DOING CRAZY IN ECUADOR

Well just another convoluted day in my life in Ecuador. I leave for Brazil in two weeks for a month and then on to Buenos Aries for one week before returning to Ecuador. I am in another one of those stages were little is going right, or filled with hurdles to get anything accomplished. I'll skip the myriad of small things that have occupied untold aimless hours, and just mention the two major things.

My insurance agent stood me up four times. She is notorious in the Gringo community for not keeping appointments.  I accessed Miami to deal with Bupa Health Insurance directly, and renew my policy. I followed the rep's instructions, and when I called later they claimed they never got my scan,  which provided them with my credit card number to pay my premium.  My policy expired, and they said I would have to deal with my local agent to renew the policy. Great, that response is called going into the deepest depths of hell, and replay karma one more time.  I hope the same won't also be true with the credit card number floating around out there somewhere.  I've just been through that scenario the last three months and all the fall-out that goes with it.

Then I was told through a Spanish-speaking interpreter who talked to the Brazilian embassy on the telephone, that I had to go to Quito to get my visa at the Brazilian Embassy. I then discovered a few days later that there were listed two consulates at totally different addresses on Google for a Brazilian consulate in Cuenca. The phone numbers did not work at either one of them. I assumed, therefore, that is why I was told I had to go to Quito, because they must have closed the consulate in Cuneca. After all, the economy in Brazil isn't exactly humming right now, and the closure may have been part of an economic austerity program.  I arrived in Quito yesterday. Thirty-five minutes to fly from Cuenca to Quito and then ninety minutes to take a bus from the new airport to downtown Quito.

Today I went to the embassy, had to run around to a bank a few blocks from the embassy to pay my fee for the visa. Sounded easy enough, but the bank consisted of two windows in a small enclosure stuck between two tiendas (stores).  After asking about six people and walking in circles, the last person I asked was able to point it out to me. I'm looking for a bank among all these skyscrapers--something large with its name emblazoned on it.  The check-loaning places back home were larger.   I returned to the embassy with my receipt, only to be told I would have to come back on Monday to pickup my visa for Brazil and have my passport returned to me. What!  I said I'm from Cuenca.  The Internet page says if I show up in person with all the documentation, I could receive my visa within three days. The two ladies exclaimed, "Cuenca"! Why didn't you get your visa at the consulate in Cuenca? Grrr... Of course, neither knew who told my translator that I would have to procure my visa in Quito.  Much discussion pursued among the three of us, attempting understanding between our mixed Spanish and English as to how my Passport would be sent to me. Finally, we determined that I would have to pickup the passport and my visa at the consulate in Cuenca on Monday or Tuesday of next week. My main concern was that my passport and visa was not going through the Ecuadorian mail delivery system, or I would never see my passport again. I would be stranded in Ecuador for the rest of my life, which wouldn't be a bad thing, but I do want to do some traveling. Yea, I'm also concerned when I go to the address for the consulate that the ladies gave me, that the consulate will in fact be there.

So I am actually in a very good mood, even after getting up yesterday at 6:00 a.m. to get my yellow fever shot before traveling to Quito, and 7:30 a.m. today to arrive at the Brazilian embassy by 9:00 a.m. I've had only ten hours of sleep over the last two nights.  My blood, however, has been replaced with gallons of coffee. Of course, the Internet address for the embassy was wrong, and I was going in the opposite direction. The security guard at the building gave me the new address. I could ask some stupid question like why don't embassy officials update their Google web sites, and remove the old ones that no longer apply? In Ecuador, I'm just suppose to know those things by osmosis. It was a long ride to the other end of Avenida Amazonas, but the cab fare was half of what the first cabbie charged me and three times further.  Taxis in Quito are suppose to have meters, but half of the taxis I rode did not have meters.  The cabbies without meters were very fair except for this one and before I had an idea of what was a reasonable rate in Quito.

So here I am at the airport waiting for five hours--three more to go--to catch my flight back to Cuenca. What lesson was I suppose to learn from the last two days experience? Is there any lesson involved? Is it just one of those things that happens? Whatever, I am sitting here with only nine minutes left before my battery runs out, and there are no plug-ins for my laptop. Lots of money spent needlessly that could have gone toward my trip to Brazil, but at least the Ecuadorian economy prospers. I'm in good humor, actually kind of enjoying it all. Can't say once my computer shuts down, and I have nothing to do but study Spanish, if I'll feel the same way. Needless to say, the plane will be at least an half an hour late from take off. They always are. Just though they don't cancel the flight, which can easily happen. I managed to bounce emails back-and-forth with my daughter-in-law, Maria, and razz her a little about the weather and more snow back in South Bend. Now let me sign off and send this before the computer power shuts down. Come to think of it, some of you just got a preview to my next blog post. Chao for now.

