecuador.  These gems are called Cedulas.

Rather than recount the hassles spending last week in Quito, obtaining these little ID cards, this blog entry will describe some things that are “right” about Ecuador.  For comparative context (for readers in the USA), I recommend this recent blog post, by another USA expat in Ecuador.

In about 10 weeks, I will celebrate my 65th birthday.  That, with the cedula pictured above, entitles me to official Tercera Edad benefits.  (Tercera Edad roughly translates to “third age”, or “over the hill”, etc.)

Benefit #1:  This year I had to pay a whopping $146 in annual property taxes on our house in Cuenca.  And what a burden [not] that was, compared to the thousands I have paid annually for the last three decades in Michigan cities.  Nonetheless, next year I can apply for Tercera Edad, and reduce that tax bill by more than half.  I think I’ll pass on this benefit, because Cuenca needs the money for street repairs, etc.

Benefit #2:  Every time I get on a city bus (at least 4x a day, average) I must swipe my little prepaid card across the reader, and have 25 cents deducted.  Such a financial drain [not].  Soon I can apply for a special prepaid card, and thereafter have only 12.5 cents deducted.  Again, I’ll probably pass up the chance, because Cuenca needs to buy some new buses.  (Actually, Cuenca is about to begin construction of an electric, light rail system imported from Spain.  I am very excited about this, because it will remove the obnoxious buses from the center area of the city!)

Benefit #3:  Most purchases here have a 12% I.V.A. tacked on.  (And I thought the 6% sales tax in Michigan was high.)  In ten weeks, I can start saving all the facturas (sales receipts).  Then every month or two, I can add up all those 12% surcharges, take the facturas to a special office, and the government will graciously deposit a refund directly into my bank account.  My problem is, there are all these beautiful children here who need their schools…

Benefit #4:  Every time I buy an airline ticket (for myself only, including round-trip flights to the USA, if they originate in Ecuador) I can get 50% off the price.  Now there’s a benefit I might claim!

So what’s my point in recounting all this?  Well, I have two points to make:

Point #1:  Ecuador treats its citizens responsibly, respectfully and humanely.  No resentment about “entitlements”, as they were so lovingly called in the USA.

Point #2:  Ecuador does not have military bases all over the globe, and does not initiate $trillion wars.  Its first spending priority is its citizens.

While waiting (and waiting, and waiting) in the immigration offices in Quito, I was impressed with a couple of the “propaganda” posters, prominently displayed.  One quoted Article 9 of the Ecuador Constitution:

The other was a slogan:

I like living in Ecuador!

Our house came with beautiful wood flooring, but installed on-grade or below-grade directly atop concrete, it soon rotted.

Looking toward the open front door:  To the left is some of the flooring yet to be removed; at the right side is a stack of salvaged pieces which I’ll re-cut and use for trim.  This wood has beautiful colors.

 The floor of this room is 40cm below grade, and was rotted beyond any salvage — a smelly task to remove.  Our plan is to replace this wood with a clay tile floor.  The tile are locally made, and are proven to last for centuries.

While this little house project slowly proceeds, the crews working a few blocks away had dramatic progress to show today.  For about three months now, the city has re-routed traffic to replace a grid-locked redondel with an underpass.  This morning the first of the bridge girders were placed.

The street being routed underneath is locally known as Las Americas.  When first built over 50 years ago, it was the Pan-American Highway, and skirted the western edge of Cuenca.  Now the Pan-American is routed on a newer road, south of the city.  The city (including our neighborhood, Puertas del Sol) now extends farther west than Las Americas.  We are pleased that the new overpass will include sidewalks!  Getting from our home to the center of Cuenca has required crossing six lanes of heavy, fast traffic.

I have enjoyed watching the construction methods.  These girders were cast right here at the project site, using a single set of steel forms repeatedly.  They were cast on level, flat bases.  After a few days for the concrete to partially set, the cables inside were tensioned, giving the girders their slight upward curvature and their name, “pre-stressed”.

The engineering management and the abitious pace of the workers are remarkable.  With only modest-sized equipment to use, they are flying along in this project.  They surely will finish this intersection before I finish my house project.

