Well, nothing is more frustrating than a computer not working. My Dell laptop suddenly refused to boot. This limited our internet capabilities and MagicJack phone calls. Luckily Linda’s Apple laptop still worked and kept us going. She was able to install MagicJack and once again we could make calls to the US. I have heard some people say negative things about MagicJack but from our view, the $49.00 for MagicJack Plus has paid for itself many times over in just a couple of weeks in Ecuador. The calls are clear with no delay and all we have to do is plug a cheap Emerson brand phone we bought at WalMart into the MagicJack port.

I spent an hour on the phone with Dell customer support just trying to get to the right support tech. This, in spite of the fact that I have hardware and software support agreements with Dell that do not expire until March 2014. However, my problem, according to Dell, is not covered under either agreement. But, for a one-time fee of $129.00 plus tax, they would attempt to fix the problem over the phone. After much insistence on my part that I would not pay unless they guaranteed to fix the problem over the phone, I gave them our credit card number and they had me try a few things. With no success, they announced that they could not fix the problem and would need to send me discs. Not a workable alternative given that I am in Ecuador.

So we started asking around to see if anyone could recommend a computer repair shop. There is one located on the road to SuperMaxi called CompuHelp. Thought we would have to take it there. But Mike, who is helping us with condo rehab bids, mentioned that his son is studying computers at the finest university in Ecuador. Luckily he was going to be in Salinas last night so Mike took the Dell home with him.  This morning Mike called to let us know that the laptop was fixed. He even brought it over to us at the Alamar. He refused to take any payment for the repair. After much persistence on our part he finally agreed to accept $20 for his son.   Mike is really a different and refreshing gringo in Salinas. He is fluent in Spanish, a maestro at construction, and will always give you an honest answer. Believe us when we say it is very difficult to find working gringos in Salinas like Mike.  

Some good advice is to always ask around the expats for recommendations when you need a service performed!

The ants go marching two by two, Hurrah Hurrah!

Well, maybe not “Hurrah!” when they’re marching around your kitchen. Cara first noticed them on the floor during the week she was here. After moving the trash can and cleaning the floor with a bleach cleaner, we didn’t see them again. Until last night. As we were getting ready for bed, we saw the little buggers crawling in the cabinets above the sink. Where the food is stored. We took the food out of the cabinets and cleaned the shelves with a bleach spray. This morning the disgusting little creatures were marching around on the counter. All food is now in zip-lock plastic bags, and everything is sprayed again with bleach.

We’ve had three meetings with Mike. Last night he said he just wanted to get the feel for what we wanted. At 10:30 this morning we met him there with his gray construction specialist (concrete) and a window maker. They took measurements and by noon, there was a window estimate ready and a list of some of the materials we would need. Mike took us to lunch and then to a large Ferreteria to look at tile samples. They will give him about 15% discount and there were several patterns that we like. At 5:00 Mike picked us up and we went to the Neptuno with an electrician and the painter who will also finish the walls. We are very impressed with Mike and his workers, and with the advice and suggestions that he is giving us. He thinks he will have final estimates for a budget tomorrow. At that point we will have the opportunity to change plans according to where we want to spend money (or not).

The Neptuno’s elevator is still not working. All week they told us it would be today because this weekend is a big holiday (and all the other owners in the building are Ecuadorian

The sun rises about 6:30 so we take nice long walks along the beach every morning. One day on the sidewalk we came upon a dog that was standing ahead of us watching us. We recognized the dog as one we had seen the night before when he was searching on the beach for something to eat. He could be a nice looking dog but is thin with a tangled coat. We walked past him and he followed us. We walked a block and he was still behind us, then we noticed that he had stopped to sniff something on the sidewalk and we left him behind. A minute later, he had caught up with us. This pattern was repeated and repeated as we walked up the Malecon. Even after we started meeting more people, he still kept up with us. As we crossed the street towards the Alamar, he was standing right where we left the sidewalk and he watched us climb the stairs. The next morning, we were walking on the beach and saw him standing above on the sidewalk watching us. No steps for him to walk down and too high for him to jump so he just stood there again as we walked away. (I might sneak him a treat the next time.)