Postscript

The new Quito Airport is nice.  I was not in the International wing.  The food court is very nice.  However, the prices are outrageous like all airports.  The waiting areas to catch intra-country flights could have been made larger.  When my power dissipated, I thought I found Nirvana on a sweeping terrace aligning the food court where one could sit and eat and enjoy the mountains lying pass the parking areas.  There were plug-ins!  The problem was none of them were connected.  No juice, if you know what I mean. 

The most surreal part of the day was ahead of me--exquisitely Ecuatoriano.  The departure flight, of course, was fifty minutes late.  One does not go down an enclosed flank that leads into the air plane.  Instead we walk out to a bus shuttle, which then takes us to where the airplane is located.   It was packed for the short ride.  As we escaped from the packed shuttle, made our way up the stairs, and boarded the plane; suddenly one of the first passengers to board shouted, "No Cuenca--Guayaquil".  We were boarding the wrong plane.  We had to turn around and inform everyone down the line to reverse themselves and get back on the shuttle-bus.

Once aboard the bus again, I didn't know if the driver was going to take us to another plane, or return us to the departure concourse.  Surprisingly, and this is one of the many things I genuinely love about the Ecuatoriano people.  No one got upset, no one shouted, no one appeared angry, no one immediately got on their cell phones to contact their attorney to see how they could sue the airlines.  Instead the passengers were in a humorous mood.  People were laughing at various comments and jokes passengers were making in Spanish.  I only understood two of the comments.  One fellow said, "Do they know were our plane is?"  Another said, "I hope they take us to Miami instead of Guayaquil", which got a big laugh.  Ecuadorians love shopping in Miami.  Finally, the bus driver located the correct plane.  We boarded, were all seated, and sat on the tarmac for fifteen minutes more before clearance and eventual take-off.

From the point of departure, nothing out of the ordinary happened.  I arrived home at 8:30 p.m.  Unpacked.  Read my Facebook site and discovered to my horror that I had written and posted the above before the postscript on a friend's site I happened to be reading at the time I was in the airport instead of on my site.  When I saw what I had done, I posted the following comment:

"Good God, Lori, I've been home an hour, unpacked, and then looked for my post, and couldn't find it anywhere until I saw your comment.  I had no idea I posted it while I was on your Facebook site.  Is there any hope for me?!?  Don't answer that, PLEASE!"

Tomorrow, Bupa with which to deal.  I have no idea of an alternative health insurance that offers me what this policy does.  I also need to find someone that can fix my Canon printer, which conveniently broke down two days before I left for Quito.  Whatever the problem; it requires, according to the manual, due to the alternating green and orange lights flashing, outside intervention.  There is no way the printer will get shipped back to the manufacturer.  I may be doing crazy, but I'm not completely over the edge yet.

MANCORA BOUND

I returned Monday evening from Mancora, Peru. a seven hour trip from Cuenca, and about two of those hours are travel time in Peru.  This was my first foray into Peru.  Over forty of us left from Cuenca riding a tourist bus on Thursday and returned early Monday evening.  Mancora, on the Pacific Ocean, is a beach town.  There was much sun and humidity, but in one respect, Mancora reminded me more of Hawaii with breezes off the ocean, and the humidity was not stifling like in Miami.   

The terrain was steep, green, lush and astoundingly beautiful on the way down as we made our way pass the outskirts of Cuenca to open spaces where the valleys and hill sides were no longer  covered in homes.  It was a very clear day that offered the sight of magnificent views, which I soaked in with my eyes wide open.  After a point the mountains became more rounded, some surfaces looked like honeycombs, then the vegetation became dry, and the mountains rugged and cliff-like, reminiscent of parts of the western United States.  As we descended from the higher elevations (Cuenca is 8,500 feet above sea level), the land became flatter and various fruit plantations were observed.  I was quite impressed with the size of the mango trees.  I learned as we rode pass banana plantations, that as the trees bear fruit, the bananas at the two month start of their appearance are wrapped in blue plastic bags to protect them from insects, squirrels, and birds, and to speed up the ripening process due to the ethylene oxide emitted by the plastic bags.  The bags in effect serve as miniature green houses.