Over the past year, we’ve shared some frustrations regarding the delays of obtaining residency papers for our big move.  The glitch that bothered us was that I was denied an extension to my three-month travel visa, and could not remain in Ecuador.  That is over the dam now, and we’re full-time residents in our chosen locale!  The residency paperwork is still in process (our USA passports are on someone’s pile in Quito) but we no longer fret, because we’re IN.  The bags are unpacked, there’s food in the fridge, the computers and phones are working, and life is better than good.

Our happy insight into the expatriation process, to share with our friends, is how easily we have adapted to the relaxed, Latin American “manana” scheduling.  It may take a year or more to get the rehab work done in our house, but living in the apartment is so comfortable — who cares?

Then there is the serendipity of finding things right in front of your nose, when you stop searching.  A few days ago I saw an ad posted on Gringo Tree for an unfurnished apartment that would be nearer to our house.  So Katy and I discussed the pros/cons of a move as we walked to San Sebas for breakfast.  After a leisurely time there, we walked back to the Puertas del Sol area to see whether we could find the apartment — turns out it is about 150 meters from our house!  As we stood there, contemplating the possibilities, a young woman came out of the gated yard.  Katy asked, and discovered she is the daughter of the building’s owner, and yes she would be happy to show us the apartment — right now.  By the end of the day, we signed a 12 month lease.  More importantly, we met the owner’s family (who live in this building also) and are warmly welcomed, as is the Ecuadorian manner.

Our apartment is the right end of the upper level.  Below the living areas are four tiendas:  bakery, video rental, hairdresser, and convenience store.  The expanse of concrete in the picture, is a bridge over the Tomebamba river – there is greenway and park along the river, directly across the street from this building!

Since we must give two months notice to vacate the furnished apartment we have been enjoying, we can begin buying appliances and furniture at a leisurely pace.  And someday, despues de muchas mananas, we can leisurely transport it all to a finished house.

This is Ecuador’s time !

Door to door, this trip from the old place to the new place took 40 hours, and all the luggage arrived with us.  People were amused at the Cuenca airport as we stuffed everything, with the two of us and a driver, into a subcompact taxi.

The 8 hour layover in Atlanta was uneventful, as we read books and napped.  Then we had an unanticipated 10 hours (daytime) in Quito.  Luckily the airport there has a baggage check, so we were able to take the trollebus into the city center for some sightseeing.  The highlight was climbing the towers of the Basilica.  (Click on any picture for a larger, higher resolution version.)

The twin towers each have clocks, with bells above the clocks, and two levels of viewing platforms above the bells.  We climbed the one with the coffee shop located below the clocks.  Check out the height of the sanctuary’s interior.

Passing the bells to the crow’s nest.  In this tower, the climbing is inside the building; the wildest is yet to come.

Looking from the tower’s top level, toward the front of the Basilica, and downward to a smaller tower above the altar.  That’s where we will go next.

After descending the clock tower, we go through the attic to the front.  The concrete mounds beneath the walkway are the top-side of the ceiling in the second picture (above).  The roof is made of thin steel shingles, attached to a lightweight steel framework.

After climbing through the triangular opening at the far end of the attic, we are hanging in the breeze.  Fearless Katy goes up the next ladder; there are no nets below so hang on tight.

Finally, standing inside the front tower, looking towards the two (taller) clock towers from whence we came.

Notice that the clock faces disagree; it has been a long time since the clocks operated.  The stained glass windows are in horrid shape, and the concrete exterior of the building is badly weathered.  This building is less than a century old, built for impressive size only.  The many cathedrals in Ecuador that are up to 500 years old, will likely outlast this monstrosity.

Lots of fun, for an admission price of only $2.  Couldn’t pay for the liability insurance in the old country, at that rate.

Yes, we are thrilled to finally receive these stamps in our passports.  We fly to Cuenca next Tuesday, to begin our permanent residency there (together !!).  But what an expensive, exasperating, twelve month roller coaster of a process getting to this point.

The Yazell’s posted some advice in their blog recently, and I agree with them entirely.  (We even used the same lawyers they did.)  Yet I would like to add a couple comments for other wannabe expats.  The Correa Administration has a strong mandate from the Ecuador populace to clean up government agencies and make government services accessible.  They are diligently making progress toward that goal, but have not yet completed the monumental task.  Based on our experience, the residency application process is still a crap shoot, regardless of whom you utilize for assistance.  Those who wait another 6-12 months before starting the process may improve their prospects for smooth and timely service.  We certainly drew the wrong straw a year ago.

