Howdy everyone. We went back to the USA for 2 months. Freezing and pretty busy up there compared to here in laid back Ecuador. Hello to all you "old friends" . We are now in San Vicente across from Bahia de Caraquez. San Vicente is part of the same City government as Canoa. Very small town. Easy going life style here. Small shops, no one is in any kind of hurry for anything at all here. There is a bridge that connects us to Bahia, the local "Big City". Bahia has the main shopping, etc. here, but San Vicente has restaurants, Banco Pichincha, hardware stores, furniture shops, appliance stores, shoe repairs,many small specialty stores, CNL (Power Company), CNT, Internet and local phone services, it's own City government, Etc. Oh and very friendly , welcoming people. Just like Bahia, we find if we give respect, and are friendly we get lots of warm welcoming friendship from the "locals". There is a local fresh foods market. The grocery store is small but carries most things .The Mall is proceeding along in Bahia right next to the bridge. Hmm KFC and some shopping for us without a 90 minute drive to Manta or Portoviejo. The Fresh Seafood here is delicious. Fresh veggies and fruits are great. Had longnose fish and huge shrimp (3 of us) a quart of beer, 3 drinks for the wife and little guy (wife bought two as very small) 3 small plates of rice, Salad of onions and tomatoes, Patacones (cooked bananas), and all for $25.00 total including taxes. They served dried bananas as our chips instead of corn chips. Bananas are very popular here and plentiful. The Ocean is gorgeous here. Temps about 70' to 90' every day. It gets cloudy and does rain some here, depending on the season. But on a warm sunny or partly sunny day here like any other Ocean area it is simply beautiful. Kids swimming every day in the Ocean. They are completely revamping the Oceanfront Malecon area. With the new road (Highway) they are reclaiming the beach area and moving the road back to let the beach reclaim it's natural area. The Downtown area will be rebuilt in the Town Center to make a new shopping area and a nice modern area will be available for little shops etc. right downtown on the circle as you enter town. There is much more I can share about San Vicente. We have settled in nicely here and love the small town flavor of this quaint little town. I will post more later as it's a great little laid back town with such a low stress level here.
Love to hear from my "old Friends" here, as I haven't posted for a while. We are permanent residents with 2 years to go before we can apply for dual citizenship. We voted for the first time in the local elections held here in February. Life is but a dream here.
Still Living It and Loving It here (now in) San Vicente Ecuador
Charlie
Living On The Beautful Laid Back Coast of Ecuador
What do you do to keep busy on the coast and in a small town?
Hi Charlie
Hello Sue, Was thinking of you recently. What is new? Charlie
Hmmm what do we do for fun? Well we live at the Ocean and the water is warm. Swimming, beach walking, enjoying the beauty of the sunsets, and many other beach activities. We have met many Ecuadorians as well as Expats who we enjoy spending time with. There never seems to be any end to the Holidays with North American and Ecuadorian Holidays to celebrate. There are many exhibits in various locations. Parades, Fiestas, Outdoor Music, Cultural events. This past weekend the Tall Ships from several South American Countries and Mexico paraded into Manta, with visits and celebrations, music and dancing to celebrate the Battle of Montevideo by Argentina many years ago. Sometimes we just head to a beach for the day to enjoy wonderful fresh seafood and Fresh fruit drinks for the day. Since it is about 85' most days it is beautiful warm and relaxing here at the Ocean. With Summer Weather all year long. When it does rain it is so warm no one cares, like other tropical climates. There is much to see and do here. We like the laid back relaxing lifestyle here. If we want a movie or shopping we go to a mall. Food courts there and yes they have KFC and burgers. Well that gives you a few examples of what we do for fun. Most new movies can be found shortly after their runs inexpensively here on DVD's for about $1.50. Many people just sit outside at night to enjoy the ambience of warm relaxing evenings and to meet and greet others and enjoy warm friendly conversations with passersby. Much fun learning about and enjoying the warm friendly Ecuadorians and their Customs. Well I hope I have given you a taste of what we do for fun here.
Still Living It and Loving It here near Bahia Ecuador,
Charlie
Sounds great. Bet you are glad to be out of WA and most of your loose ends are tied up. Will get in touch to share my news.
Hey Charlie,
My wife and I plan to visit your neck of the woods this coming July. We are looking for a laid back lifestyle like yours. Any crime in San Vicente as of late? Read about an expat family got robbed in their home. From LA should fly into manta then take a taxi or bus to Bahia? Thanks for your time.
Hello Trent, Welcome to Ecuador. A taxi will charge you $40 to $45 for the drive (90 minutes) from Manta Airport to Bahia. The bus will go through Puerto Viejo, so 2 and 1/2 hours to 3 hours to get to Manta $4. We will love to see you when you come to town. With my wife and my 11 year old son. Let me know exactly when so we can plan to meet you. This is our 3rd year in Ecuador and we finally are getting the laid back (manana) lifestyle into our heads. I'll be there to repair that on Monday means maybe Friday etc. Such happy campers here, not based on money just happy to be alive and have their Families to live with and enjoy life with. It is Buena Vida (the good life ) here and Muey Hermosa (very beautiful) here in this little laid back part of the world. You will like it here if small beach towns are what you like.
Still Living It and Loving It Here Near Bahia,
Charlie
Bahia was my favorite mid sized coastal city. San Vicente was a little too rough for my taste.
Previously, we had mostly just driven through San Vicente while in Bahia. It looked "rough " to us as well. They are in the process of restoring the Ocean Front where the Malecon is, so it will be more natural and let the Ocean flow back up further into the Ocean Front Area. Also will be redoing the Circular Drive at the entrance to the town with a new shopping area like a strip mall area. The main road is a mess but once completed will be much nicer here. Once we actually stopped and got to see some of the areas like the Central Mercardo a few blocks off the main street, and some of the shops and people here in San Vicente we have liked it much more. Similar to the northern areas near Same, and Atacames where you have to take a close look not just drive through to see what is there. The small town vibe is almost gone in many areas of the world. Here the people and shops, welcoming friendly attitude are just waiting to accept you and make you feel happy to be here. You can't find the same feeling in large cities, usually. We can learn much from their open welcoming ways and we can help them as well with our knowledge and skills we learned and can share with them. Common question I get ,why Ecuador? It's fun to answer as many aspire to see or go to US for College etc. while we want to escape the rat race they want to see the US as in movies etc. Much to share back and forth it really makes it fun to be here........Come see what I mean............
Still Living It and Loving It near Bahia Ecuador,
Charlie
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