On the other hand, what little we saw of Peru, it sure did look   poorer than the worse I've seen thus far in Ecuador.  We saw many simple homes on both sides of the border made out of bamboo in the drier areas, which looked a lot nicer than homes constructed from cement.  We also saw more goat herds along the countryside than I've seen anywhere I've traveled in Ecuador before.

The Peruvians, at least in this part of the country, in general, have a different appearance from Ecuatorianos.  Peru along with Bolivia are heavily populated by indigenous people, while the majority of Ecuatorianos are mestizos of mixed indigenous and Spaniard blood.
I found generally the Peuvians to be more round faced, darker, and somewhat heavier than their neighbors to the north.  The people in Mancora were just as open, friendly, and helpful, as we find among the Ecuatorianos.

It was fascinating to ride through the various towns in Peru including Mancora, where there were no taxis whatsoever.  The chutneys, or motorized bikes with the driver up front, and room for two or three people in the back of the buggy that was wrapped in colored plastic scampered all over the towns.  I had, to date, only experienced these vehicles in Ecuador when I was in Puerto Lopez in 2012, a beach front coastal town in Ecuador.

The resort was beautifully landscaped and enclosed.  The owner obviously knew a great deal about India or about Eastern religions, as there were Buddhas and statues of Ganesh (the Hindu god of good fortune) throughout the garden areas.  The rooms were spread out in huts of bamboo, with nothing fancy on the inside.  The bathrooms very interestingly opened up to the outside with no ceilings on them, and had live gardens in them due to the fact that it rarely ever rains in this desert-like area.  The pool was nice and  a dip into it was refreshing in the summer heat, although I would have preferred a larger pool.  Actually, the resort would make a perfect ashram for Eastern meditation, which was not about to happen with our group by any stretch of the imagination.  

We enjoyed the Pisco Sour, the Peruvian national drink.  There are many ways to make the famous Pisco Sour, so it's best to know the fundamentals. The basic formula is 3 parts pisco to 1 part simple syrup and 1 part lime juice. With that goes egg white, and a sprinkle of Angostura bitters.  Needless to say, the drink is going to be served over ice in a drink that is shaken before poured.  A white foam of about an inch forms at the top of the glass. What is Pisco you ask?  Pisco is a colorless or yellowish-to-amber colored grape brandy which is produced in the winemaking regions of Peru and Chile. My first Pisco was the best, as it was more on the sweet side.  It complemented beautifully the ceviche some of us had for lunch.  Ecuadorian ceviche is served more like a cold soup, while Peruvian ceviche is served without anything appearing to be a broth.  Personally, I enjoy both methods of ceviche preparation.  I found the Piscos served to me in other establishments to be more tart, which reminded me more of a whiskey sour, and I did not like them as well.

Many of us dined one evening on some absolutely excellent tuna that was cooked to perfection, and some great lomo fino.  I had the almond encrusted tuna, which was served medium rare.  The experience was like eating some of the best sushi imaginable.  Peru imports its beef from Argentina.  Unlike Ecuador, which butchers milk cows when they stop producing.  At least that's what I've been told.  Others propose also that cows in Ecuador are more likely to pasture on the sides of hills, and therefore, build up more sinew. Ecuadorian beef even in most of the best restaurants has a tendency toward toughness.  Peruvians also know how to cook for natural flavor, and do not as in Ecuador cook meat until all natural juices are dissipated.  I plan with friends to make a trip to Lima later in the year to experience the utterly famous gourmet delights of some of the world's best chefs.  Mancora proved to be an enticement. 

Our last evening, a group of us rode a lengthy patch of unpaved road in the chutneys to a shake, rattle, and row ride that jarred my kidneys as they have not been jarred since I rode buses with no shock-absorbers in the 70's on similar roads in India. 

The ride was well worth it.  We arrived at a hotel on the Pacific with a beautifully, luxuriously, contemporary designed restaurant, bar, and open space of leisurely seating as we watched the sun set over the Pacific.  Some in our group thought the bar and restaurant design was something one would expect to find in Malibu, California.  It very much reminded me of the many times I would sit on the beaches of Warren Dunes in Michigan and watch the sunset as well.  For dinner I had lomo fino over a type of cake mixture of ingredients of which I no longer recall.  I found both the medallions of steak to be very tender and succulent and the cake-type mound to be delicious. The evening was a perfect complement to an overall enjoyable five days. 

