LIVING IN CUENCA

March 3, just a week ago, I received my 12-IX 180-day non-immigrant visa. And not a moment too soon, since I received a 90 day tourist visa the day arrived in Ecuador on December 3, 2014. The visa extension buys me time while obtaining permanency here in Ecuador as a Pensioner. 

To extend my visa, I pretty much followed the guidelines given by other bloggers who had succeeded in doing so. The best blog I found was http://roamaholic.com/tourist-visa-ecuador/. In this blog the author explains the things she did to obtain the 12-IX 180-day non-immigrant visa. She obtained her visa through Manta's immigration office. Some things were different for me when I applied in the Cuenca office.

 I spent about a day doing the following things:
1. Bought a file folder for 25 Cents. 
2. Printed out and filled in the visa application on this website, http://cancilleria.gob.ec
3. Typed out a letter in Spanish to the Foreign Minister stating my reasons for wanting the 12-IX 180 day non-immigrant visa. The letter included my passport number. 
4. Printed out a photo copy of my passport, both a copy of the page with my photo and a copy with the date of entry into Ecuador stamped onto it. 
5. Went to a photo place and had passport photos made of myself. I brought one of the photos to the immigration office, and it was affixed to my extended visa application. 
6. Printed out a bank statement and a current bank balance, stating I had $2000 in the bank. Both the bank statement and my current bank balance as of the day I first applied for the extended Visa (February 11, 2014) had my name printed on top. I did not translate the bank statement into Spanish as recommended by some bloggers, and this was not a problem. 
7. Printed out an itinerary from an airlines, saying that I planned to leave Ecuador the first week of August. While this was recommended by other bloggers, the Cuenca immigration did not seem to be concerned whether I had an exit plan. 
8. Obtained a signed migratory movement document from the Immigration police in Migración off of Gran Colombia in Cuenca, mandatory in Cuenca's immigration office but not in other immigration offices that I know of. 

I arrived at Cuenca's Immigration office early in the morning (about 7 am) on a Tuesday. I was among the first several people in line, and was the first one to see the Immigration officer dealing (employees started seeing people about 9 am) with the 12-IX 180-day non immigrant visa.  

Unfortunately, my experience with Cuenca's Immigration personnel was really rough. The employee I met with, Christina Cordova, was a woman in her late 20's yet seemed to have the emotional maturity of a 12 year old. She was incredibly hostile and condescending. I attempted to appease her by asking for her help, please (in Spanish) and soon resorted to asking to speak with her supervisor (I made this request in Spanish as well). That was when Christina began to demonstrate a modicum of respect and accepted my 12-IX visa application, giving me a return date of February 23 to complete it.

I had not counted on the days off government employees received during Carnival, and the delay that this would cause in obtaining my extended visa. It's a good thing I got the ball rolling by appearing at Immigration more than 2 weeks before the expiration date of my tourist visa.  When I returned to the Immigration office on February 23, Ecuador's Immigration computer system was down. I was given another return date, March 3, to obtain the12-IX 180 day non-immigrant visa. At that time, I paid (a whopping!) $239 for the visa, and the visa stamp was appended to my Passport. Success!

I will mention here that the 12-IX 180 day visa extension I received was actually for 150 days, due to Christina Cordova's saying that my bank account showed $2000 rather than the requisite $2200 required (according to an Ecuadorian law she said just passed in January). For the supposed lack of $200 shown in my checking account, she chose to penalize me the month. Since I will obtain permanency prior to August, I wasn't concerned with the so-called month's penalty. 

The terrible experience with the young immigration employee resulted in my decision to hire Maité Durán, a well- known Ecuadorian facilitator, in this process. Previously I'd thought I could obtain Permanency here in Ecuador on my own, as my Spanish is fairly good. However, after one morning in Cuenca's Immigration office, I realized I was too old and had jumped through too many hoops in life to go through the ordeal of obtaining the Pensioner's Visa on my own. I emailed Maité Durán, and she followed up with a personal phone call, which was incredibly wise. I learned as a psychotherapist the importance of returning client calls as soon as possible with individuals requesting therapy. There is nothing as compelling as pain when it comes to making a sale to a potential client. The day that Maité called me, which was the same day I went to Cuenca's immigration office, I was in severe pain!