Sunrise:

Our breakfasts consist of star fruit (which we learned should not be eaten by anyone who has kidney problems because it contains a toxin that will not be removed and then it can even be fatal), grapes, bananas, melon, sometimes eggs, sometimes yogurt with dried fruit and a roll that had course sugar sprinkled on top. ¡Very tasty!

Luis called and asked us to meet him at the Neptuno with two more subcontractors: windows and granite countertops. Our 5:00 meeting actually started about 5:30 – we’ve been told that’s typical Ecuadorian schedules. The estimates of the plumbing, electricity and general construction came in today and they seem pretty reasonable, but we would like to have at least one other estimate for comparison. We have received a referral to a North American, Mike, and we will meet with him tonight.

The Hipermart in El Paseo Shopping Mall stocks a wide variety of items besides groceries so we did some price and information gathering. There are some things that we should be able to buy there, but selection is very limited especially for things like tiles, counters, kitchen sinks. We will have to go to Guayaquil for things like that. We like going to the SuperMaxi for groceries, the baked goods and produce seem fresher.

The sun also sets at 6:30 so the night life lasts a long time here. Besides eating at Hostal Aqui and Big Ralphs’ we have also tried some local places like Sorgio on the main street who has lunch specials for $2.50, and The Luv n Oven on El Malecón http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurant_Review-g297539-d2649216-Reviews-Luv_N_Oven-Salinas_Santa_Elena_Province.html . They are well known for their good food and good prices. We ordered a Fettucine Camarón and Camarónes Apanado. There was way too much food but we ate it all because it tasted so good.

Sin http://sinsalinasecuador.com is another North American hangout and on Saturday night there was a couple that cooked Cajun food. There were some people we had already met, but some new people too. The owners are nice and friendly. On our walk back to the Alamar, we saw fireworks over the Yacht Club. They were nice to watch even though we didn’t know what the event was.

Sunday is more of a day off than in the U.S. so it seems like a good day to relax. We spend some time in the pool that is heated overnight, then the jacuzi, and then just sit at a table in the sun. Reading the Kindle isn’t impossible but not exactly easy and the internet doesn’t work outside. We’ve found that the internet became hard to use about Thursday night and didn’t work better until Monday morning, but everyone said their internet had some problems. The weekends are the busiest times at the beach so we don’t go far before there are too many people to walk around and we return to the sidewalk for our walk.

Groceries are different here. A block of cheese “Queso” isn’t really a block because all the cheese here is pretty soft. We also found that yogurt is more liquid than ours at home, but we did find one brand that was similar in strawberry or peach. Milk comes in boxes and is sold on the shelf, juice also comes in boxes unless you want to spend more for what is bottled. Tuesday is dairy day at the SuperMaxi so we bought some Helado (ice cream) in chocolate and fresa. Soft and tasty!

We take our laundry to the Lavandaria and they wash, dry and fold for 50¢ per pound. Laundry has been averaging 10-12 pounds per week for the two of us.

The Alamar cleaned the water tank one day so water was reduced until there was just a trickle coming from the kitchen faucet when we turned it on. About 2:30 the water started running into the toilet tank again and that alerted us that the water tank must be clean and soon the hot water was back too. There was no warning prior to the cleaning and it stayed off longer than we were told. This made us wonder if they ever clean the water tank at the Neptuno.

There are also two phones in our unit at the Alamar that we found were used for the Administration to contact us. Our condo in the Neptuno also has a phone on a wall, but nothing happened when we picked it up to check it. Staying at the Alamar has been a good learning lesson for us.

May 17

A beautiful day has arrived and we decided to give the beach another chance. This time we took along our can of Coppertone SPF 50 spray. We also bought our own umbrella so we don’t have to rent something at the beach which is $8. Cara observed that one more day and we had paid for the umbrella. It is very windy so it seems like a good opportunity to try out our kite.

