Muisne has a unique ‘backwater’ feel, a run-down town, a tropical island, an enormously wide beach, at times completely deserted. Muisne has a feeling all its own and is best for explorers wanting to get far off the beaten track. Take a Mangrove tour with Fundecol.org.
Where to stay?
My value pick whenever I’m in the area is Hostal Las Olas with a restaurant and rooms starting around $10 per person.
Lago Agrio is a sketchy border town most tourists dont venture. It is however the main jumping off point to the Cuyabeno Jungle Wildlife reserve, a unique flooded rainforest. Also, a visit to nearby Dureno can give you a taste of what primary rainforest is like.
Where to stay?
My pick is Hotel Selva Real on the corner of AV QUITO Y COLOMBIA with basic, clean rooms relatively mosquito free starting at $15 per person.
To keep reading this article fill in the blanks below to register now, thanks:
A few hours from Quito on the road to the Amazon lies a steamy spa town famous with local vacationers, Papallacta.
What to do?
Bath in the Thermal Hot Springs in the Termas de Papallacta about 1.5 km before you reach town.
Where to stay?
My pick is the Hosteria La Pamapa de Papallacta. Basic, clean rooms with on-site hot springs to enjoy, Prices start from $20. 2320624.
To keep reading this article fill in the blanks below to register now, thanks:
It’s true.
One guy once asked me if he needed to bring towels to Ecuador.
Child please, could you be more ignorant?
Anyways I still think people are crazy whenever I hear of people paying ‘an arm and a leg’ to ship their Sunday in color branded furniture to Ecuador. I mean, come on, there are furniture stores in Ecuador! Of course, there are some stores in the USA that have got the finest selection of furniture (find more here) for the most demanding customer, so it is very difficult to leave such pieces.
As one of my American friends here in Ecuador recently proclaimed he’s never seen anything like some of the beautiful furniture pieces and modern sofas that are coming out of Cuenca these days. Those sofas, when placed in a living room along with Modrest Kennedy Mid-Century Walnut Dining Table, will add style and class in equal measures.
Antique furniture offers a buyer quality and value. More and more people are shopping for antique reclining lounge at antique stores, shows, auctions and estate sales because they know they’re getting value, along with the charm and ambiance that an antique piece can add to their home. If you use a little bit of creativity, you can easily integrate antique furniture into a contemporary home. Actually, all of the major furniture manufacturers are creating more traditional furniture that will blend well in just about every setting. They modernize a piece with some hardware, for instance, but the shape and size of it still has a formal feel. If you buy a modern dining room set, you can then find an occasional antique piece like a sideboard or buffet to incorporate into your décor.
You will get here the variety of home decor vintage & antique furniture product, do visit.
Antique furniture values are the whole basis for pricing purpose within the antique furniture business. Old collectible items are considered antiques. The factors to be considered are the age, beauty, rarity, condition, utility, personal emotional connection, and other unique features of an item. Any antique object is a representative of the past, a period of human society. Antiques are valued for their worth. Everyday furniture of previous generations is antique now.
It’s true.
They’re nice.
Especially the woodwork here is amazing.
And if you don’t see something you like you can often find a local artist busy woodworking at his best sliding compound miter saw to make the piece you wish, often by just giving them a hand-written drawing on a napkin.
Click on the following to get the all-new high tech and affordable dewalt chainsaw which you can use at home to get the perfect woodwork you desire.
This week I furnished 3 of my new Tiki huts with ocean views near Montanita on the southern coast of Ecuador.
And here’s what I spent so you can learn how much furniture and other home appliances cost in Ecuador before you come. consider a top-rated kitchen appliance warranty plan if you’ve spent a fortune on kitchen appliances as it can be devastating if one or more of them break. You’ll enjoy a thorough repair process on your covered appliances, and chances are you will enjoy some financial relief from the expenses associated with a repair or replacement of your appliance.
Maybe there’s some things you can get much cheaper in your home country.
My first recommendation is if you live in a small town on the coast of Ecuador, buy everything you can in the nearest big city, Guayaquil, and have everything trucked in, prices are often much more favorable that way.
One good big box store found only in the biggest Ecuadorian cities with about any home appliance you’ll need, and where I did MOST of my shopping, is in MI COMISARIATO.
For wooden furniture on the coast try the markets in La Libertad or Atahaulpa.
In Quito, go to the budget furniture market called San Roque.
