We are on our way

Hi Lance and Chon,
I like the way you described yourself. First of all, thank you for your service for our country.  Although living in Ecuador my heart will always be in the USA, my adopted country. My wife and I are from Indonesia originally, we have lived here for 1 year and have not met a Philipino/a expat yet. Although I do not speak Tagalog there are many words that are shared between Indonesian and either Ilocano, Visayan or Tagalog and I can follow quite a bit of Ilocano conversation if they do not speak to fast. I do not know what juanb007 is looking for and where he got rubbled (sic) here in Cuenca. I am 75, my wife is 73 and we live in Cuenca as does my 47 year old son with his wife and two sons, and we all love it. It is not just the cheaper standard of living, it is also the ambiance and the lower crime rate here in Cuenca. Quito and Guayaquil are a totally different matter however, but where in the world will you find big cities that are completely safe? I am a retired physician and have lived the last 20 years of my active working life in Kauai, Hawaii, and was surrounded by a large Ilocano community over there where they sometimes did not even ask me if I was Philipino but started to rattle off in Ilocano just assuming I was one of them. 
Judging from your description I would assume that you have immersed yourself in the local culture in Butuan City, you will have no problem living here.  And Chon, being a retired master teacher, probably is fluent in Spanish. All educated Philipinos speak it well. I used to ride a motorcycle in my younger years but not now anymore.  Still play tennis, am still too young for the golf course. Fishing (fly fishing for trout) is good here as is hiking through the Andes mountains (or motor cycling for that matter).  If you are the person you are then I would say that we need you here in Cuenca to add to the expat (and local) community.
Chao,

Cuencamason/Nico Z.