Maité Durán made an appointment to see me the next morning. By the end of that meeting I had signed a contract, and made a payment to Maité for her services. She was brilliant as a sales person, telling me that I was never going to be alone, and that her office would walk me through the whole process of becoming an Ecuadorian resident. She explained the costs of having documents mailed to Ecuador, and the costs for apostiling (a process like notarizing except that it involves signatures by Government officials) documents in a such way that I realized her fee, which had previously seemed exorbitant ($1440), included all of these costs, so was really not as high as it seemed. 

That day one of her employees, Johanna, went with me to the police department to have my finger prints taken, and they were sent to the FBI office in Washington DC. The following week Johanna, who was incredibly courteous,  took me to an attorney's office where I assigned Power of Attorney to Maite's office so that they could handle my documents for a federal and state crime check, and so on. 

I downloaded a letter from the Social Security Administration, verifying that the amount of Social Security I receive every month qualifies me to become an Ecuadorian resident. That letter was sent to Maite's sister, in Connecticut, who will have the letter apostiled by the Ecuadorian Embassy in the US. That document will be returned to Maite's office in Ecuador. 

Maite has everything streamlined so that I should receive my Pensioner's Visa and Cedula by May (without having to go to the US)! Below is a photo of Maité, who was featured in the first issue of a new Cuenca publication, Zero: Living with Lattitude.

From reading the article about her in this magazine, I learned that Maité is not from an upper class Ecuadorian family.  Rather, she came up the hard way, from an impoverished family, and as a young person worked to support family members through college. She has certainly always treated me with respect, and I've appreciated her humility and fairness. For example, she is completely open to clients paying her fees over time rather than all at once. 

Next are photos of Maité's Gringo Visas office, of the employees in her office I've worked with. The lovely Johanna is on the left in the photo I'm in, and Stephanie is on the right. Jesús, the young Attorney working in Maité's office, is in the following photo.

 Below are photos taken at the Cuenca Immigration Office, including one taken of Jesús, who went with me to the office. The irony is that he sat in the waiting room the whole time I was in the office with Ms. Christina Cordova, during the formalization of my 180 day non-immigration visa. Maité authorized Jesús to go with me, as a matter of courtesy, knowing I had been shook up during my previous visit to immigration. Yet I still handled the whole process by myself!

Jesús told me that immigration employees do not like attorneys accompanying visa applicants in their offices. Funny thing, I thought the whole point of hiring an attorney was to have support while dealing with immigration employees. Oh well, I appreciated getting to know a little about Jesús, and enjoyed his company while we were in the cab on the way to the office.

 Below is the actual waiting room in Cuenca's Immigration office.

Moving right along, I wanted to post some photos of the apartment in which I am now staying, and explain a little how I got here. After house sitting for my friend Karla, I moved to an inexpensive hostel nearby. It was such a depressing hostel experience after having stayed in Karla's luxurious apartment! I called up a young woman named Pamela, who leads classes I've participated in through Cuenca Talk and Learn, an organization devoted to native Spanish speakers helping native English learn to speak Spanish and vice-versa. I asked Pamela for help locating a room in an Ecuadorian owned accommodation that I could afford. Pamela came up with a great place for me, through a personal family friend. What a miracle! More about this soon! Below are photos of Pamela and others in her organization, as well as a photo of the Cuenca Talk and Learn Building. 

 Below, Pamela is teaching a class that I am taking.

Several days after my phone call to Pamela, I was moving into the hostel where I am living now. The rent for my place is $200 month! I am just a few doors down from Karla's apartment, on Begnino Malo, in the heart of El Centro. I LOVE being here. Being here reminds me of my years living in the French Quarter of New Orleans. The person who lived in the corner unit previously had been here two years. He moved out on March 1, the day I moved in!

The following are photos of the beautiful Ecuadorian family who own this hostel. It's a good thing I speak Spanish fairly well (which Pamela knew before referring me here), because no one in this family speaks English. They were right here on the very day I moved in, carrying in a mattress and bedding, as well as other furniture. They also hung a few pieces of art on my wall. What a home-warming party!

Above is the owner of this hostel, Rómulo. This hostel is called La Posada. Rómulo and his wife's brother are positioning a piece of art before drilling a hole in the wall in which to place a nail from which the art will hang.

Next is a photo of Freddie, Pamela's friend and the owner's son. Freddie manages the rooms at La Posada. Freddie is seen carrying a nightstand up to the loft, where my bed is located.

