6 things I hate about public bathrooms in Ecuador

Payment.  With most public bathrooms in Ecuador, you gotta pay to play, I know it´s only 10 cents or so but what if you only have a $20 bill?  Be prepared to get $19.90 in icky nickels and dimes back!

No soap– I don-t get it, why have soap dispensers if you can never find soap in them?  If you can find soap in a public bathroom i suggest stocking up for next time by squirting some into your hand and just walk around with it in there, just don´t shake anyone’s hand.  Another idea is to stash some behind your ears. Did you know that JustWedi provide quality Wedi boards for redecorating your bathroom? You can personalize your bathroom and make it look cooler.

No toilet paper– Literally, two days ago I found myself running for a bathroom in the Mall Quicentro Sur in South Quito.  Of course, there was no toilet paper, only a complicated machine that requires exact change, of course, I didn´t have it in those precious moments, so what did I have to do?  There were a few old receipts in my wallet, those had to do.  I chuckled as I dropped them in the open waste basket of the stall thinking how people were going to laugh when they saw dirtied receipts in there. Oh, man. My idea of a good bathroom is over here https://phxhomeremodeling.com/bathroom-remodel-chandler/.

No ventilation– “Oh man, I can´t breathe in here, and it´s so humid the smell and r¡grime is sticking to my skin!” My friend with loose bowl movements moaned from a cramped, dark, windowless bathroom at a gas station in steamy Guayaquil.  It was funny for the rest of us just outside the bathroom though but it was pretty obvious that the station was in a serious need to start a bathroom remodeling project. When it comes to the cheapest blinds this is the place to go shop affordable window blinds here for your new house.

No where to set down a backpack- many floors of public bathrooms in Ecuador are really nasty, yet there are often no hooks on the stall doors, so where do you set a bag down?  The only solution I can think of is to squat with the pack on and hope you don´t pop a hernia.

Sweet sayings Ecuadorians (maybe just the males) write on the back of toilet stall doors.  Ecuadorians think its hilarious to write their buddy´s phone number on the back of doors with things like “for cheap gay s-e-x call 09—–“.  Recently, I saw one interesting graffiti, “gays poop easier”.  Actually, some of these can be quite funny.

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My top 3 cheap side-trips from Ecuador everyone should take

South America is a BIG continent.

And not many budget airlines yet more are coming.

But there are interesting side-trips you can take while living in Ecuador… I suggest starting with these three!

1. San Andres Island (Colombia).  This picturesque Caribbean island off the coast of Honduras is actually a part of Colombia, yet most don´t realize it if they´ve even heard of the place.  Yet it costs just $69 roundtrip to get there from Bogota!  And now with the Colombian budget airline Wingo flying to Quito you can get roundtrip to Bogota for around $230 if you buy at least a month or so in advance. A must-see!  Try Google Flights to find.

2. Summer skiing in Chile.  The ski season in Chile is July through September.  And most don´t realize you can actually get to the resorts quite quickly from the capital Santiago.  And you can get to Santiago for around $300 round-trip if bought in advance from Guayaquil (Ecuador). Try Google Flights or Kayak.com.

3. El Salvador/Nicaragua/Costa Rica.  There is a little-known, new, cheap round-trip flight for $232 with Avianca from Quito to El Salvador.  From there you could discover the El Salvador coastline or drift up by land to Guatemala for a few days or catch a cheap flight to Nicaragua or Costa Rica via Kayak.com. I´ve seen one way flights for around $60 from El Salvador to Nica.

There you have it! A few interesting side trips to get you started once living in Ecuador.  More to come.

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The deal-breaker: Why my brother would NEVER move to Ecuador

Recently, one of my brothers who lives on the west side of Cleveland recently came to visit me on an extended trip to Ecuador.

Towards the end of his stay I asked him if he would ever consider living in Ecuador?

He said “no”.

Naturally, I asked “why?”

He said not being able to flush the toilet paper after wiping is a total dealbreaker for him.

Fair enough. Deal-breakers can be very simple things.

I agree that aspect of living here is annoying.

Yet all the while some gringos think it´s just a false belief and actually you can flush it, you´re wrong, in almost all places in Ecuador you really can´t or you could have major problems soon.

I know I´m going to get a million emails now saying why don-t I use a bidet. Man, whatever.

But I´d still choose Ecuador for the weather, costs of living, food, people, language, business opportunity and much more.

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How to avoid pricey roaming and keep in touch free with North America from Ecuador

Keeping in touch from abroad for extended periods of time can get costly.

Here’s how I’d do it.

I’d completely take your USA sim card out of your phone, or if not possible buy a second unlocked phone you can use when abroad and leave the USA one home.

Then, buy an Ecuadorian SIM to get you on the local network here and just go prepaid as you go.

And then to stay in touch with North America download the app I use and love …

TalkaTone.  

It’s free and instantly gives you a USA number people can call you at and the app also allows you to call USA and Canada numbers free as well. If you don’t answer you can activate the voicemail to email option also free.

It’s nice answering right from your cell phone and not a computer or phone attached to a router (like with Magic Jack).

Or having to keep up with annual fees like with Magic Jack or Vonage.

But you do have to be connected to the Internet, the faster the better for better call quality. I’ve found the call quality quite good though.

Once you have an Ecuadorian SIM you can buy DATA packages to stay connected just like you can buy minutes.

Now there’s no excuse to not stay connected.

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What happens when you lose your cedula (ID) in Ecuador?

“I’m such an idiot,” I thought earlier this week as I realized I lost my cedula or ID card everyone gets who is Ecuadorian or has a residency visa to live in Ecuador.

If Ecuadorians lose their cedula the process is simple and takes a few minutes to get another one, Civil Registry. $10. Done.

But when you are a FOREIGNER like me living in Ecuador, and lose your cedula, the process is WAY more difficult.

First, you have to go to your closest Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores) and get a certificate called an EMPADRONAMIENTO. Don’t ask me what the h-ll that means.

To get that you have to get a slew of documents, they asked me for…

-Copies of passport and visa page in passport.
-Proof of health insurance.
-Fill in a form found here.
-Migratory Movements certificate (Movimiento Migratorio)
-Police report of lost cedula.  Which you can attain online here. 
-Proof of visa, in my case was the Ecuador validated college degree.

Then, you have to make an appointment online via the following site… problem is, I was told in Quito there are NO appointments open until February!  3 months!  So I made an appointment in Guayaquil for next week.

Once you attain the EMPADRONAMIENTO then you go to the Civil Registry (Registro Civil) and in a few hours you will have your new cedula with the same number as before so I’m told. Not that far yet.

For help with this process I suggest using my friend Abogado Oswaldo (TEL: 0967577326) who has an office right next to the Ministry of Foreign Relations in Quito on 6 de Diciembre and La Nina. For a few bucks he can get all mentioned documents above together in a nice folder for you to take on your appointment.

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