As I think back.  I remember the very pretty, sweet young lady who waited on our table at the Tex-Mex restaurant and always gave me a smile. I remember the young man from Columbia who served my friend and me at "Green Eggs and Ham" as we wiled away the afternoon overlooking the beach, the people, and all the activities.  Our waiter spoke very good English and would intersperse between customers opportunities to speak with us, and ultimately took his break time to sit with us and tell us all about his home town of Medellin, Columbia.  A city that not all that long ago was a hotspot of Cocaine trafficking and violence, and now is being championed as a place for retirement--a city that is looking to the future rather than attempting to preserve its past.  The young waiter who was so eager about life and had such a wanderlust to travel certainly convinced me to move a visit to Medellin up on my list of priorities for travel in South America.  Then there was the young man at the restaurant where we had such wonderful tuna or in some cases osso buco, and the young man at the hotel restaurant on our last evening; both of whom were so efficient, knew how to handle gringos with finesse and charm, and were a pleasure to have them provide us with such personal service.

We were not given a great deal of detail about the full itinerary of the trip.  Therefore, I decided not to bring my camera or my laptop with me.  I did not know what the security factors would be like.  I also transferred telephone companies the day before we traveled, and my phone would not be working until tomorrow again (Manana, we shall see.). I have no photos to share.  Neither do I recall, nor did I make an effort to write down the name of the hotel or the restaurants, or the resort.  It was just nice to enjoy old and new friends and acquaintances.  Due to circumstances beyond my control, I could not get Internet access as well at the public Internet tiendas, which proved to be another luxury.  For a few days life was somewhat slower-paced, leisurely, and more simple.  This once again is one of the reasons why living in Cuenca is so nice.  It makes a strategic way station in the visit to other parts of South America and the Caribbeans.

MAJOR NATIONAL EMBARRASSMENT: ECUADORIAN POSTAL SERVICE

There is so much to be positive where Ecuador and especially Cuenca are concerned.  However, quite frankly, I find the Ecuadorian Postal Service to increasingly becoming egregiously inefficient and incompetent.  Some would argue it always has been.

I have frequently heard complaints from various expats as well as Ecuadorians about the service.  Nevertheless, in my case, I found the postal service to be quite good my first two years in Cuenca in 2011 and 2012.  I had the advantage of living in the Palermo, which is a prominent address any postal worker would know without a full address, and mail was always delivered right to the building.  When I first moved into the Palermo, I was told by some residents that I would need to pickup my mail at the El Centro post office, which I believe is the only post office in the city.  Other residents suggested I rent a post office box at the post office.  However, I quickly discovered that I always received any package or letter directly at the Palermo, and within two weeks.  In turn, anything I mailed to the U.S. would arrive there in two weeks.  Only once in 2011 was there a problem when my aunt sent a Christmas card in early December of 2010 and I did not receive it until mid-February of 2011.  Otherwise, I was very pleased with the service.

In 2013 the mail delivery began to deteriorate, especially toward the end of the year.  Letters and small bubble-wrapped packages began to take longer to arrive, and for the current year of 2014, delivery has become abhorrent.  Not only has delivery become abhorrent, but also has service.  There use to be two people working the windows at the Cuenca Post Office where letters and packages are to be mailed.  Now, there is only one person, and when busy, it is not uncommon to have fifteen to twenty-five people in line, and no one stepping forth to help until the lines dwindle.  In fact, if a second person is there, they just sit there staring at the computer doing God knows what.

Last June, I sent a letter to U.S. Social Security as requested by them.  I traveled to the states in September and returned to Cuenca in the middle of October.  I had a follow-up letter from the Social Security office as a second notice which requested the same information.  This time I made a copy of the June form, and updated the October form, and sent it registered mail with tracking.  Four dollars for postage, because the envelope size was larger than the normal envelope and the weight was more, and the cost was eleven dollars for the tracking.  