In Cuenca, ask around cause you have a lot of options.
Here goes… all prices are in USD and be sure to add to prices the standard 12% sales tax in Ecuador.
Glass juice jar = 3.20
Patio table and 4 chair set = 115.18
Toilet bowl cleaner brush = 4.26
Welcome floor mat = 7.12
Plastic juicer = 1.12
Plastic salad bowl = 2.26
Frying pan or skillet = 4.45
Dishwashing soap = .65
Pack of 10 garbage bags = .51
Wood cutting board = 4.98
Can opener = 3.56
Full utensil set for 4 ppl = 8.92
Steak knife = 2.40
Sponge for washing plates = .78
Bed sheet set for queen bed = 20.70
Bed spread = 43.04
Pillow = 4.87
Kitchen pot set with 4 pieces = 16.96
Mini refrigerator = 151.70
Pack of 4 toilet paper = .85
Broom = 2.19
Sink nossle = 19.54
Kitchen shelf = 116.00
Table Fan = 17.85
Mirror for bathroom = 16.06
Coffee maker and pot = 26.78
Electric stove cooker = 16.06
Blender = 16.06
Glasses for drinking = .44
Mosquito netting for bed = 15.45
Sliding door lock = 1.60
Shower curtain = 10.68
Sink = 8.03
Sink under tubes = 4.43
Bathroom mobil carpets = 7.13
Small towel = 6.07
hand towel = 1.43
bed lamp = 11.60
Wooden bed base = 50.00
Brand name ‘Chaide y Chaide’ queen size bed cushion = 120.00
Wooden chairs for kitchen counter = 20.00
Wooden handycrafted night stand table = 25.00
Wooden handycrafted kitchen cabinet = 135.00
Gas stove = 28.00
Gas tank for cooking = 50.00
Window curtains = 6.00
Here are a few pics of how the finished tiki huts near Montanita look furnished from the inside, if you’d like to rent one email me at dombuon AT gmail.com to let me know, $20 a night for one or two people, discounts available for longer stays.
To keep reading this article fill in the blanks below to register now, thanks:
Some get one for the “show”.
Some get one to feel like Bond when the cute airport clerk asks for their passport…
…so their reply can be “which one?”
Some get a second passport and dual nationality for tax, business or other personal reasons.
At least if you are an American who likes to travel you should seriously consider it.
Fact is, a quickly growing amount of countries these days charge Americans a stiff fee for entry visas when other nationalities walk in free or for pennies on the dollar.
China, India, Brazil and Bolivia all fall under this category.
As I discovered last year traveling through the middle east, other surprisingly nice countries are sadly off limits to Americans.
Many in fact.
Thankfully, Ecuador still warmly receives Americans as they do Europeans or Canadians.
And it’s relatively EASY to get dual citizenship and thus a second passport from Ecuador.
After sitting down with an immigration official this week, in December of 2012, here’s what I learned about how you can apply for Ecuadorian dual citizenship…
The main requirement is you need to be a resident of Ecuador for a minimum of 3 years from the date in which you get your first “cedula (Ecuador ID card)” or 2 years if you have an Ecuadorian kid.
You then need to gather the following documents:
1. Birth certificate apostilled (if from a country from within the apostille treaty like the US) or legalized by an Ecuadorian consulate abroad and then translated.
2. Copy of passport notarized and the original with the current resident visa.
3. Copy of cedula notarized and original.
4. Certificate from both the SRI (the Ecuadorian IRS) and the BIESS (Social Security) stating you have no outstanding debts to either. (Certificacion de no ser deudor.)
5. Your Ecuador police record and immigration movement documents. (Movimiento migratorio y record policial)
6. 4 passport photos.
The cost is $700, $200 paid up front, then $500 after being approved.
And there are no language tests, dorky Ecuadorian history tests nor required military service or further obligations upon attaining Ecuadorian citizenship.
Ecuador income is taxed by the Ecuador government, foreign income is not, regardless of if you are a citizen or not.
Currently, unless Peruvian or Colombian all foreigners need to apply for citizenship out of the Quito immigration office on Av. Carrion and 10 de Agosto.
That’s it.
Now you’ve got your Ecuadorian passport and can waltz freely through South America, the Galapagos, the Middle East and Cuba without paying a cent of visa fees or hassles.
To keep reading this article fill in the blanks below to register now, thanks: