Tickets purchased!

We are one step closer: we have purchased our tickets and will be in Ecuador from January 10 to April 5, flying in and out of Quito.  I suspect we will stay in Quito for three days or so before we head to Cuenca, so Julie can acclimate her lungs.  Our realtor tells us that there should be ample places available for three months rental, so we are trusting his word.


Other than attempting to study Spanish (emphasis on ATTEMPTING) and looking at myriads of blogs, we are now just waiting. . . .   But speaking of other Ceunca blogs -- there are tons of them.  It seems we are a part of a mass movement of ex-pats to Ecuador, and several of the couples start out just as we have:  heading to Cuenca for an extended visit, loving it, then going back the next year, and ultimately buying a place to live there permanently.  A permanent move is not our intent, however (famous last words?).
 
I did e-mail one of the bloggers who had been a teacher and who had spent some time teaching in MN -- just to introduce ourselves.
 
The other good news is that we have several friends who will be coming to visit:  Jean/Rog/Darlene, Joe/Sharon, and Randall thus far.  

Counting down.

Why Cuenca?

Cuenca, a mountainous city, has a population of 467,000, and several magazines/websites have proclaimed its wonders:

• In 2009, International Living magazine named it "The World's Best Retirement Haven": http://internationalliving.com/
• In 2008, the German magazine Stem listed Cuenca as its top Latin American pick in a survey of best places to live overseas.
• In 2006, the International Congress of Urban Planners voted Cuenca as one of two Latin American cities which were the "most livable cities in Latin America."
• In 1999, the city was awarded UNESCO's distinction as a World Heritage Trust site which offers a rich diversity of people, art, history and colonial architecture.
• And, our daughter & her fiance recommended it!
  
  They noted the fact that crime is low, health care is excellent (hospital linked to Boston University), and the weather is like spring year-round.

We shall see.

Preliminary Planning

We have five months until the Cuenca gig begins in reality, but plans are being made.

• First, we have made a "friend" in Cuenca -- Carol. Juleen and Joe met her on the street of Cuenca and talked with her about the experience of ex-pats in Cuenca. She gladly answered questions and provided her e-mail address. I have contacted her, and she has been most gracious about responding to every kind of question I have asked. She has also set us up with a realtor who works with Americans who want to stay in Cuenca, whether it be for rentals or purchase (we are in the former category). One of the really great things is that she and her husband own the only American restaurant in Cuenca, and I am sure it will be a stopping-off point for us as we journey around the area.
• Second, we have been thinking about what we will bring in our four precious suitcases, and we have been purchasing the things we think we will need but don't yet have.
• Third, we have begun reading. The first book is The Ecuador Reader: History, Culture, Politics. It's a great sampling of scholarsly articles and research on multiple aspects of Ecuadorian culture.
• Fourth, we are attempting to learn some Spanish.
• Lastly, thus far, is the viewing of videos about Ecuador. The first is Crude.

Stay tuned for other preliminary activities. And let us know if you know of books/movies we should view before we go.