Lo and behold, in the modern world of Ecuadorian computers, I would type in my code on my receipt to check the tracking status.  The system could not come up with my item.  I finally after two weeks went into the post office, and spent half an hour waiting while the postal workers attempted to locate my tracking item.  Finally, I was called back upstairs, and fortunately an articulate young man who spoke very good English and was waiting for service was able to translate for me, since no one in the office spoke English, and we were at the point of explanation that exceeded my understanding of Spanish.  I was given a form to fill out.  I was told because of the holidays, I might as well not bring the form in until next week, since many postal workers would not be working.  Once the lady received my form, I would need to wait seventy-two hours, while it was determined whether or not they could locate my tracking form.  I asked the young man to ask the employee, if they could not locate my tracking code would I receive a refund.  After he asked the lady, he sort of shook his head toward me, shrugged his shoulders, and said maybe.  (Which in Ecuadorian means "probably not"; or if you wish to pursue it, we will have an entirely new slew of forms for you to fill out requesting a refund.)

I took the postal form home, and when I finally began to fill it out, I discovered I had to give a destination address.  Since the form sent to the U.S. Social Security office was in a printed envelope provided by them, I didn't pay close attention as to which office it was sent.  I discovered in my personal Social Security file envelope addresses to Pennsylvania, Baltimore, Kansas.  None of them had a post mark date on them.  I had no idea what the destination was, so I didn't bother to submit the form to the Ecuadorian postal authorities, and just ate the fourteen dollar loss.

I made copies of both my June and October forms.  Picked the two most likely addresses that may have sent me the Social Security forms, and my friends agreed to mail both letters in Houston as they arrived there.  Oftentimes on Gringo Post and Gringo Tree there will be expats asking for or offering to take mail from Cuenca and mail it in the United States, which is just further examples of how untrustworthy the Ecuadorian Postal Service functions.  

I ordered a product in late November of 2013, which when ordered in the past arrived in two weeks in one of those bubble envelopes, and required no tax.  This time it took two months to arrive.  I ordered another package which was shipped out of the U.S. on December 11th, and has yet to arrive.  The same package ordered the same time of the year in 2011 and 2012 arrived within two weeks, and yes, delivered directly to the Palermo.  

My youngest brother sent me some important documentation, which I received today.  It took five weeks to arrive.  My other brother sent me a Christmas card which arrived two weeks ago toward the end of January.  He also sent me a birthday card, the week before he sent the Christmas card.  It still has not arrived.
Yes, I know my brother needs to learn how to use electronic ecards, which can even be sent free, and that will take care of that problem.  It's sad when I hear expats say, "While just don't use the mail system.  We don't."  

Today, I finally trekked down to the post office to see if from the manifest I spent last night creating for them, if they could locate any of my mail listed which I had not received.  I never even received local monthly statements of my telephone bills in November and December, although I did receive a statement for January just this week. The problem, therefore, is not just with International mail, but with local mail in Cuenca not being delivered as well.  People suggested to me to go directly to the post office and check, because sometimes mail just sits in the mail room and doesn't get delivered, which is how some friends of mine procured their undelivered mail.  No mail found, and nothing in the computer of mail-on-hand with my name and address on it.

Anybody considering a move to Ecuador, and has followed the blogs are well aware of the slowness and over-bureaucratization of both Ecuadorian governmental services and private services.  I know in previous posts, I have warned that you must develop the patience beyond sainthood to deal with the endless red-tape that makes up Ecuadorian government and business practices.  I am absolutely convinced that the word "paper" and the words "multiple copies", and the word, "manana" have their origin deeply embedded somewhere in the Canari/Spanish socio-linquistic, and psychological make up of the Ecuadorian culture

I am well aware of cultural differences, and I certainly do not expect Ecuador to become a mini-United States.  I also literally am awe-strucked at the incredible patience and politeness that Ecuadorians exhibit as they wait in these endless lines.  I'm retired.  I am also fortunate that a number of my bills can be paid electronically.  Most Ecuadorians don't have that opportunity.  I don't know how these people manage it all, and work as well.  I have nothing but the greatest admiration for them.

I have chosen to make the Postal Service the focus of my attention for the following reason.  Thirty-eight years ago, I traveled throughout India for nine weeks.  In those days, the postal systems had these little, flimsy blue envelopes whereby you would write a message on one side and then fold the paper into four, lick the adhesive, and address the outside of the little blue envelope.  I thought how on earth is this letter ever going to find its way back to the United States or vice-versa?  

