tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8694815211297091254.post7270580110820336950..comments2024-02-05T01:39:35.706-08:00Comments on Pachamama Spectrum of Treasures: Comparison of Coastal & Sierra living in EcuadorErnie - Deborah Millardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03712207710751932794noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8694815211297091254.post-36484422055776939322015-04-15T16:52:42.063-07:002015-04-15T16:52:42.063-07:00Thank you for your appreciative comments on the in...Thank you for your appreciative comments on the information value and our website presentation, we are very glad you have enjoyed. You are absolutely correct in that every individual's experiences and objectives will differ. We very much enjoyed our time in Bahia and exploring the coast, and still have many friends there - but it was time for a change.<br />Currently we are aware of 3 couples that have left Cuenca and now reside in Bahia and a dozen that have left Bahia and now reside in Cuenca. <br />Your concern about air and noise pollution from traffic would certainly be valid at times in the centro historic district. We are right on the Tomebamba lineal park so not a concern for us. Your comment on cycling is interesting we also enjoy cycling - on the coast is was usually done early morning or late afternoon to avoid the pavement heat. It is wonderful here to have over 35 kilometres of level bicycle trails through natural parkland along the river. The city' has a very innovative program that provides 1,000 free bicycles every Sunday morning to anyone who is interested. <br /><br />We would welcome a continued dialogue as our life experiences unfold in different directions. Our life for the previous six years was in Bahia for which the website content is very rich. Perhaps you would be interested in providing guest articles and updates on your new residence, we would welcome that. You have our e-mail contact address should you be interested in pursuing further - your comment was anonymous so we have no way of contacting you.Ernie - Deborah Millardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03712207710751932794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8694815211297091254.post-65070721706302455332015-04-15T08:43:08.132-07:002015-04-15T08:43:08.132-07:00Hello Deborah and Ernie, I have enjoyed your webs...Hello Deborah and Ernie, I have enjoyed your website immensely. You have a lot of wonderful information and the site itself is visually one of the most pleasing I have seen. I found your article about Cuenca vs Bahia interesting because my husband and I have just left Cuenca to move to Bahia. We left Cuenca for many reasons one of which was the amount of traffic and the air and noise pollution that the cars, buses and motorcycles produce. You will notice that the many of the locals put scarves over their faces as they walk in town so that don't breathe in the smoke. Each of us have experiences that we are seeking that probably motivate us to live in different places. I would love to be able to have a dialogue with you about your ongoing experience of Cuenca and our experience of Bahia so we can compare experiences. It sounds like you had some negative experiences that colored your life here. <br /><br />My observation has been that the sad fact is that there is crime everywhere and the truth is that there have been home invasions and people robbed at knife and gunpoint in Cuenca. In fact, there were 2 fatal shootings in Cuenca in the past couple of weeks involving Ecuadorians. <br /><br />Right now we love the warm weather in Bahia, the small town atmosphere, the abundance of food and the fact that we can be outside everyday, especially in the evening without being cold or having to deal with the rain that we experienced in Cuenca. Here we are able to ride our bikes safely on the streets and the terrain is mostly level so it is very easy and very enjoyable. Just trying to cross the street in Cuenca is difficult, riding a bike on the street is not something I would ever do there. So, the air quality here and the safety of travel on foot and by bicycle, and the warmer weather are three factors that we find pluses over life in Cuenca.<br /><br /> I agree with Bobnrox's comments that the coast is in need of more investments to create more educational and employment opportunities for the people here. As you pointed out in your article on the history of Bahia, there has been a lack of opportunities since the port closed, the shrimp farms suffered losses due to the illness that killed off the shrimp, and of course due to financial losses from the earthquake and floods. It is possible that Bahia will become a more thriving place as time goes on. <br /><br />So, I hope we can continue the dialogue about each of our experiences in our new chosen home embracing the positives and the challenges with open minds. Enjoy your new adventure! <br /><br />Salud<br /><br /><br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8694815211297091254.post-36992315690545813752015-04-12T14:45:06.866-07:002015-04-12T14:45:06.866-07:00Hi Bob & Roxanne, thank you for your candid c...Hi Bob & Roxanne, thank you for your candid comments. We are very sorry you found our comparison to be disparaging to living at the coast. We did preface our article indicating " Other's living experiences may differ, and certainly no two areas are alike. Our life at the coast in Bahia de Caraquez was a wonderful chapter in our life's adventure." I am not sure we have indicated vastly different experiences - our experiences in Bahia were somewhat different from yours in Manglaralto, perhaps primarily due to the significant differences in " gringo populations " and the resulting exposures to the ineffective judicial system. Also the high rates of unemployment on the coast are being used by the gringos in our area to take advantage, and provide employment for less than minimum wages. <br /><br />The most significant mis-understanding you raise is regarding our local Ecuadorian community where the only comment we made was they have a " laid back attitude. " We absolutely agree that they work hard for very little reward - so do the indigenous in the Sierra however the laid back attitude is a very common observation when compared to the indigenous in the Sierra who take pride in their homes and do not seem to stop even once their work day is finished. Please don't misunderstand we left behind many good local friends who were extremely helpful, loving, and caring in Bahia de Caraquez. <br /><br />You are very lucky as Manglaralto must be one of the few coastal locations that is insect and reptile free ! <br /><br />You are right we will not experience lush plants and greenery in a condo, however neither did we on the coast where we worked extremely hard to build the clay / sand soil and struggled with a constant shortage of water ! <br /><br />Perhaps you should more carefully re-read our article as we started by saying our observations of Cuenca may change over time. <br /><br />You also have living experiences in both locations and may wish to objectively make a similar comparison for the many folks who have never experienced life in a " Latin American " country and are relocating sight unseen based on their internet research !<br />Ernie - Deborah Millardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03712207710751932794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8694815211297091254.post-55088967705059182972015-04-10T19:51:45.990-07:002015-04-10T19:51:45.990-07:00Obviously, your experience living on the Coast of ...Obviously, your experience living on the Coast of Ecuador is vastly different than ours! We have lived here in the small village of Manglaralto for 7.5 years and have loved every minute of it. The Ecuadorian community is loving and will do anything to help us and other ex-pats. Our property is full of lush plants and green grass--we don't see you experiencing that in a condo.<br />We do not have mosquitoes or any of the other "critters" you describe.<br />Your description of Coastal fishermen is appalling! We have never seen men work so hard for so little. Often, they spend five hours of exhausting labor for as little as a bag of fish, at the end of their day.<br />The wonderful Ecuadorean families, that we live among, are hard working and would rather work for no pay than have no work at all.<br />The Coastal communities would love to have better educational opportunities and medical care. The fact that the Coast is not receiving its fair share of money to support these services, is no fault of theirs.<br />Sure, there is crime at the Coast, as there is in every city in Ecuador and in the US. The idea, reported by Fowler, that there have been only two home invasions in Cuenca in five years is total bunk! Many more than these have been reported in various blogs in much less than five years.<br />Many, many of the expats that we know at the Coast speak passable to fluent Spanish, and do not need the assistance of a bi-lingual helper.<br />It would have been better for you to wait until you had lived in Cuenca longer than six months before writing such a disparaging commentary--or even better, never to have written it at all!bobnroxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13832064297520124125noreply@blogger.com