Friday, February 13, 2015

Why Are So Many Expats Leaving Ecuador? January 13, 2015 |

By Dr. Lee Dubs
One of a group of writers who want to encourage people to be better prepared when they move to Ecuador, Dr. Dubs is a long-time resident of Cuenca. This article is one that reflects the observations of local and foreign residents who have seen too many distressed North Americans in Ecuador. These writers hope to help more immigrants arrive fiscally and psychologically prepared for their move by providing facts about life in Ecuador. This article addresses the issue of expat emigration from the country.

You can find a lot of articles that tell you that Ecuador is the perfect place to retire. Plenty of writers encourage you to move to Ecuador, and many want you to make that move for reasons of their own. Some even use words like “thousands” when wanting you to believe how many English speakers live in particular areas, implying that language and culture will present no problems.


 Astute readers recognize a sales pitch by those who intend to make a profit from their move. One fact that few writers reveal is that not everyone is happy and that large numbers of English speakers have left and are continuing to leave Ecuador.




Starting in late 2008 and early 2009 international travel readers encountered a plethora of articles extolling the virtues of moving to Ecuador, and North Americans by the hundreds heeded the siren’s call. By 2012, some profit-driven organizations and paid writers were claiming that there were over four thousand expat English speakers living in the city of Cuenca alone......<read more> https://southofzero.wordpress.com/tag/lee-dubs/

Why Are So Many Expats Leaving Ecuador?

Radio / Audio 40 min clip interview with Dr. Lee Dubs who has lived here for 25 yrs of an on, and full time for 12 yrs, Owner Operator of the Carolina Bookstore in Cuenca- as heard on the "Ecuador at
your Service" -- Cuenca Overseas Radio podcast so very well done by Ashley and Michel.

There is a live radio podcast every Monday at 11:00 a.m.
This interview was done this past MON 09 FEB 2015:
By Dr. Lee Dubs, click here to listen: http://overseasradio.com/ashley-rogers-and-michel-blanchard/

Monday, February 9, 2015

Mega project enters new phase as drilling machine- hydroelectric project Coca Codo Sinclair, ...

ECUADOR NEWS MAGAZINE: Mega project enters new phase as drilling machine ...:

Mega project enters new phase as drilling machine surfaces being underground for 927 days


tunnel 1
tunnel 1
Ecuador news
magazine - Napo, Ecuador, Feb 5 - After spending 927 days underground,
the TBM 2 machine, which drilled the first conduction tunnel of the
hydroelectric project Coca Codo Sinclair, culminated its work on
Wednesday, in the presence of Vice President Jorge Glas and some
ministers of state.


The project
will generate 1,500 megawatts of clean energy to the country, starting
in 2016, when at least 90% of the work comes into operation.


The
authorities entered approximately 1,500 meters into the mountain in the
window 2, located at Camp San Luis, in canton El Chaco, in the Amazonian
province of Napo.


The machine has drilled nearly 14 kilometers out of the 24 that correspond to the first conduction tunnel.

Hector Espin, spokesman for Sinohydro, the Chinese company responsible for the
construction of the work, said there is another TBM working in the
excavation of the remaining part of the work.

drilling machine
drilling machine
"TBM 1 is excavating about 10 kilometers and it comes out in a month," said the official.

He also stated that now, the megaproject is advanced by 87%. The development of the tunnel means only 25% of the work....<read more> ECUADOR NEWS MAGAZINE: Mega project enters new phase as drilling machine ...:


Wednesday, February 4, 2015

"Bringing Dogs to Ecuador" and a Family of 5- {from HOU TX = Tejas to UIO Quito, EC} 08 OCT 2014

IMG_0410
In Bush International Airport waiting for our next flight. Jonas, Ellie and Greta.
If you intend to bring pets, in our case two dogs, to Ecuador it is good to get started early and work with your local veterinary that is familiar with the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) International Animal Health Certificate and the requirements.




Here is how our story went. Several months before our anticipated moving date I began researching the requirements to take pets out of the US and bring them into Ecuador. Around every corner there are different people providing conflicting information on this process. I also found that trying to obtain any information from Ecuador was a bit challenging.




I have attached a link at the bottom of this page to the USDA requirements for importing a dog into Ecuador. This form was not available, or at least I did not find it, when I started the process. At that time there was a document from the USDA that listed the requirements. The information is basically the same, only in a different format as the one listed here.



After going over the requirements I knew I had to get started soon. I went to our Vet clinic and met with one of the vets. I discussed the International Animal Health Certificate with him and provided him a copy of the USDA requirements for importing an animal to Ecuador. A copy was also given to the office manager who would be the one completing the form including the translations.



The dogs began receiving the required vaccines. At the time, the rabies vaccine had to be given at least 60 days prior to the date of travel, and the remainder of the vaccines at least 21 days prior to travel. It appears now, on the new form, the rabies vaccine only needs to be given 21 days prior to travel, the same as the other vaccines. Of course, I recommend you discuss all of this information with you vet at least 3 months prior to travel. Also if your dog’s rabies vaccination has expired,



I would again go back to the previous times of getting the vaccine at least 60 days prior to travel.
So here we are with our dogs all vaccinated just waiting for the next step in the process. That would be getting your dogs treated for internal and external parasites within 21 days of travel. We are about two weeks away from our flight date and off to the vet we go for parasite treatment. This was pretty painless, for me anyway. Each dog got a dose of Ivermectin for the internal parasites and a topical treatment for ticks and fleas. The vet just used an over the counter topical treatment, I don’t recall which one. It was K9 Advantix or Front Line, or one of the other brand name treatments.  We then went home to wait for our next appointment.



