Retire to Ecuador? Why not!

Back in May we did a four city tour and Gualaceo was one of those cities. But we ran out of time and didn't get to see the orchid farm or shoe stores. That meant we needed to go back! We organized another bus tour and ended up with almost 40 folks attending. I didn't take as many photos this time around...why? Because I forgot to charge my camera battery. Argh.... We started the day at the weavers where they make their own dye, weave their own cloth and produce the most amazing products! Here are a few pics....oh, we had a couple of special guests on our trip, as you can see in the last photo. Wanda & Brenda brought Avery who thoroughly enjoyed little Rocky who was accompanying his people parents. From there we traveled to the orchid farm. WOW!!! I could have taken a couple dozen more photos but here are some favorites....you can see all the photos from our day here . We also walked over a bridge over the river (Rocky didn't like the noise

Because my passport isn't due to expire until 2019, I wanted to get extra pages added. For those who don't know, after December of this year, that option will no longer be available. So I made an appointment with the U.S. Consulate in Guayaquil to come in to get that done. I printed out the document needed, read all the FAQs and waited for my appointment day. Our driver and friend, Emilio Morocho, picked us up at at 7:15, allowing plenty of time to make my 11:45am appointment. We actually arrived at 10:30! I checked in with the first security desk, after being directed there by a very nice female security guard. I had read to bring in as little as possible, not even a cell phone. So my purse had my wallet, some bathroom necessities (hey, it is Ecuador), my passport and other IDs and my paperwork. The only thing that caused a question was my little single use Wet Ones . But the lady guard told me that she would hold it for me - not that I was worried. LOL! From there