Category: Ecuador Q&A

I´m spoiled.

I´ve been in Ecuador, a tropical mountainous country, too long where you can pick the elevation for you.

And wherever you pick has the same climate all year round.

For instance, where I live in a valley of Quito the elevation is 2398 meters (7867 ft) above sea level.

The climate is just perfect for me with the downside that I need to always keep a dehumidifier in my bathroom. I’m fine with that.

23-27 C (73-80 F) in the daytime, 15 C (59 F) in the night all year long.

And there´s no mosquitos.

Too high.

However, the next town over is 50 meters higher at 2450 meters (8038 ft) which is about 3-4 F cooler and is too cold for me!

But the town on the other side of where I live back towards Quito (Tumbaco) is about 150 meters lower than where I live at 2268 meters (7440 ft) which is WAY too hot for me, particularly at night when the temperature only dips to around 20 C (68 F). And the mosquitos start coming out!

Now, Quito city proper which is about an hour from me to the east, forget about it, WAY too cold for me. It is about 400 meters higher than where I live at 2800 meters (9186 ft) and WAY TOO COLD. Especially at night or when its raining when Quito drops to 9 C (48 F). Thats cold, especially when most homes dont have heat installed.

So if Quito, Cuenca or Loja are too high and cold for you, try the surrounding areas where you just might find your perfect altitude!

For instance, warmer, lower areas near Quito include… The Valley of Los Chillos, Cumbaya, Tumbaco, Checa, Pifo, Puembo, Tababela and more.

Warmer areas near Cuenca include… Paute, The Valley of Yunguilla, Gualaceo, Chordeleg.

Warmer areas near Loja include… Zamora, Zaruma, Malacatos, Vilcabamba.

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Trust me, I´ve been there.

I mean, living in a small town on the coast of Ecuador.

The town (Manglaralto) was 4 km from Montanita and had a total of 3 streets parallel to the ocean with about 20 streets perpendicular.

Tiny.

You know, I didn´t really need or want a car.

I could use the frequent/cheap buses for long distances.

Plus, with car prices double or triple what im used to in the US, I wasn´t in a hurry to buy one.

But walking 20 minutes just to buy some fish or veggies can get tiring.

So… let me introduce the ideal vehicle for an expat on the coast of Ecuador… the motor-bicycle.

Literally, its a BICYCLE with a little motor on it and a half gallon gas tank.

You can pedal it like a normal bike if you feeling like getting some exercise or turn on the little motor and away you go.

The max speed with the motor on is 40 km per hr (25mph).

Did I mention you can get 100 km (62 miles) to the gallon!?

And don´t worry about parking, just chain it up (its a bike)!

Got groceries? Put a basket on it.

And no special licenses or insurance needed (so the local policia tell me).

Did I mention one of these little motors put on your bicycle in Ecuador only costs around $250?

Obviously not great for long distances or highway riding but great for zipping around your little beach town.

One place you can buy one I know of in Ecuador is in the suburb of Quito called Tumbaco. The shop is named Taller Turbo and one contact number is 02 2373946.

But they sell them on the coast too.

And by the way, all the cool kids have one.

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A friend recently asked…

“Where can I find some duct tape and a tennis ball in Ecuador.” 

Referring to his mom sitting next to him in the case she didn´t shut her trap.  

But seriously, if you´re living in a small town in Ecuador (like me) far from the nearest Supermaxi big box store, how can you find the really random stuff. 

Like an office chair with arm rests.  

A sandwich maker.  

A permanent marker.  

You know, really random stuff.  

Don´t ask on a public forum online, that will just get people annoyed at you.  

Instead, tanslate what you need using a friend or Google Translator and then…

…find a local taxi driver.  

He has to be LOCAL.  

And I can pretty much guarantee if you say the thing in Spanish he will know where to buy it and take you there.  

Taxi drivers are an amazing resource for an expat in Ecuador or anywhere for that matter.  

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This week, I broke my own record.

About 4 hours of pounding the pavement in Manta, Ecuador.

