Administrator's blog

About 30 minutes on a rough road outside of Cotacachi brings you to a restored centuries old hacienda call San Isidro.  A special dinner is served there virtually every Sunday.  We made our first visit and enjoyed a excellent meal of

Champagne Tasting, history and differences. with cheese rouge et blanche.
Empanadas of the Hacienda
Cream of Mushroom
Roman lobster salsa golf on bed of vegetables with basil
and mashed potatoes
Crepe suzette flambé the Grand Marnier with vanilla ice cream

We finally broke down and adopted a street dog.  She had been hanging around our development scavenging for food, and we started feeding her.  She was such a pathetic sight, hair falling out and covered with dirt.  We took her to the vet where she was shaved, bathed, and given medicine.  Now, she is named Phoebe, lives like a queen, eats steak, and sits in my place in the living room chair. It has been a lot of fun watching the transformation.  Happy dog.  Very happy owners.

More than 70 expats gathered at the 5-star resort in Cotacachi for a 6-course Thanksgiving dinner.  The food was amazing, and nobody left there hungry!  It was a great way to spend the holidays with and meet new members of the Cotacachi expat community.

After a long and rather exhausting trip, we made it back to Cotacachi about a week ago after spending 3 months visiting friends and family in the States.  Getting away for a while is almost always a good thing because it allows you to come back with fresh eyes.  The pastures are always greener, the  sunrise always brighter after some time away.  Our impressions….Cotacachi is bustling.  More expats, more businesses, more people looking for rentals, another bank.  Changes are coming quickly to this town.

My wife and I have been reflecting on the decision that we made nearly 3 years ago to leave our teaching jobs and relocate to Cotacachi, Ecuador. During that time, we have seen many changes. In October of 2008, when we purchased our condo at Primavera II, there were very few expat housing developments and only a handful of full time foreigners living in Cotacachi. Now, there are housing developments going up all around town and the expat community is growing by leaps and bounds.

5 Reasons to Move to Cotacachi

1) You love year round springlike weather and not having to pay for heating and cooling.

2) Your idea of a perfect morning is sipping a cup of South American coffee on the porch swing while taking in the stunning mountain scenery.

3) Your idea of a perfect evening is drinking a glass of red wine with good friends next to a cracklling fire.

4) You want to be able to take a $5.00 bill to the market and return home with all the produce you can carry.

5) You like living in a community where everybody knows your name.

5 R

Sometimes, getting a little distance helps to see things more clearly. Such was the case with our recent visit back to the United States. After living in a developing country, it’s impossible not to appreciate the efficiency of the “First World.” Browsing the huge variety of products (Which end of the cereal aisle do I start on?), paying for the purchase with nothing more than a swipe of the credit card, and having our own car awaiting us was a refreshing change.

When we first arrived in Cotacachi, one of the things that Angela and I missed the most was books. Both of us are avid readers and used to spend hours in the local library back in the States. Both of us were always in the middle of at least one book at any given time. All that changed when we moved to Ecuador. We soon discovered a couple of English bookstores in Quito, but the selection was quite limited and dated. It seemed that we were going to have to adjust to a life without much reading material.

Then came the Kindle.

In order to fulfill a requirement for graduation from high school, my nephew Cameron decided to come to Cotacachi for two weeks to work with the local Ecuadorian people.  Our townhouse at Jahua Pacha is surrounded by indigenous villages, so I asked our friend Jairo, who lives in the community of El Batan, if my nephew could teach English there.  He agreed that it was a great idea and arranged for kids of all ages to come for 2 hours per day of instruction in English.  It turned out to be a most rewarding experience for both the local kids as well as my nephew.  As Camero

Some friends of ours gave us a gift certificate to La Mirage, the 5-star hotel and spa on the outskirts of Cotacachi.  By Ecuador standards, La Mirage is extremely expensive, hence the reason we have not visited there in the two plus years we have lived in Cotacachi.  This gift gave us the perfect excuse to indulge and treat ourselves to a luxurious massage. 

For those looking for a place to retire overseas, there are many options and things to consider. My wife and I just returned from a three month European trip around seven countries (Spain, France, Italy, Greece, Ukraine, Poland, and Czech Republic) with an eye toward comparing Cotacachi to potential retirement destinations in the Old World. A few observations…

The things that we missed most about Cotacachi…

1) Fresh produce

2) Cheap prices – Western Europe is expensive!

On the day after Christmas, I found a great airfare from Quito to Barcelona, and Angela and I decided to fulfill our dream of traveling throughout Europe.  So, we will be leaving on New Year’s Eve and returning to Cotacachi at the end of March.  Our plans are to spend time most of our time in Eastern Europe but will go wherever our spirit takes us.  After we return, it will be fun to see the changes  and meet the new people who have arrived in Cotacachi during the time we are gone.  Until then….hasta luego!

Last year’s rainy season was unusually dry resulting in rotating power outages for a couple of hours per day because of the reduction in energy output from the electrical generator in Cuenca.  This year has been just the opposite.

The political events of the past few days have made headlines around the world.  Concerned about a new law that would limit their benefits, the police went on strike.  President Correa was attacked in Quito and fled to a nearby hospital.  A state of emergency was declared.  Surrounded by hostile demonstrators and virtually sequestered in the hospital for the entire day, Correa was finally freed when government troops stormed the building.  The events were broadcast throughout the day, and many shops were closed as everyone was glued to the local television. 

A while back, my wife and I had the opportunity to take a day trip north into Colombia.  Passing through the border in our friend’s car was a breeze without even being stopped for a passport check.  Our destination was the Sanctuary of Las Lajas, a cathedral built on the site where an apparition of the Virgin Mary was claimed to be seen in the 1700’s.  It is constructed deep into a valley and is quite an architectural feat.  After spending the morning exploring the church and the grounds, we headed back to Ecuador, crossing the border into the city of Tulcan.

Cotacachi is a small town and doesn't have all of the conveniences that we were used to back in the States. As much as we feel that we have gained by moving overseas, there are a few things that we miss.

One of the benefits of living in Ecuador is the ability to hire a housekeeper at low cost. In general, it is possible to hire a local woman to clean and do laundry for $10 per day or less. It is not always easy, however, to find a good maid who cleans well and is reliable. Showing up for work on time is not always their highest priority. Angela and I have been fortunate to have had two good housekeepers during the time we have lived here.

Theft is a problem in many low income countries, and Ecuador is no exception. As is the case everywhere, it pays to use common sense especially in large crowds. In Cotacachi, I am aware of a couple of break-ins during the time that we have been here. However, I have never felt insecure in Cotacachi while out at any time of the day or night. It still has a small town feel here. In Ibarra, I do not have the same feeling. On a shopping trip a while back, my wife's friend's fanny pack was snatched on a busy street in broad daylight.

There are an increasing number of restaurants in Cotacachi. Two establishments have opened in the last few months and are very popular among the expats. One called “Bocaditos no Tipicos,” is owned by a couple from New York named Danny and June.. Danny worked as a chef in New York and is able to make a wide variety of dishes. The menu changes from day to day, so you never know what surprises await you.