12 countries in 12 years

Saturday, August 31, 2013

Great Thin Crust Pizza at this Pizzeria in Cuenca Ecuador!











We have eaten at this pizzeria a couple of times and both times we have been happy with the food and service. And the great thing about it is you can always find a seat and it is not as noisy as some of the other popular pizza and ice cream restaurants such as Tutto Freddo's.



Don't get us wrong, we like Tutto Freddo's but lately they are so busy we have had to wait in line to get a seat! Btw, Tutto's still has some of the best ice cream and desserts anywhere in Cuenca, in our opinion. Perhaps that is why it is so busy. There is another location for Tutto Freddo's that is not as busy, located at the San Blas Square (not to be confused with the San Sebas Square).



I believe we should start patronizing some of these other great places to eat in Cuenca that are not all talked up and give them some business too! Tutto Freddo's might have good ice cream but for goodness sakes, there are other places to eat good pizza in the city of Cuenca and this place is one of them. 

                    

Thursday, August 29, 2013

Cuenca Rental Home on 5 Acres with Views and Caretaker - $400!



This is the Living Room of the home on 5 acres. To see the video tour of this home click here. 





This Home Has RENTED!
                      ~~~

We have decided to not make any more posts about our special rentals on the "Discover Cuenca Ecuador blog any longer.

This will be our last post with special rentals on this (Discover Cuenca Ecuador) blog.



We will now have our special rentals reserved for our rental website at $300 Dollar Cuenca Rentals blog only.



If you would like to be notified when we post a new rental please subscribe to our $300 Dollar Cuenca Rental website with your email or favorite feed reader. 

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

What's Happening in Cuenca Ecuador in August 2013



This is our end of the month video for August 2013. In this video you will find some interesting and entertaining things going on in the city of Cuenca. There is always some kind of entertainment going on here. 



Enjoy the video of Cuenca Ecuador!



We're hoping the video will be viewable soon. We are experiencing Internet difficulties at the moment. The video is in the process of uploading...or trying to upload. :-(



                 

Saturday, August 24, 2013

We're Eating at Casa do Brasil - Ecuadorian Fare

This restaurant was ok; the food being typical of Ecuador fare, however the portions were small for the price of $2.50.  The windows seats are quaint and you can see people bustling about below, but the restaurant is small. They always have food specials during almuerzo hours, starting at 12:00 through 3:00pm. We had nachos here once and the portion was small. This place is a fine place to eat if you're not very hungry. :-) The restaurant is located on Borrero and Mariscal Sucre.



                      

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

New, Bright, 3/2 Apartment with Great Views of the City - $250!



THIS APARTMENT IS RENTED! This brand new 2nd floor apartment (no elevator) (never been lived in) is located in great area of  Cuenca with some spectacular views.



Walk to downtown in less than 10 minutes, or walk to bus line one block away on totally paved roads. This darling apartment has some of the best views of the city!



This apartment is bright and cheerful and has many windows which is a plus with Cuenca homes and apartments.



The owners live in the building downstairs. It is a peaceful and beautiful neighborhood! If interested contact us asap!



                               

Monday, August 19, 2013

Remodeled 3-Bedroom Home in a Gated Community for $280!




THIS HOME HAS RENTED! Where in the world are you going to find a nicely remodeled 3-bedroom 2-bath home for $280? At $300 Dollar Cuenca Rentals of course!





This home is situated in a safe, gated community right next door to the landlord. This situation works out great for those folks who want to leave their home for vacations and travel. Located off of Don Bosco and just feet away from two bus lines! Can't beat that!     



                                             

Saturday, August 17, 2013

New 3/2 Home for $300: Why We Walked Away and Why You Should Too!

The house is brand new, never been lived in. The price is not spectacular, it is what a 3 bedroom home or apartment should actually go for in Cuenca. It is the local Ecuadorian price market for a new home.



So what's the problem you might be wondering? Well, the problem is the owner/agent sees four gringos showing up to look at this house (Frank and I and the couple we were showing it to) and she decided to impose an outrageous deposit of $500. She knew the house was only for the two people but she felt compelled to ask for this silly deposit. It happens often to us and we just walk away.