Here is where it got a little tricky. One of the last requirements is that the animal must be examined by the vet within 10 days prior to travel to ensure the animal is healthy and suitability for travel. The vet also has to inspect the travel containers for the pets and certify they are sterilized. The vet then completes and signs the USDA International Animal Health Certificate.  That document must then go to the USDA that serves the area you live, in our case Austin, Texas. The office manager said she has done them before and sent them by overnight mail and overnight return mail. With such a short time and us just 3 hours from Austin, we decided to take the certificate to the USDA ourselves for approval. So off the Austin went went. Dropped the documents off around 7:45 am. We were the first ones there.



 The clerk taking the documents said they don’t usually get started until around 9:00 am because that is when most vet clinics open. The bottom line was they USDA was going to find something wrong with the documents and would have to call our vet to fix it. We went back to our hotel room to wait. Around 11:00 am we were getting antsy and decided to go back to the USDA office and wait. And we did wait until a little past noon when we were presented with the now USDA approved and certified International Animal Health Certificate. We were then off to the office of the Texas Secretary of State for an apostille.



 Remember I said some information we were getting was conflicting? This is one of those times. During the research I saw different opinions and information of how this process worked. Lots of documents require an apostille for use in Ecuador, so being  told it was necessary made sense. We went into the Secretary of State Document certification office and met with one of the workers. She told us that they did not apostille this type document. Oops, we were told something different. Thanks for your help.




<read original link> http://www.ecuadorellie.com/mar.../bringing-dogs-to-ecuador/

The Bowen Knot: Moving to Ecuador with Dogs ~ FurBabies Sasha

The Bowen Knot: Moving to Ecuador with Dogs ~ FurBabies Sasha: OMGosh, moving Internationally with Dogs is complicated and it can be so expensive.

I was at my wits end trying to figure out all the USDA Guidelines,
Ecuador Guidelines, what shots, when to get shots, rabies shots,
Microchip or not, Parasite checks, flea medications, and the list goes on and on.  Then I got on the phone with our new friends Brenda & Bard.  They had recently moved down to Ecuador from nearby town back in November, with their two FurBabies.  Brenda called me up after I left her a frantic message...




  I told her how stressed out I am with the whole PupProcess.  I filled her in on the process we have dealt with so far and she suggested that I make an appointment with the Dade City Animal
Clinic in Dade City, Florida....<read more> The Bowen Knot: Moving to Ecuador with Dogs ~ FurBabies Sasha:

Monday, February 2, 2015

Howard's Blog: The Ecuador Coast

Howard's Blog: The Ecuador Coast:

Monday, February 2, 2015-

 The Ecuador Coast-

Wednesday afternoon we joined our friends Curt and Scott in a rental car from Cuenca Car Share and started the six hour journey to the coast of Ecuador.  The cities on our agenda were Puerto López and Montañita. This was the first trip for Mike and me completely across and through Cajas National Park. This part of The Andes are known for unpredictable weather and fog. We weren't disappointed.

 There was plenty of fog and Scott did an excellent job getting us across the mountains safely. Once we got to the other side of the mountain there was a drastic change in the landscape. The area is mostly flat with some mountains in the distance. The most dramatic change was in the temperature. Cuenca was in the high 60's when we left at noon.

The other side of the mountain was humid and 90-degrees or hotter. The highway was surrounded, on both sides, by agriculture. We saw sugar cane, cocoa, and lots of banana trees. From this point forward, the most entertaining part of the trip was observing the traffic.....Howard's Blog: The Ecuador Coast:

Argentinian airlines plans to start flights to Quito UIO & GYE in DEC 2015

ECUADOR NEWS MAGAZINE: Argentinian airlines plans to start flights to Qui...: Ecuador news magazine - Quito, Feb. 02 feb -

Argentinian airlines plans to start flights to Quito and Guayaquil in December 2015


Ecuador
news magazine - Quito, Feb. 02 feb -The company Argentine Airlines
announced it would open operations to Ecuador at the end of 2015.


FromDecember 1, 2015, the Argentina national company will offer a daily flight between Buenos Aires-Ezeiza and Quito and Guayaquil, for which Boeing 737-800 aircraft carries eight passengers in Business Class and 162 in Economy.

With the resumption of flights to Ecuador, a destination abandoned after its privatization in the 1990s by the government of Carlos Menem, the company now serves the SkyTeam alliance "in all of South America"


From December 1, 2015, the Argentina national company will offer a daily flight between Buenos Aires-Ezeiza and Quito and Guayaquil, for which Boeing 737-800 aircraft carries eight passengers in Business Class and 162 in Economy. 

With the resumption of flights to Ecuador, a destination abandoned after its privatization in the 1990s by the government of Carlos Menem, the company now serves the SkyTeam alliance "in all of South America".

The company has already launched flights to Salvador de Bahia, Havana, Cancun and Punta Cana, but postponed until December flights to Quito and Guayaquil, despite having announced that they would begin in April 2015. 

Aerolíneas Argentinas is ranked twenty-fifth place among the hundred best companies worldwide according to a survey by eDreams. 

The study last year by more than 90,000 users eDreams determined that the airline is among the leading companies in commercial air transport according to customer preference.