The packet is in the mail!!

Over the last month we've gotten  two birth certificates, four marriage licenses, two divorce certificates, one death certificate, two social security income letters, eight passport photos, and three background checks (by name). Now we've filled out all the necessary paperwork, signed all the forms and completed our initial wire transfer deposits to Ecuador Movers and put the whole package in the mail. Phew!!!!

We only hope everything was filled out properly, getting any replacements while we are off on our two month motorcycle trip will be a bit of a pain in the neck. Keeping our fingers crossed!

Think he'll become a professional dancer?

I guess some are born with Salsa in their genes!

Starting our Visa application process....

Guess what I got in the mail today? My birth certificate with a date that can be read! WOOT!! Now we have everything we need to get our Visa application process started. Thank you to Maite Duran from Ecuador Movers for going above and beyond in working with me as I asked a ton of questions.

Many do this on their own, once they arrive in Ecuador. I wanted to remove the stress from the process, especially since things can be very date/time sensitive once you are there. Maite and her co-workers are doing everything - notarizations, getting the papers apostiled, then translated then notarized and apostiled again. Phew! Exhausts me just thinking about it.

Hopefully we won't have any issues crop up while we are riding Route 66 on our motorcycles the next two months. If all goes well, we'll get...

...and then get our passports stamped at the Ecuadorian Consulate in Atlanta. All that will be left is dealing with selling my motorcycle, utilities, insurance, mail notifications, packing and then on to our cruise out of Tampa. WOOT!! 117 days and counting...

Yes and No

Yes, Ecuador is considered a third world country. Yes, there are parts of it where the poverty is staggering and we know we couldn't live there. Yes, it's a country of haves/have-nots (as are most 3rd world countries).

No, we won't be living uncomfortably. No, we won't be eating bugs, grass and sticks. No, we won't be raising our own animals and growing our own food (although several of our friends are).

Yes, we will be walking a LOT more. No, we won't own a car (but possibly a small scooter or motorcycle). Yes, we will be learning Spanish. No, we don't think we'll be truly proficient but we will get by. Yes, we will hang with other expats/Gringos. No, we won't avoid making friends with other Ecuadorians.

Yes, the weather will be cooler in Jul-Sep, but still warmer than Dec-Feb here in north central Tennessee. No, we won't come back more than once a year unless there is a real family emergency (it is expensive to run back and forth plus we are only allowed 90 days each year out of Ecuador). Yes, we will miss our families but we miss them now!

Finally, not a yes or a no, but here is what we have coming to our town in Ecuador! A downtown tram system; the contracts were awarded in June. Originally slated to be operational in 2014, it is now projected to be 2015.

We are excited, not because we will walk less but because it will decrease the fumes from buses in the historic downtown area. [more here]

How Far Is It from Cuenca to ...?

The website timeanddate.com has a distance calculator for all major cities on Earth. The Cuenca page lists distances from there to dozens of destinations around the globe, for example:

• Guayaquil, Ecuador -- 77 miles
• Lima, Peru -- 644 miles
• Galapagos Islands, Ecuador -- 745 miles
• Caracas, Venezuela -- 1,242 miles
• Kingston, Jamaica -- 1444 miles
• Miami -- 1,973 miles
• New Orleans - 2372 miles
• Atlanta -- 2356 miles
• New York -- 3,017 miles
• Phoenix -- 3,302 miles
• Honolulu -- 5,580
• and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia -- 12,395, almost exactly halfway around the planet

Another interesting distance factoid is that Cuenca is 199 miles from the equator, so the South Pole is 6,016 miles away, while the North Pole is almost equidistant at 6,414.

Ecuador Movers

I thought I'd share this video about the company we are using for our Visa paperwork processing, Ecuador Movers. 128 days and counting!

Traipsing down the paperwork trail....

We are making progress. We've received my birth certificate, my late husband's death certificate, my two early in life marriage/divorce certificates and our Social Security statements. Yesterday we got the tracking information for Stu's New York birth certificate. Nothing from my two Virginia marriages yet....

Two whoopsies so far, one fixed, on pending. We printed the official looking online letters of benefits from the Social Security website. Sent a copy to our facilitator and she said they wouldn't work, they have to be originals (with a signature or stamp). So a couple days ago we headed to our neighboring town and stopped in the Social Security office. We got called immediately after registering and she quickly printed, signed and stamped our letters. Less than ten minutes and we were done!

From there we headed to CVS where we got our prisoner looking passport photos taken. Not cheap since we needed three photos each and they come in twos, but in a small town, there aren't a lot of choices.

Oh, the other whoopsie is my birth certificate from Massachusetts. It was the first document to arrive but I can't use it. The date stamp is all but illegible. Three phones with three voicemails left and no return calls. Sigh...frustrating. This was one of the most costly documents but VitalChek isn't liable for the accuracy or usability of the document. So next week, I'll be working on my novel from home where 1) I can hear better and 2) I can get return calls easily.

This week we will order our background checks, the last thing to be ordered. We have our contract from Ecuador Movers and will be sending that off to them shortly. Here's hoping that things will progress smoothly from here!

I also picked up some drop-in sheet protectors for the originals and have them all in a three ring binder. All the better to protect them and keep everything in one spot. Two steps forward and only one step back this week!