BONUS STORY:

So, here’s a story I completely forgot about. During our second week in Ecuador, on January 7, 2024, a thing happened in Guayaquil. (Guayaquil is about 125 miles and a 4 hour drive away from Cuenca) A man broke out of prison while being transferred so the President declared a state of emergency county-wide. We knew nothing about it at the time and we were just going about our days. On January 10, 2024 a group of gunmen broke into a public TV station and took hostages and held them at gunpoint. Thirteen people were arrested there that day and all hostages were ok. There were other things going on around the country, but we remained blissfully unaware until late in the day on January 10. We later learned the man who escaped was the leader of a drug cartel and he was considered armed and very dangerous. Thankfully he was captured by police.

Brian & Sue were over for dinner and we were upstairs on the terrace, finishing our dinner and chatting when Sue got an alert on her phone about the state of emergency. We all started looking on our phones to try and figure out what was going on and we learned about what had happened in Guayaquil. The news was saying people shouldn’t be out and about and that the prison in Turi had riots going on. There was a curfew in place for 11pm. At this point it was probably around 10pm. We all looked down at the street below and it was eerily quiet. No cars or taxis, just people on motorcycles occasionally. We immediately offered Brian & Sue to stay the night, and after some discussion, they decided that was for the best. So we had a sleepover! We were just very happy for the extra bedroom! We learned the next day that life in Cuenca was going on as usual, aside from the 11pm – 6am curfew. There was a new military presence near all banks and near the larger mercados, but we never felt unsafe. We just went about our days and it was a non-issue, which is probably why I forgot all about it. At the time, we did have a few people reach out to us, asking if we were ok. We were perfectly fine! Thanks again to anyone who sent us DM’s.

BACK TO REGULARLY SCHEDULED PROGRAM:

I ended last time with Orlando picking us up VERY early in the morning to take us to the airport. We could have tried to just stand outside and get a taxi, but I didn’t trust that would happen. A taxi would have probably cost us $3.00 (including tip) and Orlando charged us $20, but I KNEW he would be there on-time and get us to the airport in plenty of time. Bill called it my $17 peace of mind. 100% worth it!

Our flight left out of Cuenca airport 6:50am and per the airport website, we arrived 1.5 hours ahead of time. We probably didn’t really need that much time as it is a tiny airport, but better safe than sorry.

After the 51 minute flight to Quito, we had a 1.5 hour layover. We were able to board the flight to Miami around 8:45am. Another 4 hour and 20 minute flight later and we landed back in the USA right on-time at 2:30pm. Thankfully both flights were trouble free, just a few minor bumps on the way to Quito. One of the better things about traveling to Ecuador was it is on the same time zone as Florida, so no jet lag.

Since we hadn’t checked bags, we were able to make our way through customs and immigration, and out to where we would catch the shuttle back to the Ramada to get our car. Well, we must have just missed the shuttle since we had to wait about 45 minutes to get picked up. I’ll have to check that more carefully next time, as waiting that long was ridiculous.

There was some nervousness on the shuttle, hoping the car was ok. Not that we were expecting anything bad, but leaving ones car for a month is a hotel parking lot is a long time. Thankfully, the car was fine. Bill reconnected the batteries and it started right up.

Somewhere along the route home, we stopped for gas and to eat at a Cracker Barrel. We hadn’t had Cracker Barrel in years! YUMMY!

We hit a bit of traffic as we approached the Sunshine Skyway Bridge. We were both really tired and cranky at this point but what could we do besides wait it out? It was too late to choose a different route.

My parents were so happy to see us when we got there! I had to immediately dig through my bags to find their gifts. I picked up a wallet for my Dad and a shawl for my Mom. They loved them, as I knew they would. I also had to show them what I got the kids, but I’m not telling here since they haven’t gotten them yet. Don’t want to spoil the surprise!

Callie was less than enthused to see us, walking away and hiding under the bed at first, but she eventually purred when I picked her up for a hug.

