Wednesday, Jan 13, 2016

I woke up feeling refreshed. I walked out into the kitchen, looked out the balcony windows and smiled at being in a new place with new opportunities and experiences ahead. I looked out over the ocean and couldn’t believe that this is my view. I sat on the balcony drinking my coffee and enjoyed the refreshing ocean breeze move over my skin. Maybe living and retiring in Ecuador is going to be exactly everything I hoped.

We continued to unpack for a bit, and as our stomachs started to complain, we headed out only a few blocks away to Congo Bongo for breakfast. Since our internet is still down at the condo, we were excited that the restaurant had wifi and we could check in with relatives and friends while waiting for our meal to arrive. Breakfast was delicious! Eggs, potatoes, sausage, bacon, coffee, and freshly made papaya juice. I do know that at least the food is great when people try and find their retirement paradise in Ecuador!

We needed to get food and supplies for our place and decided to take a taxi right from the restaurant to the supermarket. It was only a couple of miles and costs $1. I think that was a deal!

The big grocery store in Bahia is called Mi Comisarito and it looks about like any grocery store in the States. It was a lesson in patience trying to figure out what the Spanish said. For instance the Spanish word for butter is not even close to the English word. So as we looked at the products in the cooler we had to figure out is this butter or margarine. Thank goodness for Google Translate App. We could type in butter and get the spanish name for it. It went on like this for quite awhile.

Normally I would be getting tense and uptight because grocery shopping was taking so long. Today I didn’t. It was another adventure, another new experience, and I gave myself permission for it to be whatever it was going to be. Spent $211 on supplies. This included a plastic floor fan for $45. I think in the states we could get it for under $20.

We made a pasta dinner using our recent grocery purchases, and added spices we brought with us. Easton and I did the cooking while Heidi finished unpacking and finding places for the things we brought. We all sat at our dining table and enjoyed a pleasant, peaceful, home cooked meal together. I think I am going to get used to this retirement in Ecuador.

Check in tomorrow for more thoughts from Todd Talk in Ecuador!