Bahia de Caraquez...Un Paraiso!



GORGEOUS BAHIA DE CARAQUEZ

 

So I'm going to back track a little bit.  I was suppose to tell you about Bahia de Caraquez some time ago but I got a bit distracted with just living and settling into our Ecuador life-style. 

 

If you look down the beach area, we were going to live in the shorter condo building with the blue hues.  Our cousins found us a 4 bedroom 3 bath furnished apartment on the beach for $500 per month! We loved the apartment - the view was spectacular!

4 Bedroom 3 Bath Condo

 

Condo View

 

 

Bahia has a warm, friendly atmosphere.  This is one of the few cities that is truly lost in time. The people are really friendly, the town is so cute and gives you an "at home" feeling.  There are nice markets and little tienditas (stores) where you can purchase groceries and household things.  However, if you want to do any major shopping for groceries and bigger purchases you would most likely drive or hire a taxi to take you to Manta (45 minutes) away. 

We had been in Ecuador for 3 days at this point...started out in Guayaquil, no deal, got to Manta, no deal, then arrived in Bahia - BINGO! This city was just as my cousins described! The pictures and YouTube videos did it no justice! It was the Goldi-locks syndrome, not too big, not too small...just right! There is even a huge bridge that connects Bahia to the other nearby coastal beach towns such as Canoa.  We wasted no time and found a Kingdom Hall and arranged to go out in the preaching work the next day.  Field service was AMAZING!! The brothers were warm, kind and very loving. Hector and I placed 10 magazines and 5 return visits on our first day out!



Preaching

 

 



Talked at Every door!

View from Territory

 

Two young Aux. Pioneers (14 and 11 years old)

 

So what happened???? It was hot as blazes! Granted, we lived in Florida for over 20 years and we can take the heat! But this heat was different...it was a heat that cooked you from the insides.  I could not cool off no matter what.  Even after taking a cold shower, I still was hot! And poor Hector looked like a cooked Lobster.

View From the Territory

These convenient rides were only .25 or .50cents

After preaching, we rode this back to our cousins house!

So cute and fun!

Across the street from the condo - Cerviché 

 

 

Sadly to say we made our decision that this would not be the place where we would settle down.  We had to really think about what was best for us and the kids; and even though we absolutely LOVED Bahia, the weather was a deciding factor in our decision.  Our cousins reassured us that it wouldn't last long (maybe 3 months at the most) but that was even too long for us. 

 

  But....you may like it......

If you are thinking about moving to Ecuador and you don't mind the coastal weather (sometimes extremely hot) I must recommend Bahia de Caraquez, which is about an hour from Manta.  This was the most beautiful little city I have ever seen on the coast!

 

 

 

 

 

 Contact info: conciserrano@gmail.com

 



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Living in Cuenca Ecuador

It has been some time since my last post.  We finally arrived in Cuenca and we have settled into our life here.  This life-style change took me for a ride... but I am ok now! The shock is over! I'm good! Really... I am!! You know, you read about people who move here and absolutely LOVE it here and I was one of the very few who needed some time to adjust.  Cuenca is a quaint big city and I haven't lived in a big city since Chicago, which was over 23 years ago.  So I had to get use to the hustle and bustle of city life.  So where did I leave off...oh yes, we made it back to Ecuador with kids in tow! 

So we arrived in Cuenca on April 26, 2012.  Our two teenage boys were livid. Look at those miserable faces...this was torture for them! My husband and I had talked about it for nearly 2 years and now it finally has happened! Pobre sitos!! (poor things).  Well, everyone isn't going to be happy, plus they are teenagers...teenagers are never happy! hehehe

On the other hand, our little Princessa Aria was very happy! She thought of it as an adventure!

 

So we are here and we started out in a beautiful apartment but found out that although it was $550 per month, we were paying too much! Well, after 2 months of living here, we found a cute neighborhood and a house for a lot less! 

 

Here are some photos of our neighborhood 

View from my bedroom

 

 

 

 This view is right outside our front window

 

This is our cute house on the corner, it's a 3 bedroom 2.5 bath 



 

 

So let me give you the break down and the monthly cost of living for a family of five:

 

Rent - $270

Security Guard - $30

Electric - $30

Gas - $7.50

Internet - $22

Drinking Water - $15

Food - $800

*food is expensive along with electronics and appliances so if you are moving here from the States, bring your laptops, ipads, even a t.v., because you will be paying at least twice or three times as much for them here.

Taxi - $50 (optional)

Bus - $..25 per ride

 

Total cost of living approximately $1,200 per month. 



 



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It's not easy moving a family of five, especially with two teenagers! A lot of our friends thought we were crazy for leaving a "comfortable life" in the U.S.  But we have learned to re-define the word comfortable.  We decided to move to our children away from the type of comfort based on U.S. standards because all it was doing was creating spoiled unappreciative brats.  Well, it is very true that they could become spoiled here as well, because technology does exist here in Ecuador. However, the lessons our children are learning are priceless.  They are learning to be empathetic, courteous, kind, giving, caring individuals because of our life-style change.  Granted, they could have learned these lessons in the States, but the environment they were in at school and around the neighborhood was toxic.  It was a battle everyday to guide our children in the right direction morally and spiritually.  We had to do something drastic while we still had time to do it... and a year and a half into it, we know it was the best thing we ever did for them.  Yes, we have had our ups and downs here and no matter where you go in this world, it will be a battle, but the influences here are not like in the States (at least for our children). The benefits: We all are together, doing things as a family.  We even eat dinner together at least 5 days a week! That never happened back home!

I also have had my episodes of dealing with home-sickness, not for the States, but for my family and friends; but I take it day by day and look at our children and realize this has been the best decision my husband and I have ever made.  There is a saying in español: vale la pena (it's worth the pain) that I say to myself when it gets a little rough and unbearable for me.  I look at how independent  our children are becoming and how they have learned not to depend on mom and dad for every little thing. They appreciate us as parents and realize that we did this for them; and they have expressed how grateful they are for this opportunity.  As Jehovah's Witnesses, we all are volunteers in a Worldwide Preaching Work here in Cuenca, English Congregation.  We enjoy our ministry.  We all go out at least 3 days a week as a family.  My husband and I have even joined the ranks of being full-time ministers (volunteering over 70 hours a month each in the ministry) and this activity has bonded us closer as a family!

Before I posted photos of the kids when we first arrived in Cuenca.  Here are photos of them now:

          Alex                      Ashton

 

Hanging with Friends from Germany and Australia

Enjoying an Assembly Day

Alex, Aria, Me and Ashton

 

Well, to sum it up....I think they like it here:-)

 

 

Ciao until next time.......

 

 

Contact info: conciserrano@gmail.com