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Hi John, email customs broker Sandra Baquero: Sandy_Baquero@hotmail.com and ask her about it. She’s good at answering questions. Or email Tripp Martin (amistadrealty1@gmail.com) in Bahia de Caraquez — that’s how he arrived in Ecuador and he may have some answers for you.

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Keith, apparently the article hasn’t run in the mag yet. I’ll see what I can rustle up and get on the forum for you. In the meantime, I’d suggest you email Mike Sager who owns a home in Playa: Mike Sager <redwulf3@juno.com>. He sells real estate along the coast and his website has some good examples on it: http://www.ecuadorhomesales.com — please tell him I said hello.

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I see Denver has emailed you. Also, it occurs to me that you might try emailing our physician in Quito and ask him about volunteer opportunities. His name is Dr Alvaro Dávalos and his email address is adavalosp@ecnet.ec.

Email address for my husband’s vitreoretinologist is Dr Gustavo Alvira: gustavoalvira@netlife.ec — he might also be able to help.

You might also try contacting:
Dr Juan Moreno
Centro Oftamologico
Santa Maria 454 y Amazonas
Tel: 252-7300/223-8905/223-4844

I’ll see if I can get an email address for him.

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Hi Edward, there are specialists at Hospital Metropolitano that treat this. One is Dr. Gustavo Alvira, Another is Dr. jose Pitarque. They inject Avastin and it costs about $500 per injection, as opposed to $2500 per injection in the US.

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Hi Robert, all the presentations are in English.

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Hi Phil, I’ve asked a couple of our editors (not sure which one Denver worked with) to send your note on to Denver — so hope you will hear from him soon!

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Hi Keith, I was there not too long ago and just wrote an article for IL magazine about the coast. I’ll try to get it posted here on EI…

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In older buildings you might need a 3:2 prong adapter, that’s about it. Life is good in Ecuador.:)

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Hi Gretchen, the book is applicable to anyone, no matter where they choose to live. We specifically wrote it to offer tips to any expats anywhere. There is advice about saving money (no matter where you live) and communicating with family back home… about how to strategize your bank accounts and taxes… and a lot more. Basically, it’s everything we wish we had known 13 years ago. I hope it helps you…

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Hi Philip, what kind of contact are you looking for? And where? I’d suggest that you really can’t start any volunteer activities until you actually live in Ecuador. Once you do, you’ll find plenty of opportunity to get involved. And I’m not sure about the article you’ve referenced. If you could send me a link to that, I’d be happy to try to help.

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Edward, try Google translate…

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My cards are regular old credit cards, too. I have an American Express platinum card (which I find well worth its stiff annual fee) and a Capital One visa card. I’ve never had a problem using these overseas. I have had some issues with my ATM card not being accepted by some banks/machines but I think that’s a network issue more than anything. One place to compare and contrast the features of various cards is http://www.creditcards.com.

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Edward, please don’t expect anything in Ecuador to be like it is in the US — that’s just not a good thing to do. Pop into whatever the airline office you’re booked on and ask them to change the ticket for you. Depending on the price you may come out ahead.

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I’d also suggest the bus or a taxi (which won’t be cheap) but which you can arrange once you are there.

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Lawrence, if you’re thinking about one of these as a place to live, my opinion is only that — my opinion. Yours is what matters. I live in Cotacachi and I love it there. It’s a small, quiet, walkable town. Otavalo is about twice as big. As Ecuador’s 2nd-largest tourist destination, it gets its fair share of tourists. It offers a bit more in terms of shopping and medical services. (But for anything serious, you’d go to Ibarra or Quito.) Water, electricity, phone, internet, DirectV are all equally available in both Otavalo and Cotacachi. It really depends on if you are looking for small village life or larger medium-size city life. You’ll find more expats in Cotacachi for what that’s worth…

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