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Ecuador: Movinng to Ecuador:
Be aware that if you plan to move to Ecuador, the residency visa process is an absolute nightmare. There are only a couple of attorneys who deal with this matter, and we found all of them to be rather incompetent and not paing attention to detail....i.e., they let our entire paperwork package get through with my partner's place of birth as China.....interesting fo a person born in Puerto Rico. The "rules" for visa's change on a daily basis, and frequently cause you to have to start all over. Also, be very wary of any American living in Ecuador who passes themselves off as an attorney to assist you.....this is only a rip off. We are sure that if you try, you can find a country which is more user friendly for visas and residency than Ecuador. Also, if you plan to bring in a container of household goods, be prepared to have it delayed for months with daily storage fees attached which can easily range into additional thousands of dollars and great delay. THINK CAREFULLY BEFORE CHOSING ECUADOR.
Ecuador: RETIREE BEWARE:
With reference to your interest in moving and retiring in Ecuador, there are some facts that you need to know before making such a decision. Although Ecuador is a very beautiful country, and the people are great, and the quality of life here for Americans is very good, unless you have many many thousands of dollars that you want to waste just to get here, it is not a good idea. If you plan to ship any furniture or household goods, you can plan on having them sit in customs in Guayaquil for weeks and perhaps months, all the while accruing fines and storage fees that mount up to many thousands of dollars. In addition, the attorneys here who are supposed to assist in obtaining your residency visas are incompetent and basically corrupt, and it will cost you many thousands of dollars by the time you ever see your residency visas.
So, if you have any intention of retiring to a foreign country, perhaps it is best is you consider a country other than Ecuador.
Ecuador: vicious:
I never realized how vicious and nasty people on this site can be. BYE
Ecuador: LET'S EAT - A REVIEW:
“CHINESE WITH SEVERE ATTITUDE”
Well, due to popular demand from my fans – all three of you, I am back on the restaurant trail once again. Remember the old adage, “If you can’t say something good……”? Well, there are just times when I just cannot be that generous in my comments, and this, unfortunately is one of them. RESTAURANTE FORTUNA is a Chinese food restaurant of some standing for a number of years in Quito. Located on Penser, the establishment has a number of very positive elements. It is beautifully appointed, both outside and in, with very lovely pieces of Chinese art, the center piece of which is a glass-enclosed gold reliquary that contains the cremains of the original matron of the family. This is a truly stunning piece and very worthy of a place of honor and spotlight. The rest of the restaurant is spacious and very well lit…..perhaps just a tad bit too well lit…they could drop the wattage just a tich. The all-male wait staff is nicely turned out in black and white vest, pants, and shirts…..very nice eye-candy.
The menu is quite extensive, and I am forced to add that the food here is very, very good. They have a very good wonton soup, but I do wish there was also an egg drop soup to go with it. The large fried wontons before dinner are wonderful and a good accompaniment to a pre-dinner cocktail…….and, therein lies the beginning of the negative side of things.
Just to be absolutely clear about things, we have visited this restaurant on at least four different occasions, and found all of the negative factors consistently bad. Service in Ecuador, as we have discovered, leaves a great deal to be desired, even at some of the higher end establishments, however, the service at La Fortuna has been consistently bad, arrogant, and actually confrontational. The wait staff, although attractive, just do not listen to their guests……god only knows where their minds are wondering, but it is consistent with the whole staff. One characteristic of quite a few restaurants in Ecuador is that they will list quite an extensive array of aperitifs, however, when one orders from the list, we find that they, in fact, do not stock any of them……..I guess is just looks good on the menu. My litmus test has become Campari (nothing better than a nice Campari and soda before dinner). I have become quite accustomed to being informed that they do not stock Campari. However, on our most recent, and I add absolutely last, visit to Fortuna, where I have never tried my test before, I deliberately pointed directly at the entry for Campari and requested my aperitif. The server, without comment, dutifully recorded my request. Sometime after the poo-poo platter and fried wontons, I asked the server what had happened to my drink…….this is when he informed me that the restaurant does not stock the item. When I asked why I was not informed of this fact when I originally ordered the Campari, he looked directly at me and said that I had not ordered the drink. Everyone at our table had heard the order placed, however the server adamantly maintained that the order had never been placed. We have even learned to overcome the language differences by deliberately pointing directly at the menu items we want to order, and yet, regular as clockwork, the orders eventually come to the table in no way resembling what we had ordered. My partner, Tony, is deathly allergic to any kind of shellfish, and we always are very emphatic that nothing is to contain any form of shellfish, and yet, without fail, there will be shrimp in his soup or rice or somewhere else. When asked to change the order, the staff becomes quite confrontational, saying that this is the way the items are served, and, basically a “take it or leave it” attitude. I have to re-emphasize that these events are not a onetime occurrence, but apparently the way almost all guests are treated. Which brings me to one final observation: Why do the Ecuadorians tolerate bad, and even belligerent, service in restaurants????? I fully realize that this is their country and “yes, Toto, we aren’t in Kansas anymore”, but the fact that the dining public is willing to tolerate such lack of service is one of those great mysteries that I guess I will never understand.
BOTTOM LINE: Stay as far away from this establishment as possible…..Quito is full of Chinese restaurants, and I am on the trail to find a good one.
Ecuador: RENTAL HOUSING WANTED CUENCA:
WANTED: 4-5 BEDROOM RENTAL HOUSE/CONDO/APT IN CITY CENTER, CUENCA. PERMANENT HOME.
Ecuador: Know of a Cuenca Realtor?:
Just shows us that the Ugly American is still alive and well and living in Ecuador.......we just carry our goodwill and loving kindness wherever we go.
Ecuador: Attorney?:
Any recommendations for a RELIABLE immigration attorney in Cuenca? Beginning to feel that ours is screwing us over.
Ecuador: "Lets Eat" - A Review:
“Some Enchanted Evening by Salvador Dali”
The Marascal district of Quito is the equivalent of Soho in London, the Village in NYC, and just about any other major “artsy-fartsy” type of district in most any major city in the world. I always love these areas for their color, warmth, and the texture of the fabric with which they are woven. The Marascal, known by the locals as “La Zona” is not at all disappointing when it comes to color and texture. A recipe of hostels, bars, discos, artists, back-packers from every country in the world, galleries, and, of course a wonderful array of restaurants.
After almost a year in Quito, we are now really beginning to explore the culinary temptations that comprise this eclectic 12-15 blocks of the city. Actually, last New Year’s Eve, we dined at a wonderful Spanish Tapas and Wine restaurant on Plaza Foch, but will tell you about that another time.
Recently, we were lured into the magic and seductive environment of “La Boca de la Lobo” (the mouth of the wolf). Actually, my fascination with this venue originated with our first visit to the zone on New Year’s Eve. Even from the outside, the building has a magnetism of design strongly reminiscent off “Alice in Wonderland” and a Salvador Dali painting. Enormous plate glass windows at street level offer a view of the fantasmagorical interior. Each section and room of this eatery reflects it’s own distinct décor, and all of which combine to create a rollercoaster spectacle for the eyes. I noted that the ceiling in the room where we were seated seemed to depict white fluffy sheep, each entrapped in a barbed wire effect, while the ceiling in the adjoining space appeared to show the same sheep, now equipped with wings in some type of imaginative “sheep heaven”……perhaps an escape from the “mouth of the wolf”.
The active hustle of the numerous rooms is expertly overseen by Rudolpho, titled the chief of service, and his more than able and competent counterpart Alex. Rudolpho is German and Columbian mix, tall, stately, bald and very like Mr. Clean or Daddy Warbucks. Although his attire is “Zone-Casual”, his attention to every detail of operation shows that he has an insight and appreciation for fine service not found in many restaurants (even some of the pricier ones) in Quito. We were fortunate to have Rudolpho attending to our table for most of our visit.
The menu, presented in an aluminum-type of binder consisting of many pages, is a bit daunting at first, but with a little effort, it can be tamed down to essentials. I was quite impressed with the fact that the drink menu showed Compari. This is not unusual, except that most Quito restaurants show a wide and varied cocktail list, while actually stocking very few items. I was delighted when I ordered a Compari and Soda and actually got the lovely red Italian drink…….my first indication that maybe this place was actually a bit different.
Being confronted by the complex menu, we opted to order in progressive steps, allowing us time to digest the contents of the offerings. I began with the French Onion Soup, while my partner chose the miniature empanada turn- overs. I was surprised when Tony actually asked to try my soup (he hates French onion soup), had a sip, and then another, followed by a look of satisfaction and his pronouncement that the soup was “wonderful”……..I knew that the restaurant had just scored major points. Tony’s 6 miniature meat turn-overs were accompanied by two sauces: one a slightly picant and the other a milder mayo-type of dip. Both sauces complimented the nicely filled pastry for a very nice opener.
Tony opted for a beef pot roast arrangement for his entrée. The thinly sliced beef in this plate turned out to be the most tender and tasty beef we have encountered since arriving in Ecuador. The sauce/gravy with a hint of ginger and the accompanying fried yucca strips and sautéed veggies were truly a treat both for the eye and for the palate.
Since I have a rather small appetite, I selected a chicken wing appetizer dish, the creation of which I have never encountered. To the appearance, this would look exactly like coconut shrimp. However, the succulent pieces of chicken on the bone and covered in beautifully browned and crisp coconut were a whole new and exciting and imaginative experience. A small dish on the side contained a pile of additional coconut, which was great just by itself. The dish was garnished with 5 small fried yucca balls making the entire combination exactly right.
I accompanied my dinner with a glass of house white wine, and at only $2.99 per glass it was an excellent taste. The restaurant also boasts a rather extensive wine list if you chose to order a bottle.
From the dessert list, Tony ordered the Orange Crepes, which, while being a rather conventional dish, proved to be, like most items on the menu to be just a cut above the conventional. I took an adventurous step into one of the “new” items on the dessert offerings. Like most of the desserts, this dish was “crepe based”. Prepared and presented in small cast iron skillet lined with a crispy crepe, it was then filled with a pineapple, red raspberry and custardy blend that was just perfect to end the dinner.
First, we would recommend that if you are visiting Quito, that you make at least one visit to the Marascal district, walk the sidestreets, investigate all that it has to offer, and then, top off your day with a truly magical and surrealistic visit to The Mouth of the Wolf.
Ecuador: Having Second Thoughts....Help!:
Well, after 4 months here (in Quito) have come to the conclusion that EC sucks, but now I am stuck here having burned all bridges in the States and cannot ever afford to live there. Just locked in the house waiting anxiously for the grim reaper.
Ecuador: heading to ecuador:
Mike,
We live in Quito, and happy to answer any questions.
Skip and Tony
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