 Freddie's mother, Mercedes, is seen below. She is a very dignified and resourceful woman, and seems to be the one who makes all of the decisions around here.

Below is another photo of Rómulo, Freddie's father. He inherited this building from his father, and the floors as well as well as many of its features remain the same as they did a hundred years ago. As you can see, the floors are exquisite!

Next are photos of this apartment.

Below is my bedroom and wardrobe, consisting of three outfits (the same clothes I've been wearing every day since December!). I enjoy living simply these days. The blankets and sheets on my bed are fabulous. And the mattress feels great!

My little place is rather zen-like, I admit, since I have only the bare rudiments of furnishings. My meditation practice is getting a great boost, since I have so few distractions! The sound of traffic doesn't even bother me all that much, even though I'm on a very busy street corner. I just close the windows and shutters at the end of the day, and tuck myself into bed upstairs. I sleep very well here, even if I miss having a window by my bedside. Whenever I close my windows and shutters (which I tend to do during periods of heavier traffic), I hardly hear a thing. 

I should add that the previous tenant had a refrigerator and stove burners in this apartment, yet I am electing to use the shared kitchen facilities available here at La Posada. I make my own coffee in the mornings, and keep items in the shared refrigerator.  I eat out a lot, which is quite affordable here. For the time being I have no intention of buying my own appliances. I did all of that in the Dominican Republic, only to turn around less than 2 years later and sell everything. I don't want to go through all of that over again.  I'd rather live like a Gypsy for now!

I'll come back to the amazing environment in which I've found myself shortly, yet want to post some other photos from activities I've been involved with here in Cuenca. 

Expatriates in Cuenca are very busy in writer's support groups, among other activities. I've already met with several writer's groups. Below are some photos taken of a luncheon event at the Magnolia Cafe. It was sponsored by a group called WOW, or Writing Our World, and Donna McNicol was the organizer. The participants that day included published writers, editors, bloggers, stand-up comedians-- all sorts of amazing and accomplished people. I really enjoyed myself.

Another really terrific event in which I participated recently was a tasting at Cuenca's popular Nectar, an organic foods supplier. Below is a photo of Tanya, one of the founding members of Nectar. And next are photos of the foods available for tasting, as well as a few of the participants enjoying the food that day. There were at least 100 people there that day.

I'll mention here that I finally have landed in a spiritual support group, here in Cuenca, and meet weekly with  other followers of Non-duality teachers. One of the members of the group, Sue, is on the left in the above photo. We've been following a course developed by Betinho Massaro,who lives in Boulder, Colorado. I've been valuing his teachings, as well as our group's weekly meditation practice and discussion. It seems that for me there have been more opportunities spiritually and socially then there were the last few years I lived in northern California, even if Adyashanti and other Advaita Vedanta teachers were there. Of course, living for two years in the Dominican Republic was pretty lonely, so I am really appreciating Cuenca.

Cuenca has a terrific chorale, and I am in this group. We get together weekly and have a concert coming up in April. I haven't taken any photos of this group yet. I am loving the songs and the opportunity to sing together with others. The group consists mostly of Gringos, although several Ecuadorians participate. 

What are Cuenca's shortcomings? It just seems like it is getting  expensive to live here, although my Spanish skills have enabled me to find my own way, and my way is less expensive! A downside of living in Cuenca is that many Americans and Canadians living here spend a great deal to themselves, speak no Spanish and have never lived elsewhere in Latin America. They seem much more conventional than I am. 

Yet there are people here from throughout North America that bring amazing talent to Cuenca. For example, many of the singers in the chorale I participate in have advanced degrees in music, and play instruments as well as being talented singers. Being in Cuenca is like living in the middle of an incredible cultural Renaissance. 

Next I want to include some photos of visitors to Cuenca with whom I had a grand time. Below are photos of Kawai and Dolf, a young couple from the Netherlands I met in Canoa. They were here in Cuenca for a week and we spent nearly every day of their visit together. You can see my face is sunburned from all of the time we spent out of doors. After all, the altitude in Cuenca is quite high!

Dolf and Kawai were terrific companions and I miss them! We keep in touch electronically, and they are in Peru right now. They're heading for Iquitos. I want to hear all about it, since I didn't go there. 