I could also write long letters, and mail them home in regular type envelopes, at obviously a more expensive price.  I wrote the letters of my magnificent experiences in India almost on a nightly basis;  one night to my mother, who could share my correspondence with the family, and on the other night to my mentor.  Everyone of those letters, including the little blue ones arrived in the U.S.A. within two weeks.  Years later both my mother and my mentor unbeknown to me had saved all my  correspondence and returned the letters to me, which I still have to this day.  I can tell you that the India of 1976 was extremely primitive compared to most of Ecuador today, particularly where the populations are concentrated.  Now I ask you, why was India able to operate a more efficient postal service in the 1970's than Ecuador can operate today?  

President Correa has pledged that his administration this year would focus on stream-lining the bureaucracy, and cutting through the red tape.  May I suggest to the President, that he has his administration concentrate on a complete overhaul of the Postal System.  Define what the problems are, and what it will take to resolve them, so that Ecuador has a postal system that begins to move into a first world status.  I genuinely wish you luck, Mr. President.  Bureaucracies certainly do not change simply by Presidential decrees and acts of Congress.  Bureaucracies ignore laws and policies until outside forces will no longer let them play that game, and force them to change.

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM CUENCA, ECUADOR: THE SPECTACLE OF LIGHTS

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL
            AND THE HOPE FOR A                                        PROSPEROUS, HEALTHY, AND                          JOYOUS NEW YEAR
                                BLESSED WITH PEACE
                                    AND CONTENTMENT.


                                WITH LOVE AND SEASON'S GREETINGS,

                                           JIM MOLA


ENJOY THE LINK BELOW OF THE SPECTACLE OF CHRISTMAS LIGHTS IN CUENCA, ECUADOR.  CLICK ON THE FIRST PHOTO TO SEE AN ENLARGE IMAGE AND TO BE ABLE TO READ THE COMMENTARY UNDER EACH PHOTO.

https://plus.google.com/photos/111741036841400152108/albums/5960786075336859233

WHAT MAKES CITIES BEAUTIFUL?

BUENOS AIRES

A very good friend of mine, Gil Castle just launched his new website, CitiesBeautiful.org, and would love to have you take a look. At CitiesBeautiful.org you will find free, interactive maps of hundreds of beautiful features of cities around the world.  Every feature has been categorized using a glossary of 15 civic beauty terms.  Gil developed the glossary by looking for common threads among the theories of beauty of aesthetic philosophers, architects, city planners, and related disciplines from the Ancient Greeks up to the present.

   

Since “beauty is in the eye of the beholder,” the website also has a short psychometric questionnaire (somewhat like a Myers Briggs personality assessment test) with which you can discover your preferences among 15 classifications. You can then use your test results to prioritize the beautiful features of cities that you visit, both virtually at the website and in your future travels.

Gil will be doing statistical analyses of the responses to the psychometric questionnaire, as part of a book he is writing on the nature of civic beauty – so the more people who take the test, the better.  Thanks for checking it out.

http://citiesbeautiful.org/cities 

INTERNATIONAL LIVING POST CARDS: THE MORE I GOT TO KNOW CUENCA, THE MORE I FELL IN LOVE

I was recently approached by Erica Mills who is the managing editor of International Living’s Daily Postcards to share an article on what motivated me to relocate to Cuenca, Ecuador and what my life is like now.  To get a more in-depth view of my life in Cuenca be sure to check out the various blog posts in "Cuenca Perspectives by Jim".

International Living Postcards—your daily escape
Thursday, Nov. 21, 2013

Dear Reader,

Sometimes life has a way of taking you to where you need to be. That's what happened to James Mola. He clicked on an interesting headline on the Internet...one that put him on a search to find out everything.

But though it looked good on paper, could it ever live up to his idea of the ideal retirement?

The More I Got to Know Cuenca, the More I Fell in Love
By James Mola

It was Christmas vacation 2009. I turned on my computer and clicked on Yahoo where a headline caught my attention: "The Top 10 Places in the World to Retire."

I had never heard of the number one city listed, Cuenca, Ecuador. But as I perused the other nine cities, I found something wrong with each of them. They were too hot or too cold, or hot in the summer and cold in the winter, which was just what I wanted to leave behind in Chicago; or they were too far from the U.S.

I looked again at Cuenca, and, intrigued, decided to research why it was chosen as the number one city for retirement. The more I researched, the more I fell in love with it.