She could not go up on the rental price because the $300 price was already listed, so she thought she'd be coy and ask for a hefty deposit, which the renter will NEVER see again. Frank simply and nicely told the lady that we were not going to pay that and to call us if she changes her mind. Obviously she is waiting for some more gringos to come along, she certainly will not get that deposit from an Ecuadorian!!!



                      

Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Spacious New 4/3 House for Rent in Excellent Area of Cuenca!



RENTED! What is so neat about this house? You can walk down the road one block and hop on a bus and be at Coral Centro in 5 minutes! The home has front and back garden space.



This nice home is located in a great location on the way to Banos. The home is brand new and never been lived in! The downstairs has nice ceramic tiles, while the upstairs has beautiful hardwood floors throughout. The open floor plan gives a spacious feel and is a rare find in many of the homes in Cuenca.  Contact us here.



               

Monday, August 12, 2013

Nice 4/4 Cuenca Condo by the River for $350!




This condo has a lot going for it besides the great price. It's located in a gated complex with other homes in a super peaceful area on the east side of the city. It is quiet with clean fresh air! The condo is almost new. The walk to the bus is a nice walk along the river, about 6 blocks away. You have the river right across the street and its all yours!!  Contact us here about this condo. Great value for this home in a excellent area of the city.



           

Friday, August 9, 2013

Spanish Rap Singers on the Bus in Cuenca Ecuador!


Just another bus ride in the day and life in Cuenca Ecuador!

                 

Wednesday, August 7, 2013

Spacious 4/4 plus 2 dining rooms, plus study, plus separate maids area, plus more for $350!



RENTED! This older Cuenca home is quite spacious with many rooms. The kitchen has been updated and the house is waiting for a woman's decorating skills to bring it back to life!



The house boasts several different rooms for those special projects, crafts, study, etc. You decide what the extra bonus areas will be used for. Contact us here if you are interested




                         

Monday, August 5, 2013

NEW Furnished 2/3 Town Home with Terazza for $400!

This NICE and New Town Home includes utilities! It is situated in a secure gated complex with two other homes. Plus it is just 1-1/2 blocks from the Macharanga River! It is 4 short blocks to the bus line and a 5 to 8 minute bus ride to the Monay Mall and Coral Grocery store. The home has 2 furnished bedrooms, plus an unfurnished bonus room. It has 3 bathrooms. The home has a washer and dryer situated under a completely covered sky-lighted laundry room. The home is Internet ready which is $50 a month.  Contact us here if you are interested in this home. RENTED!



          

Sunday, August 4, 2013

Public Bathrooms in Cuenca Ecuador Photo Tour!



When you gotta go, you gotta go! Most of the public bathrooms in Cuenca are just fine; they may or may not have toilet paper however, unless it is a place like the mall. This is why we ALWAYS have some TP in our backpack. There are several public restrooms in different parts of downtown Cuenca that will give you tp and soap for .10 cents.



Anyway, there are only a few bathrooms you will not want to use in Cuenca. Perhaps you have already found them. You'll see a couple of them in the video but for the most-part we're good to go!



                    

Thursday, August 1, 2013

No Water for 72-hours in Cuenca Ecuador; Land of Paradise?

Just another day (72-hours actually) in the
life in Cuenca Ecuador.  


We’ve previously written about the infrastructure in Cuenca and the Ecuadorian coast.  And after two years of living in the cheapest and best retirement city in the world, we figured we had a good understanding of the infrastructure pulse.  We didn’t think we’d be writing about it again just because Friday morning (July 26th 2013) at around 11:00AM our water quit.
 


No big deal, we’ve been through this several times before and we were mentally and practically prepared for the water to be out up to but not necessarily a full 24 hours.  That had been our experience so far, so we went on with our daily errands and never thought much of it, expecting the water to be back on by morning at the latest.  Oh boy we were in for a big surprise!
 


When the water didn’t come back at dawn as it did the last time it was out for 24hours, and then at 8am and then at 10am our enthusiasm sunk.  We were prepared for 24hours without water but not a lot longer!!!  After all, things are constantly improving in this best retirement city in the world, or so we’re told.
 


The first thing we did was go online to the ETAPA website to find out what was going on with the water since they are in charge of the water supply in the city of Cuenca. Unfortunately, on their website there was no mention of any repairs being done on the water lines nor was there any mention of water being out, or when it would be turned back on. Ummm?
 