After a couple hours reading, napping, walking along the water, we need to pack up because Cara has to return to Boston today. We leave our umbrella in our Bodega (storage closet) so we can use it again at Chipipe. The elevator looks put back together but we are told it is not working. So we call Luis and find out that two more sub-contractors for windows and woodworking are not coming until Monday. We ask Luis to talk to the guard about the elevator so he can interpret for us. The final word is that they had to do testing before we can use the elevator.

6:30

Juan has returned to pick up Cara and we ask to ride along to the airport. The ride is long and bumpy and we are sad to see Cara go. When we return to the Alamar, we get on the internet and find out that Cara’s flight has been cancelled and an e-mail from her tells us that she has gone through Immigration and Security and is at the Gate. So we panic and worry that she doesn’t know about the cancellation and there is not an agent at the gate to help her. Finally, we use our Magic Jack to call American Airlines and find out that actually they only changed the flight number and the plane is already in the air. ¡Whew!

May 15

With our sunburns glowing, the decision was made to do some sightseeing. There is a Budget Car Rental office just a street off the Malecon. An economy-size car was $53 per day, unlimited miles, taxes included, plus $28 all-inclusive insurance which seemed absolutely necessary after watching the way everyone drives here. Budget asked for $300 cash deposit or a credit card which they put a $600 hold on until the car was returned. We picked up a Tourist Map (in Spanish) but were told there is not a map of Salinas.

Punta Canerra is on the opposite side of the peninsula so we started there. The ocean is much wilder here and they say there is a very strong undertow so it is not a good place to swim. Very pretty though.

Next we headed to Ballenita and easily found the Farrolon Dillon Hostal. $2 gets one into the museum/gift shop which has artifacts from a sunken Spanish galleon. The $2 includes a drink in the restaurant at the end of the tour. It is a very pretty location on a cliff and a good place to go whale watching.

Our plan was to drive up the Ruta Del Sol (E15) north along the coast, but we had a very difficult time finding the right road. After touring Ballenita, Santa Elena, La Libertad, and even a jaunt east on E40 towards Guayaquil, we finally returned to the Farrolon Dillon and asked for directions. “Is very easy” we were told: turn left and turn left again at the Hotel Ballenita. Since this was a road under construction with caution tape and cones across it, we didn’t feel as foolish for having missed it so many times before.

Our next stop was Ayangue. This is a very picturesque bay with a fishing village. Cliffs on either side are being developed into gated communities. The bay is world known for it’s very good scuba diving. The village has typical open-air cafes and bars.

The coast is very close to the road as we drive and there are fishing boats pulling their catches out of the sea. Several kinds of birds have found that this is a good opportunity for them to feed. We knew where every boat was by watching the birds circle around it.

Mantañita is also world known for it’s surfing. The fishing village has grown into more of a hippy village with lots of little hostels and parking lots, which we’ve been told are used for sleeping on during the season. There is a surfer statue on the north side of town and there are international flags around the base of it. Great opportunity for tourist photos!

Just around the next bend is Olon. Another fishing village, but the beach stretches out and out and out. The surf is gentle and the sand is white. On a cliff between Olon and Mantañita, is a convent built into the side of the cliff. ¡Another tourist photo op!

5:00

After dropping Cara off at the Alamar, we drove to our condo in the Neptuno to meet Luis. He had brought along subcontractors: Antonio for concrete work and Miguel for plumbing and electricity. They both seemed knowledgeable and we will get estimates from them in a few days. The elevator is still not operating.

May 14

Today is a good day to take Cara to the Super Maxi (where she stocked up on local snacks and cookies), and to the El Paseo Shopping Mall. With 4 years of high school Spanish in her past, she did a much better job of translating signs and we found out that the Cinema shows some movies in English at certain times. It seemed easier to buy a DVD and bring it back to watch in the evening. $11.50 for The Hobbit at the Hipermart.

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.