JULY 20, 2006 ECUADOR
A later flight from Miami made the non stop flight to Ecuador much more pleasant. Fortunately Doug's brother, David, was here to drive us with all of our luggage. We had towels for all 7 bathrooms, sheets and comforter sets for 3 of the beds, satellite dish and receiver equipment, a tv/monitor and pillows, both for the bed and decorative. Much of the bulky items were put into travel bags and vacuumed down to a smaller, more compact size. Still, while checking in we were two bags over the limit and charged an additional $100 per bag...never again!
4 hours after our departure we arrived in Guayaquil and processed through immigration and customs with no problems...and to our surprise we saw a man holding a small sign with Doug's name on it! The hotel had sent a shuttle for us! Well we couldn't believe it...and thought it was the best thing ever! After about a 15 minute wait, the driver returned with another guest for the hotel and we were off to the lodge for the evening. There is no way to convey how great it was to finally lie down for a sleep that came as swiftly as the morning. Up early for the breakfast buffet to wait for Karina to pick us up for the meeting so the deal on the house could be closed.
She arrived and we left immediately for the attorney's office, arriving there at 9:30...and were extremely disappointed to find that there were mistakes in the paperwork that had to be corrected. This, however, required a trip to La Libertaad to have papers notarized. Now this was about 1.5 hours away...and it's now 10:00 a.m. Off we went, like the wind, fighting the chaotic traffic, and once out of town, exceeding the speedlimit by at least 25 kmh. We made a quick trip to Karina's mother's place to drop off our luggage for retrieval at a later time, then made our way to the notary office to take care of that bit of business. Afterwards we stopped for lunch at a cevicheria for a conch and shrimp ceviche! DELICOUS!!! Loaded with fresh conch, this was a terrificly light cold lunch that hit the spot. The shrimp, likewise, were fresh, large and delicous! Then it's on the road again for Guayaquil and the meeting again. Arrived there at little after 3 p.m. to learn that we had to take a walk to the notary office there for the actual closing. Finally, at 5:00 p.m. we finished the business, signed the papers and instantly we officially owned the Ecuadorian beach house at La Ruta del Sol, # 20, Las Nunez!
How cool is this? I still don't quite believe it!
We next returned to La Libertad. Karina's mom and sisters were so helpful, friendly and caring and seemed happy to be assisting us during this process. We collected our luggage and headed for our house. A brief stop for a few groceries before leaving La Libertad so we would have breakfast for the morning and a few pots and pans in which to cook. We get to the house around 11:00 p.m. Karina gives us a brief tour of the house to point out things we need to know...she still has another hour to get back to her mom's house before her hectic day is done!
Accolades must be given to Karina. She was so cool, calm and collected during this entire adventure. Thanks to her and her family a potentially stressful situation was a joy.
The fresh air, a couple of beds made, the sound of the ocean..roar and thunder of the breakers...made for one blessed night's sleep! After putting the coffee on the next morning...WOW! It finally dawned on me that it had actually happened, and as the waves overwhelm the beach, the wonderful feeling of peace and serenity overwhelmed me! Day 1 at our new house begins:
HERE WE ARE AT OUR NEW HOUSE
4 hours after our departure we arrived in Guayaquil and processed through immigration and customs with no problems...and to our surprise we saw a man holding a small sign with Doug's name on it! The hotel had sent a shuttle for us! Well we couldn't believe it...and thought it was the best thing ever! After about a 15 minute wait, the driver returned with another guest for the hotel and we were off to the lodge for the evening. There is no way to convey how great it was to finally lie down for a sleep that came as swiftly as the morning. Up early for the breakfast buffet to wait for Karina to pick us up for the meeting so the deal on the house could be closed.
She arrived and we left immediately for the attorney's office, arriving there at 9:30...and were extremely disappointed to find that there were mistakes in the paperwork that had to be corrected. This, however, required a trip to La Libertaad to have papers notarized. Now this was about 1.5 hours away...and it's now 10:00 a.m. Off we went, like the wind, fighting the chaotic traffic, and once out of town, exceeding the speedlimit by at least 25 kmh. We made a quick trip to Karina's mother's place to drop off our luggage for retrieval at a later time, then made our way to the notary office to take care of that bit of business. Afterwards we stopped for lunch at a cevicheria for a conch and shrimp ceviche! DELICOUS!!! Loaded with fresh conch, this was a terrificly light cold lunch that hit the spot. The shrimp, likewise, were fresh, large and delicous! Then it's on the road again for Guayaquil and the meeting again. Arrived there at little after 3 p.m. to learn that we had to take a walk to the notary office there for the actual closing. Finally, at 5:00 p.m. we finished the business, signed the papers and instantly we officially owned the Ecuadorian beach house at La Ruta del Sol, # 20, Las Nunez!
How cool is this? I still don't quite believe it!
We next returned to La Libertad. Karina's mom and sisters were so helpful, friendly and caring and seemed happy to be assisting us during this process. We collected our luggage and headed for our house. A brief stop for a few groceries before leaving La Libertad so we would have breakfast for the morning and a few pots and pans in which to cook. We get to the house around 11:00 p.m. Karina gives us a brief tour of the house to point out things we need to know...she still has another hour to get back to her mom's house before her hectic day is done!
Accolades must be given to Karina. She was so cool, calm and collected during this entire adventure. Thanks to her and her family a potentially stressful situation was a joy.
The fresh air, a couple of beds made, the sound of the ocean..roar and thunder of the breakers...made for one blessed night's sleep! After putting the coffee on the next morning...WOW! It finally dawned on me that it had actually happened, and as the waves overwhelm the beach, the wonderful feeling of peace and serenity overwhelmed me! Day 1 at our new house begins:
HERE WE ARE AT OUR NEW HOUSE
posted by blake at 12:38 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home