The second thing we did is immediately send our sons to the Coral Centro to stock up on water.  Guess what? The grocery store is out of large jugs of water! It’s now obvious other people had raided the water shelves.  They still had smaller sparkling water, so the boys bought up the rest of the sparkling water and came home with it so we would have some water to drink.
 


To lift our enthusiasm again, we decide to go around town and see if we can enjoy normal life in a different neighborhood, where there's water! Sure enough on our way downtown, we spot the working crews on Las Americas with three foot diameter water pipes taken apart in the middle of the median.  Ok, there’s the problem, and we’re downhill from it.  North of it was Supermaxi, and the water was still running in their restrooms.  It was also still running in the other parts of town that we visited, north of the break. Momentary relief!
 


Frank and I stop off at another grocery store on the way home.  We both grab three five liter jugs of water. I’m thinking cooking, doing dishes, and drinking water.  Who knows when we will have water again, we’re both thinking, by this time. 
 


We put one jug in our backpack and we carry one in each hand.  Try walking up the bus steps with three heavy jugs of water.  That was the easy part. I almost make it to the standing area of the bus (all the seats are taken) where Frank is already standing and the bus driver revs up on the gas pedal and takes off like a madman, and, well, I lose my balance and one of the jugs of water falls out of my hands and rolls down the aisle of the bus. 
 


They say a gallon of water weighs 9lbs, so these five liter jugs must weigh over 11 lbs each, and we’re both carrying three of them! An Ecuadorian guy stops my rolling jug of water and hands it back to me after I regain my balance. Whewy!
 


We still have another problem. Flushing the toilets!! Always with a mind for blending in and doing what the locals are doing, I spot a young local Ecuadorian man walking toward the river with…huh?  Empty jugs!  Bingo!  I call my son and tell him to take a bucket down to the river and fill it with water to flush the toilets, because, well, you know, the locals are doing it, great idea!  Now there’s a benefit to living next to the river that we hadn’t thought of!
 


By the way, our sons told us there were bunches of piles of you-know-what with sheets of toilet paper all over the place down by the river. Looks like at least some of the locals found their solution to having a full toilet. What else could they do?  Someone sitting at a desk at Etapa water decided it would be ok, to leave the citizens downhill from the water break, without water over the weekend.  I’m betting their water wasn’t shut off, how much you wanna bet?
 


Sunday morning arrives (two days) and we still have NO Water!! Now this is in the land that is getting hyped up all over the news and in the international press as the new retirement paradise! What to do, what to do. Are we spoiled because we like running water, hot showers and a toilet that flushes after you use it?
 


The boys go back to the Coral Centro, which is south of the water break, and now the restrooms are closed due to no water.  This is big time.  Even the chicken restaurant across the street was closed for no water, short changing us on a delightful barbecue chicken lunch we had planned.  No, we don’t want to go home and cook and have a bunch of dishes to do without running water, would you?  
 


This is getting out of hand, it’s spoiling our retirement!  At least we can go home and write, hehehe!
 


Sunday early afternoon the water comes back on as a trickle, again. However, having only a trickle of water means there is not enough water pressure to kick on our propane water heater to take a shower.
 


However, one of our sons discovered a nifty trick.  I guess when you want a shower bad enough your mind goes into creative thinking mode.  He discovered that if you turn on the tap for the hot water in the bathroom sink, along with the shower, then the pressure was just enough to kick on the calefon (barely) for a hot shower. ..yet, it was still only a trickle of water coming out of the shower nozzle but at least we were able to rinse off and get clean, right?
 


In our area of the city we had no water for three days, and when the water finally trickled back on we had no real water pressure for another 24 hours.  After that, finally, the water pressure came back to normal, which is four days later and that is when we were able to take showers. Four days without a shower!
 


I keep kicking myself for not being at my self sufficient best, because, if I was in the northern country, I’d be way ahead of this thing, with separate barrels of water with water pumps and shower nozzles and heating under the barrels, and I’d be showering hot and singing Dixie, and being smug.   



But here in the best retirement city in the world I have to run all over town just to get a drill bit.  Well let’s look at the bright side, at least the water went out in our part of town, and because of that, we’re able to write another article…