[EI EXPERT – EDD STATON]

Gringos get together at Fabiano’s on Friday & Di Bacco on Tuesday. Sole Mio caters to expats on Saturday, and Don Colon features different American-style meals throughout the week. Other gringo hangouts are San Sebas Cafe, Inca Bar & Lounge, and California Kitchen. Trust me, you won’t have any problem meeting expats here in Cuenca!

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I’ve been using it the last two days and like it very much. Muchas gracias, John.

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I have no way to answer your question. Latin America isn’t as anal as the US about timeliness, but in three years I’ve never missed a connecting flight because of a late arrival.

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The easiest and quickest way is by taxi. There are also shuttle vans and buses if you’re not in a hurry. The old airport is closed and being converted to a park.

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“Opinion” is the operative word in your question, Oral. Both share similar weather, but Quito is four times bigger than Cuenca so it has more of everything–good and bad. I live in Cuenca and love our city’s manageable size, yet I’ve grown to enjoy the energy and especially the greater choice of excellent cuisine in Quito. There is little mention of the number of expats in Quito (although I suspect it’s more than you’d think), and the best guess is there are several thousand now in Cuenca.

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For a 30 minute flight it doesn’t matter.

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Alan, it would probably be easiest to just buy a cheap phone when you get to Ecuador and add minutes as you need them. I have no idea what callback services vs. direct call services means. There are two providers, Claro & Movistar. Some people have a phone for each because calling from one service to the other is about 3 times more expensive per minute.

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On the coast I’d recommend sticking with the bottled water.

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I can’t imagine why not. If for some reason you’re blocked from a site because of being in Ecuador you can always use a site to hide your IP.

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Oops–Suzan. Didn’t correct the typo in time———.

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Susan is correct. Bank account–easy. Credit card–impossible without credit history here just like anywhere else. I’m not aware that the concept of a “secured” credit card (backed by your own funds) is viable in Ecuador.

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Edmond, here is the latest visa info from EI Expert Roberto Moreno:

This information will briefly outline some of the current requirements for various types of visas. We must caution that the regulations change frequently and changes generally become effectively immediately which means that, even if your visa is in process, the new requirements would apply and additional documentation may be required.
There are many types of visas and each one has its own specific requirements. The most common visas that people considering retiring in Ecuador are a visa based on pension from abroad of $800 or more monthly (9-I), a visa based on purchase of property valued at $25,000 dollars or more (9-II),or a visa based on a certificate of deposit of $25,000 held in an Ecuadorian bank (9-II). There are also some more specialized types of visas (for example, visas based on an investment in an Ecuadorian company, student visas and others). If you would like information on any of the other types of visas, please contact us.
The general documents required to obtain any of the visas are the following. Except where noted, these documents must be obtained by you in the United States and provided to our office.
– A certified copy of a Police Record (from your local county sheriff’s office)
o This document must be apostilled (Please see the note below about apostilles.)
– 4 passport photos
– A letter to the Ministry (which we will draft and you will sign)
– 2 application forms (which we will fill out and you will sign)
– Color copies of your passport and the last entry stamp to Ecuador
– A passport valid for at least 6 month
– Any Ecuadorian visa valid for at least 30 days
– If married, a certified and apostilled copy of your marriage license
– If you are bringing any children with you, a certified and apostilled copy of their birth certificates.
Following is a list of the principal documents that are required for each type of visa. Except where noted, these documents must be obtained by you in the United States and provided to our office.
If you are obtaining a visa based on a pension:
– A letter from the Social Security Administration or the company from whom you receive a pension indicating the amount of income you are receiving each month. You must have an $800 dollar minimum income in order to qualify for this visa (you must add $100 to your income pwer dependant)
o This document must be apostilled.

– A letter from the Ecuadorian consulate that states that you are receiving pension income
o In order to obtain the document, you will need to present the letter from the Social Security Administration or the company from whom you receive a pension, along with the apolstille.
o There is a fee of $40 to obtain this document
o The consulate will then issue you the official letter which we need to present to the Ministry in Ecuador.
If you are obtaining a visa based on property, we will assist you in preparing these necessary documents:
– A Final Deed of Purchase in your name
– Proof of payment of taxes on property
– Title search on property where it is verified that the property is worth $25,000 or more.
If you are opening a CD, we will assist you with this process:
– Have an Ecuadorian bank account which we will help you to set up
– Deposit $25,000 in a bank CD
– The CD must remain in custody of the Ecuadorian central bank
Another document which will be useful (although not strictly required) if you are living in Ecuador is the cedula, or Ecuadorian ID. Some additional documents are required to obtain the cedula:
– The cedula form (which we will fill out and you will sign)
– A certified copy of your birth certificate which must also be apotilled.
– If the name on your birth certificate does not exactly match the name on your passport (for example, you married or divorced and changed your name), a certified (and apostilled) copy of the marriage license, divorce decree or other documents providing an explanation of the difference in names. Please also note that the apostille for any marriage license or divorce decree cannot be more than 6 months old, so those documents should be requested sometime after the visa has been filed with the Ministry to avoid having to redo them.

The requirement for a document to be “apostilled” is likely a new concept for most people. An apostille is simply a certification, typically from the Secretary of State in the state in which the document was originally issued, that the document has been properly issued and satisfies the legal requirements (for example, an authorized notary certification) for the state. If you need assistance in determining where and how to obtain an apostille for any of your documents, please contact us and we will be happy to help.

Once we have all the documents we will have them translated, get them legalized here. We will also obtain a migratory record from the immigration department which shows your movement in and out of the country. Once we have all of the required documents, one of our staff will go with you to the Ministry where we will present the documents. They will take your photo at the Ministry and then give us an ID number which we will use to track the progress of your visa.
The Ministry’s general processing time for visas is one to three months. Once the visa has been approved, they will request your passport so they can stamp the visa (this generally takes 1 week). After the passport and the visa have been returned, we can apply for the cedula.

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I wouldn’t advise a rental car. Tame airlines has service from GYE to CUE. Round trip tickets are usually $150 or less. You can also take a private van for $80 total or a shared one for $12 each. The trip takes 3 hours and half of the time is on winding roads through the Cajas mountains, so although the scenery is spectacular on a clear day, don’t choose this option if you’re prone to motion sickness. We use either Atenas or Operazuay.

[EI EXPERT – EDD STATON]

Try this:

http://tools.geofabrik.de/map/?type=Mapnik&lon=-79.00322&lat=-2.89689&zoom=14&mlon=-79.02832&mlat=-2.89313

[EI EXPERT – EDD STATON]

In Florida?? Wow, that’s kinda tough. I’ll try to see if the city has one online. I just get free ones from the ITur office on Parque Calderon when ours wears out.

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