Not sure of date of this one

Its been so long since I have been on this blog that I forgot that I had a blog.  How interesting.  My daughter Aja mentioned that she hated getting long texts which she will never read and how it would be better if I started a blog.  Low and behold, after a bit of searching I found it.  There are still some blog entries from 2020 when I was down here in Ecuador when Covid hit.  I have not published them yet.  They need some work so I will try to get that done at some point down here.  Yes, I am finally down here in Ecuador 4 years later after Covid has settled down and we are all allowed to travel again. 

I absolutely love this country. They would say. Estoy encantada con Ecuador.  I am enchanted with Ecuador.

Montechristi Panama Hats

Was going to massage everyone today but been having a little loose stools, worrying that I did not take Dukoral before coming like everyone else. While I was cleaning the toilet, I threw my back out. For goodness sakes. Lucklily, I brought some muscle relaxants so I basically spent the day in bed relaxing and reading. It was nice really. The guys did a lot of walking. That may have been part of my problem. I have been walking a lot every day and not used to it. Was going to go to Easter Sunday service but it didn't happen. There is a very nice big church here of course.

Went into Manta on Monday. Wow, beautiful big city right on the water. Lots and lots of new constructions going on. The cruise ships stop here. Fishermen bring all their fish here. Lots going on. Guillo took us to a town called Monte Christi. We went to a new museum high on a hill where the

ashes of a previous president were laid with a big mosque on top. The have an old steam train redone with carriage behind with the old wooden seats. Very nice. There were some vendors set up selling souvenirs. Gary and I just had to buy a Panama hat there. Got lots of interesting info. Panama hats are actually Monte Christie hats that were worn by Ecuadorians working on the Panama Canal when Roosevelt went to visit and he bought a hat and

has a famous photo with it on therefore the hats were called Panama hats. But there are made in Ecuador. In the province of Manabi. They use the leaves of special plants that only grow on the coast in this province. This province is very rich. There is oil here and that is why all the new construction and good roads. So Gary and I bought our hats. The gentleman showed us how you can fold them all up and put them into a box without hurting them. We were also told and shown the difference in quality and pricing. They can range anywhere from $10 to $2000. Depending on how fine the weave is. The finer the weave the more expensive. A good hat is

supposed to be able to be folded up and will fit through a wedding ring. Not going to try it with my hat. But I do love it. Vern says he has enough hats at home but I know he will regret it. He now is wearing my cheap Walmart Chinese hat to keep the sun off. Love my brothers. Having a lot of fun with them. Had another amazing lunch and some cervesas and back to Crucita. Tomorrow we are going to drive up north to Tonsupa to see a condo that Guillo is selling and to visit my Soo friend James Schenell who lives there now until May.

Beach Life and Motumbos

A nice relaxing day, swimming in the ocean, swimming in our nice fresh water pool, walking for an hour down the beach. You could walk all the way down the beach south to the big city of Manta population 230,000. You can see it all lit up at night. It is about 9 miles away. Vern has this crazy idea that he should walk it but the temperature here is 31 C. Pretty darned hot. The town of Crucita is small about 8000. You can walk right to the other end in a couple of hours. Of course you would have to stop at all the little restaurants and bars along the way. But to drive there takes 35 minutes because of all the windy roads going over the cliffs. There is a house on the beach here for sale. No one is there but been trying to call the phone number but no answer.

Some mansions on the hill up behind our condo that some expats have built. They do paragliding right behind us and they fly right over us here. We can sit and the balcony and almost say hi to them when they go by. They land right on the beach. Gary says he is going up sometime when we are here. I am sure I will get talked into going. Apparently there was some drunk guy that went up by himself with his own equipment a couple of weeks ago and smashed into a condo breaking a window but he lived. OMG.

So neat to see the pelicans fish right outside our door. And there are these beautiful black and white birds they call frigatas. English is frigates. I can watch them for hours diving and catching fish. We are at the end of town past the fishing boats on the beach. No road in front of our house but 4 wheelers and scooters go by. Sometimes a daring person in a car. This weekend coming up is Easter weekend so apparently it will be busy. That is why we left Quito so quick. We will go back at the end to get some shopping in.

Went out for supper at Guillos friends restaurant, Motumbos. The

men had pizza and I had fish with a coconut sauce. Awesome. David pronounced Daveed, the owner speaks and was such a joy to meet. He has the greatest positive attitude. I love how the Ecuadorians all hug and kiss one side of the face when they meet. The French do both side but not

here. English just shake hands. I lived in France in a past life I am sure. This of course was verified by a physic one time. It sure doesn't cool off much at night. It is too hot to even where a tea shirt, sleeveless is best. So beers or cervesas go down really well. Large beers in a restaurant are $2 . We just get one and split it and then order another. Otherwise they get warm. This could be addicting. Haven't drank much beer in years but it is so wonderful when the sweat is pouring off you. I am not complaining really. It is just going to take some time to get used to this climate. Walked back down the beach home. So nice to be able to walk to restaurants and bars and not worry about driving.