While team Idrovo/Velastegui attempts to find the black hole into which our residency approval has fallen, I am sternly told (by them) to remain here in Cuenca.  Only when they can confirm that papers are at the Chicago consulate, am I to return to the states, to receive them (with Katy).  Then we can permanently, and together, move to Ecuador.  I am entirely willing to wait here; is anyone venturing guesses for how long that will be?

On a more positive note, I have begun the physical changes to our house here in Cuenca, that will make it more environmentally sound.  For my “attitude”, review the blog post from March of last year.

An “active” solar water heater is still in the plan, which is a driver for plumbing changes and relocation.  Proceeding by appropriate design, first comes the “passive” solar heat collection.  Our friends back in the states naturally assume 3 degrees south of the equator should be hot.  However at 8300 ft altitude, just east of the continental divide, it is actually cool.  The interior of a house lacking east/west windows and skylights can average less than 60 degrees (F).

Indigenous and historical architecture in this area has utilized central courts open to the sky and sun, with solar heat gain passively stored in the massive clay and stone walls.  Now, with the availability of large glass sheet, skylights are very commonly used.  Sadly, our house was built without them.  So, the work begins…

Here we are looking from the master bathroom into the attic space, after the ceiling has been removed.  The undersides of the clay tiles on the roof are clearly visible, attached by wires to the wood framing.  Make no snide comments about the pole framing, it is very strong.  The poles are from Eucalyptus trees, which grow quickly here.  Now that I have moved a few of them around (they are surprisingly heavy and rigid) I have a lot of respect for this material in construction.

Below is looking from the second bathroom, toward the other end of the attic.

The clay blocks you see in the attic end walls are also utilized throughout the interior of the house.  There they are covered with stucco, then plastered, on both sides.  The result is very strong, very sound deadening, and capable of holding a lot of heat passively.  Last March, I took a long hike to the village of Racar, where these blocks are made from locally available clay.  Fascinating examples of “appropriate technology” and of “free enterprise”.

It’s not that we prefer being in separate hemispheres, but circumstances seemed to warrant it for a while.  Eric is in Cuenca, tending to our new place; Katy is in Whitehall MI, tending to our old place. We still wait for the Ecuadorian residency process to play out, so with our mood in the pits, I have avoided writing in this blog. Today, there is good news to report.

Meet the Salesperson of the Year. Shown here in the old country, where January is winter.

We had four pieces of real estate to sell, preparing for our move to Ecuador. We sold three, through the standard realty agency process, at 28% 55% and 75% of what we had invested (?!) in them. That left the house we’ve lived in for three years. Now this is no “ordinary” house. You may have seen Sarah Susanka’s book series, The Not So Big House. Ours is a poster child for that design philosophy, coupled with radical energy conservation, in the rehab of a 90 year old structure. With exceptional craftsmanship, beautiful trim features made from locally grown hardwoods, and more.

We have felt downright insulted, as realtors told us what it should sell for. Since it has only one bedroom, only 740 sq ft floor area, is in an older neighborhood, doesn’t meet the average buyer’s wants, because the market is so depressed, etc. etc.

So Katy took pictures, wrote copy, placed advertisements in targeted markets beyond the Whitehall area, hosted open houses, and showed the house to prospective buyers by herself. Result? A cash buyer who is excited to find just what they’ve been looking for. 85% of what we had in the house, 20% more than realtors’ advice, and Katy can keep the 7% fees, thank you very much.

As a bonus, the buyer is willing to wait for possession until we have our Ecuadorian residency and cedulas in hand.

Thanks to South of Zero, for leading me to Jim & Rachel’s blog.  Thanks to Jim & Rachel, for leading me to this fun tool.  Thanks to Geofabrik GmbH and OpenStreetMap, for providing the tool, under a Creative Commons license, for our free use and enjoyment.

Have you seen it before?  Click this link to see a map of Cuenca with a marker showing the location of our house.  Click this link to see a closeup of our neighborhood.  Then play around with the interactive tools on these maps.  Isn’t this fun?

IMHO, it would be helpful if bloggers occasionally added a map and marker to show readers exactly where they discovered what they are writing about.  It’s not all that difficult to do, and you can click this link to a How-to… article.  Enjoy !

Season’s Greetings to all, from Eric & Katy Johnson !

Hey, Jack & Claudia, your entire neighborhood is missing on the map.  Did Jack do something to remain incognito on European mapping systems?