At the age of 63, retirement was on my mind. I didn't want to work until I was 70 to max out my Social Security and pension, but I wasn't sitting on large cash reserves. I found Cuenca offered me the opportunity to have the kind of lifestyle I had in Chicago on a salary—but on a retirement income.

I was blessed with good Social Security and a good pension—I could live nicely in Cuenca on one–third of my income, with money left over for travel and savings. Rentals were a fraction of what they would cost in New York City, Chicago, or San Francisco. From a financial prospect, moving to Cuenca was a no–brainer.

Because Cuenca's a city, I knew I wouldn't have to sacrifice modern conveniences; Cuenca has thousands of family–owned stores and single–owned artisan factories, and numerous shopping malls.

I decided to visit from mid–July until mid–August in 2010. I found a nice furnished apartment, and attempted to live in Cuenca as I would if I lived there permanently.

I was already in love with the city before I arrived. I worried that Cuenca couldn't live up to the hype, and to what I had built up in my mind from my research. I needn't have worried. When the time came for me to leave, I didn't want to go.

I retired in January of 2011, and moved to Cuenca in March of 2011. I love the city now more than ever—so much so that I've been keeping a blog about it, "Cuenca Perspectives by Jim," to help other retirees learn more about it.

So, what do I love about Cuenca besides the lower cost of living?

I really like the very friendly, respectful, and helpful Cuencano people, who take a great deal of pride in their city. Cuenca is "tranquilo" (tranquil) and its people relaxed. The pace of life is not hectic.

I also love how Cuenca blends modernity and tradition. It's a city of professionals on one hand and various indigenous groups on the other, who earn their living by farming and agricultural marketing in the mercados, or by selling their produce from wheelbarrows as they make their way down the city streets of El Centro.

I live in a luxury high rise surrounded by modern upper–middle class homes, and just below me there are open lots where I can sit and watch the indigenous people—in traditional dress—bring their cows, sheep, and goats to pasture.

Traditional 16th century colonial structures are contrasted with new high rises and modern housing. The city is beautiful, from the UNESCO–sited historical section of El Centro, to the beauty along the three rivers that run through Cuenca, to the fact that the city is nestled in a basin surrounded by awe–inspiring mountains and low–lying cloud formations.

And, though it's a big city, it has a small town feel. Getting to know people is very easy. I love socializing, and get to meet new people all the time.

The weather is spring–like year round. I had my fill of freezing cold temperatures and snow and ice; and as I am older, I no longer relish hot or humid weather either.

The city has the cleanest drinking water in all of South America, and is rated among the best in the world as well.

The health care is very inexpensive by American standards. The quality of care is excellent and the time the doctors take with patients is rarely experienced in the States.

Of course, Cuenca, as with anywhere, is not for everybody. My best advice is, if you seriously consider Cuenca as a place to retire, visit for a month. Don't rush to buy when you arrive or before you arrive. Get to know the city, the neighborhoods, and the real estate market before you purchase. Take the time to make the decision that's right for you.

You might find you love Cuenca as much as I do.

Editor's note: Stunning colonial cities, like Cuenca and Quito...little mountain towns where the weather is spring–like year round...miles of Pacific Coast beaches and laid–back beach towns...and an incredibly affordable cost of living in all of those places...there's a very good reason why Ecuador is so popular with International Living readers.

That's why it's not surprising that seats at our only Ecuador event of the year, the Fast Track Ecuador Conference, are going so fast. (We officially opened this event for registrations just one week ago...and already 215 places have gone.) If you're interested in discovering more about what Ecuador has to offer you, don't wait and miss out. Ask for your seat today.

TRAVELING BACK TO CUENCA AND LIGHT RAIL TRANSIT

Today I am writing my 100th post.  My motivation for today's post at this time is the fact that I relied on my memory--very bad idea.  I thought my flight out of O' Hare in Chicago was at 12:15 pm.  No, it's at 2:00 p.m.  I don't think the consumption of an entire jar of unadulterated coconut oil each day would improve my short-term memory. So here I am killing time by writing a post.