2 permanent residency visas for friends of mine.

And yes, its something easy enough you could actually do it yourself, or maybe with the help of someone that speaks Spanish.

You certainly dont have to pay a lawyer thousands to help with your visa.

Here´s the whole process I did:

1. First, make sure my friends brought down the following documents from the USA, their home country…

– Proof of pension (for the both of them to get the visa at least one of them needs a pension of $900 or higher, for a single person the requirement is min $800)

– Marriage certificate

– Birth certificates (just in case, although lately they are no longer asking for these)

– Criminial record check from where they ve lived the last 5 years (the document itself can be no older than 6 months). When dеаth оr іnjurу оссur, іt іѕ necessary to hіrе a Prоduсt Lіаbіlіtу Attоrnеу. Drug соmраnіеѕ, who nоw аdvеrtіѕе to the masses with mеgа-mіllіоn dollar аdvеrtіѕіng саmраіgnѕ, аttасh lоng lists of potential ѕіdе еffесtѕ аnd роtеntіаl health rіѕkѕ tо their рrоduсtѕ. Sоmеtіmеѕ, thе lіѕtѕ are lоngеr than thе аd сору itself. Whу? Thеу are warning уоu. Wаrnіng bесаuѕе thаt dеѕріtе thе gооd thеіr рrоduсt саn dо, thеу knоw bаd things соuld happen to уоu. Thеу аrе соvеrіng their legal bases аnd trуіng tо рrоtесt thеmѕеlvеѕ frоm lawsuits. In оthеr words, уоu nееd to ѕреаk рrоmрtlу with аn experienced product liability attorneys frоm thе lаw fіrm оf Thon Bесk Vаnnі Cаllаhаn & Pоwеll.

– Certificate from the Ecuador consulate in your home country certifying the source of pension document. ( Certificado determinando la percepción de dicha jubilación, pensión) This is a new one since I helped someone with this last year! 

All the above documents need to be apostilled by the Secetary of State in the State they are issued, and the proof of pension needs to be certified by the nearest Ecuador Consulate before coming.

2. Then, we went straight to the Immigration police (in Manta its the Immigration office on 4 de Noviembre, in Quito its the immigration office across from the Mall El Jardin), to get a document for each showing all their migratory movements in and out of Ecuador called the Certificado de Movimiento Migratorio. (cost $5 each) Elapsed time 20 minutes.
3. Then, we made color copies of the info page of both their passports and of the page showing their latest stamp upon entry to Ecuador.  We also had passport photos taken of each.  And then we printed off the official visa application form found here so each person could fill one in. I also bought a manilla folder to put all their documents.  Elapsed time 15 minutes.

4. Then I translated the documents they brought from the States and went to a local notary next to the Pichincha Bank in the center of Manta where I had to verify my signiture as the document translator and get something called a RECONOCIMIENTO DE FIRMA.  ($20).  Anyone can translate the documents except the interested party.  Elapsed time 1 hour 45 minutes.

5. Then in an internet cafe across the street from the bus terminal in the center of Manta I wrote up in Spanish a simple letter stating to the immigration department what they want to do (retire in Ecuador) and why they want to retire here (I said the weather).  Example of letter here.  Elapsed time 10 minutes.

6. Went with all the documents and my friends who were applying (they have to be present or you need to have a power of attorney document notarized) to the Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores in the center of town in between the boardwalk area (Malecon) and the big Pichincha Bank.  We got a turn and there was no wait and we turned in the folder with all the above. They also had to pay the application fee of $30 each.   Click here for the official list of requirements.  Elapsed time 20 minutes.

What now?

In two weeks they´ll have to go back to that same office once their visas are approved, pay the visa fee to the window ($320 each one time only) and then they will place the visas in the passports and give you 30 days to get a cedula which is your official Ecuadorian ID card (which (as of June 2014) you can not currently do in Manta, only Quito, Guayaquil or Cuenca).

Then they will be permanent Ecuador residents who can stay in country as long as they like.

Not bad for 4 hours.

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