Other visitors to Cuenca who became dear friends are Patti and Davis, from Santa Rosa.  Patti and Davis also lived in Hawaii. We had much in common, because I've lived in Santa Rosa and Hawaii. These gentle souls have traveled throughout the world. They regaled me one whole afternoon with stories of their time in Europe. They are involved with an organization of travelers, named Servas, who host one another in their homes. Patti and Davis authored an article in their newsletter. Their article is available at http://usservas.org/pdfs/Winter2011Newsletter.pdf

It was really fun to walk to Restaurante Paraiso in the San Blas area of El Centro with Patti and Davis (they always go to vegetarian restaurants) one Sunday night. Seems like I noticed so many beautiful buildings that I hadn't really looked at previously. Being with Patti and Davis helped! Also, I enjoyed visiting them in the rentals they found in Cuenca through Air B&B. They are Air B&B hosts in Santa Rosa, and invited me to come and visit them if I ever go to the SF Bay Area for a visit!

Last weekend I spent the day going to the nearby town of Paute. I spent a fabulous day traveling on my own, which was great, because I have really been missing my traveling days. I had lunch at Paute's central market. No other Gringos were in sight. What a delightful experience! There are other towns nearby that I can reach easily by taking public transportation. I'll go to a different town every week, and satisfy my needs for traveling while saving money and creating a life here in Cuenca. 

The above photos were taken after passing Paute. I got off the bus when I realized I had missed my destination! I enjoyed myself though, because the country side was so beautiful. A kind woman at a roadside cafeteria flagged down a bus going back to Paute for me. Below is the bus I took to return to Paute. I took the photo after arrival in the center of town. 

Below are photos taken at Sunday's Mercado Central in Paute.

Below is the lunch counter where I ate that day for $1.50. I enjoyed a full plate of chicken, beans, potatoes and rice in a garlic sauce.

I bought a Bougainvillea and carried it on the bus back to Cuenca. Now it's in a pot on my balcony! Below is a photo of Paute's Central Park. 

Next I am seated, waiting for the bus back to Cuenca from Paute, with my Bougainvillea plant. And after that is a photo of the bus I went on. That bus was full! I was given a seat, however, because of my white hair. I slept pretty much the whole way back to Cuenca.

Below are photos of the building I am staying in and the surrounding area, as promised earlier in this update. The next several photos were taken from my balcony. 

 Below, the potted bougainvillea can be seen from my balcony.

 Next is an indigenous woman in traditional clothing walking by the yogurt shop beneath my balcony.

And the following are photographs of the restaurant, El Mesón Español, located on the floor my hostel. The chef is the grand- daughter of the hostel's owner (Rómulo), and studied in Spain. She also married a man from Spain. The restaurant is full of Ecuadorians, as well as Americans, every day except for Sunday, when it is closed. It's like having a big party going on all of the time, right where I live. I enjoy eating at the restaurant several times a week. Freddie keeps all of the plants above the restaurant well nourished and beautiful. By the way, the walls are so thick here that I don't hear anything going on in the restaurant unless I open the door.

I'll end this blog with a photo of the ticket I bought today to see Alejandro Fernández in concert here in Cuenca. He performed in Santo Domingo before I left the Dominican Republic and I had so much wanted to go see his show, yet missed it.  He has an enormous following in the Dominican Republic, and he has a huge base here in Ecuador as well. Vicente Fernández is the iconic Mexican musician hailing from Guadalajara who is father to Alejandro. Both are known for their rancheros and mariachi style music. Alejandro's style is particularly romantic. 

Tickets to see Alejandro Fernández were expensive in the DR, and they are expensive here too. Especially when recalling that I saw Marc Anthony, Marcos Antonio Solis and Cheyenne all together at the Olympic Stadium in Santo Domingo for just $8. Today I paid a hefty $35 to see Alejandro Fernández, which is really steep for Ecuador. Still, I'll remember this show forever!

It's so exciting to be going to the Alejandro Fernández Confidencias (Confessions) World Tour--it's the same tour that came to Santo Domingo only I am going, now that I am in Cuenca. The best part about being in the audience will be that everyone will know every single word to all of the songs. I have to spend the next few days watching Alejandro Fernández on YouTube, committing his best- known songs to memory so that I can sing along too.

So that's all for now, and I do appreciate my readers for reviewing my blog update and as well as looking at all of the photos posted. I have always been regular about posting once a month, yet lately have considered posting more frequently. In the coming months I may do so. Until then, I hope you are enjoying the Spring. Some of you may consider coming to visit Ecuador this year!