I am not new to this group, and never really did any sort of introduction, have been urged to do intro in some other forums & groups recently, and figured I would post it here as well.
I am here to learn a well rounded view of all of EC, and share what lil I can input.
..after right at 45 yrs as an Atlanta, GA Native, I came to EC SEP 2008. I rent a lil hut and hang my hat & tag my truck in the North Quito Suburbs, right smack in between Pomasqui & San Antonio de Pichincha. I can walk to the Middle of the World Park - Monument just a lil N. of me.
---My current Excuses for not all ready living on the coast---
I try to get down to the coast every month or two. My EC. G/F Andrea lived in Manta for 4 yrs. 2007-2011, but towards the end she began to get mugged & robbed w/ regularity and her Mom & Dad insisted she return home to the familiarity of Cumbaya.
So we have been back together playing house & shop full time here in N. Quito for right at 2 yrs and she deeply misses and mourns for the warmer coastal life she once had. To top it all off I am a "Waterhead - Dreamer - Pisces" and a NAUI "open water certified diver" I just turned 50 last month. I love big bodies of water, Pacific Ocean and sand in between my toes...and my biological clock is a ticking...
..but I and Andrea are a good lil ways out from retirement just yet, to keep the lights on here at MoW I have a small lil I-net bus. of selling - exporting heavy equipment out of the SE USA into Latin America & globally--(but not EC) Therefore I need a fast fast fast - steady & reliable I-net service provider-(by EC standards)
With 2 VOIP Tel. #'s based out of ATL. a few desk top PC's and a few laptops all up and going w/ a multitude of windows opened up - running LogMeIn & Virtual Private Networks, live streaming some good ole Southern classic rock, and clients or friends drop by and casually log onto the wifi hawging up all the bandwidth,...
..and there I am in the middle of putting a deal together on skype video conference or VOIP, - I have to have a crystal clear connection w/ no interuption, no choppy, dropped or missed calls from another time zone half way round the world, or I lose a deal & a commission.
I really can't afford to be losing power w/ regularity either at this time. Even w/ all the voltage regulators, surge protectors & battery back ups, it is still hard on the equipment.
I have been through 4 of the major I-net service providers in the Capitol City Of EC in Quito, and finally have a fiber optic ISP that does very well for the past 2 yrs, if I moved residence 10 km more N. away from the city or 10 km E. or W. I would be outside of there service coverage.: DnLd: 9.95 UpLd: 8.06 Ping: 31.
http://www.speedtest.net/result/2640447698.png
...and to top it all off back in FEB 2010 I moved my 66 & 72yr old Aunt & Uncle down here. They have settled in Cotacachi and I need to be reasonably close by for them. ..and I will note, having family down here makes EC really feel more like home better than ever.
..so what Andrea and I are thinking about doing is going in with another couple and get a lil lot on the coast somewhere a hop & a skip up & away from the action & hot spots, (for economical reasons) to the North most likely, (but not ruling out no part of the 1,300 miles of shore line) put us a wide open bamboo & straw cabana / gazebo right smack in the middle of the lil half a hectare or there abouts and bring our gear & hammocks kinda like camping...and in the future try to put a real lil casita on it.
..and meantime we will have the opportunity for a lil weekend get away place of our own, as long as it is not on one of the 13 major national Holidays or one of the 24 provincial Holiday weekends. As far as commuting to the coast from Quito I find it to be a lot less traffic on a non holiday.
----well thats our excuses for now, and our dreams for the future---
All the best!
Jack & Andrea,
see photos Ecuador: http://JourneymanJack.com/
re-Blogs: http://journeymanjackinecuador.blogspot.com/
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