The following morning, we headed over to where the RV was parked in storage and I’m happy to report that all was ok there. Bill got hitched up and moved to our site for the night. I wouldn’t have minded staying a few nights, but at $95 a night I passed. More on where we did go next time!

COSTS:

The first thing we purchased was the airline tickets, which were $1280 for the two of us. We could have probably paid a bit less, but that would have involved an overnight in Quito and I wasn’t interested in that. We flew LATAM Airlines, which is a South American airline. I was a bit hesitant but I didn’t need to be, as the flights were good, all flight attendants were polite and spoke good English. The food was ok, and was an actual meal of a quesadilla, not snacks.

The second thing we paid for was our apartment, which was $450 for the month. It worked out really great, especially being in the same building as Steven & Linda. The apartment was 2 bedroom, one bath, with a full kitchen with everything we needed to cook full meals. The internet was EXCELLENT. The only thing it didn’t have was a TV, but we had brought our laptop, so we watched TV that way when we wanted to. There was also laundry in the building, which was so convenient! We did see a laundromat when we walked to El Centro, and I’m sure it would have been fine, but having it right downstairs was great! The rooftop terrace space was also fantastic and we sat up there a lot. We may have been abIe to find something a little cheaper, but it would probably have been further from El Centro, which is where most of the shopping and restaurants are, as well as Parque Calderon. We did walk to other areas, but we liked being close to most of the action.

Travel Insurance $116.

We paid one night at the Ramada in Miami $149.

One month to leave car at the Ramada $167.

e-SIM cards for our phones were $54. We got one with 3 gig and one with 2 gig of data. I ran out the day before we left. We used it only for directions and posting while not at home. I think I ran out because I used to turn off WIFI to save battery and I forgot to turn it back on once when I got home and burned through data that way. Bill only used about half of his.

We spent about $200 (including tips) for Orlando to take us around, that’s total for 3 days, keeping in mind we were splitting the full cost with others. We did also split the cost of his lunches so another $25 for that.

The bus tour we did was $16 for the two of us and was about 3 hours long.

We took taxi’s a few times to get back after shopping, dinner out, etc. Total on taxis $40 (including $20 for Orlando to bring us to the airport the day we left)

Grocery spending was $360 total, for hipemercados and mercados.

Total for beer, wine, and rum for at the apartment $109.

We also ate out quite a bit. We had 2 “fancy” meals, tPasta and Cooking With Rey. Those two meals alone were $98 and $85 respectively. Those prices included drinks and desert.

Other miscellaneous eating out totaled $228 and included lunches at the mercados, lunches while out with Orlando, and meals in town.

For those who followed us in 2022 when we went to Ireland and Scotland, you know I went a little crazy with souvenirs. This time I didn’t. Total spent was $172.

Cost to leave the RV in storage for the month: $110

So, our trip to Ecuador cost us a total of $3569. (I did round up/down to not have change)

MISC

One of the surprising things that caught Bill’s attention was the number of old vehicles in use. Additionally, most of them were in excellent condition.

Not surprisingly, there are old fashioned car/motorcycle repair shops on almost every corner to keep these cars and the older motorcycles running and looking good. I thought I had a pic of one, but sadly I don’t. There were new cars as well, but very few Toyotas or even less Honda’s or American cars. Mostly Chinese.

SPECIAL TREATS:

Steven & Linda stayed on in Ecuador for another month after we headed back home. It was tempting to stay longer, but we wanted to get back and get to Texas. Here are links to the films he made after we left.

Amaru Zoologicio Bioparque

Carnaval 2024 Cuenca Ecuador

Down By the River Cuenca Ecuador

In case you’ve missed any other Ecuador post:

Planning and Getting There

Happy New Year – Cuenca Style!

Parque Nacional Cajas

Ingapirica

Looking Back: Cuenca Ecuador #5 – Three Villages

Looking Forward: Back in FL

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