Happy Mother’s Day! We moved to an efficiency apartment in the Alamar on El Malecon today. Kimberly with Island Estates www.ieiecuador.com was holding our deed which we had to pick up, and we asked about something small to rent until our remodel is far enough along that we can live there. The Alamar is a premiere condominium building in Salinas. We have already met a couple from Canada at the pool, and we have a great view, but it is especially good to unpack!

Super Maxi is a giant grocery store we went to today. We needed groceries and a few items to make this condo feel more like home. We bought all of these items for only $127.

The best part about Mother’s Day is that our daughter, Cara, flew into Guayaquil to spend a few days between Spring Semester and Summer term with us here. Cara is attending a college in Boston and was close to the bombing there on Patriot’s Day, so it is good for her to get away for a while.

May 13 (missed yesterday because there isn't internet in our new condo)

We met Luis at our condo this morning. A couple that we met at Hostal Aqui, Will and Peggy, are thrilled with Luis and his work and his talents, and showed us pictures of the house here that they remodeled with his help. They were flying back to the states for 5 weeks, and since Luis was their employee, the timing worked out for him to help us. We were impressed with the remodel and also with Luis when we met him today. He made notes of the changes we want to make, made some recommendations, and said he would contact individuals he knows who can do the work for us. Now we just need to wait for the elevators in the building to work. No one can carry materials up 8 flights of stairs.

Chipipe Beach is a nice, white, big beach and was quiet on a Monday. We spent some time there and got some sun (maybe too much?). Cara got her first taste of Coco Helado.

After that, we had a meeting with Amy about the burst pipe and she gave us the advice of just ignoring the bill and see what happens.

We are off to Monday’s Prime Rib special at Hostal Aqui! It has a reputation El Malecon wide.