Needless to say, anyone who read my last post knows that the last seven weeks have not gone like anything that I had planned.  Such is life, but even in bereavement there can be joy and the wonderful feeling of being surrounded by family, relatives, and friends.  It was a pleasure to see people I have known for years, and former colleagues with whom I have worked at various times over the years.  My mother's funeral allowed for so much of the family to be together.   It was also the first time in a long time that both my sons and all of their cousins were together at the same time, and of course, having the four great-grandsons of my mother's all there as well was especially meaningful.  I have had a number of requests for photos of my grandson.  I will do what I can after I'm back in Cuenca, and have time to deal with the trepidation and time-consumption of transferring, downloading, editing, and posting photos.   I didn't take many photos on this trip, because then I feel like I have to do something with them, and unfortunately there were times when a group of us were together in a restaurant and I just didn't have my camera with me.

The weather in Chicago and as we traveled throughout Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin could not have been more ideal.  September was definitely a summer month.  My first three days in Chicago were greeted with record setting ninety degree temperatures.  The remainder of the month made September a record month for warmth.  THANK GOD FOR GLOBAL WARMING!  October until now has also be unseasonably warm.  I'm skedaddling out of Chicago just as the the temperatures are finally falling into a more seasonable pattern for October.  Degrees in the 50's or even the 60's on a windy day are just too cold.  I have especially enjoyed the incredible amount of sunshine and clear skies over the entire seven weeks, and I am praying that Cuenca will be warming up and not too rainy.  I am looking forward to opening my condo windows wide, and enjoying the warm temperatures when I get home.

One thing I did want to mention as Cuenca is in the process of initiating the building of a cross-city transit system, which is based upon a European model that will be constructed by the French.  While visiting in Minneapolis-St. Paul, we rode the urban transit that traveled from the southern suburbs and Mall of America through the heart of the city and its commercial and financial sector and through the northern part of the city.  The light transit system cost $1.75 during non-rush hour times, and $2.25 during rush hours.  By North American standards the prices in my opinion were quite reasonable.  Senior citizens pay seventy-five cents during non-rush hours, and $2.25 during rush hours.  Everything is automated.  One buys a ticket from a machine, if one is not using a pass.  What I found interesting, is unlike the Chicago and New York City subways, there was no token or ticket insert to get by a gated barrier to approach the landings to board the trains.  No one collected our tickets while on the train, and there was no place to dispose of the ticket to leave the train landing after we arrived at our destinations.  The whole thing appeared to operate on an honor system.  We easily could have ridden for free.  Minnesotans must be more honest and honorable.  I can't see such a system work in Chicago.  Tickets were also good for two-and-a-half hours for transfers to the bus transit system as well.

Another great feature of the train transit system is its convenience for the handicap.  My sister-in-law was using a power chair.  She was able to smoothly enter the train, and remain in her chair right at the entrance of the train, with room for other riders to board and exit at each stop and still get around her and her power chair.  When we arrived at our destinations, my sister-in-law was able to just drive her power chair right out of the train onto a perfectly leveled landing.  Certain seats near the entrances were also set aside for the handicap.

Finally, what I found most impressive is that the light transit train coaches began operating in 2004.  The coaches were so absolutely clean, comfortable seats with sufficient leg room, and the interiors were in such excellent condition that they looked like they were brand new.  I can't imagine that I will be able to say the same of the new transit line in Cuenca when it is completed.  I would say with the city officials' indifference to the tagging and grafitti problem that has been rampant over the last two years in Cuenca, that within a week of inaugurating the new light rail system, the coach interiors will be quickly spray-painted and exhibit an ugly appearance.  I would love to be proven wrong, but I'm not counting on it.

In Minneapolis/St. Paul, with the University of Minnesota located in St. Paul, the light train transit transports approximately thirteen percent  of the public riding population.   Eighty-four percent of the public riding population depends on the bus transit system.  The metro heavy rail provides for the remainder of the public transportation. The current line of light train transit, therefore, by itself is not sufficient to replace most buses.

Obviously the initial light rail transit in Cuenca will be a beginning to reducing some of the buses in El  Centro, and recent attempts to re-route some buses out of El Centro is a step in the right direction as well.  However, the entire complex of inter-connected light rail transit will take approximately ten to twelve years to complete, so it will be awhile before buses are dramatically reduced as the main source of public transportation in Cuenca.  In the meantime, I don't have an answer as to if additional public transportation buses are purchased for use in the city, why the companies are not required by the municipal government to buy buses that meet certain pollution standards, which can be another way of contributing to the reduction of the number one polluter in the city, the carbon emissions from public buses.