Simón Bolívar

Many people, even if they have heard of the name Simón Bolívar, will not know much of him. I did not either, until recently. In order to improve my Spanish and understand the nuances of Latin America, I tried to watch some Latin America based movies recently.  One of them was The Liberator. (Picture above is a snapshot from the movie). It is based on the life of Simón Bolívar. I read that this movie was the movie that six countries in Latin America had been waiting to see. So, what's so special about Simón Bolívar? Well apparently, this dude "fought over 100 battles against the Spanish Empire in South America. He rode over 70,000 miles on horseback. His military campaigns covered twice the territory of Alexander the Great, But his army never conquered – it liberated" . That’s why he got to be known as the Liberator.

Since, I am also planning on visiting/staying in Medellin, Colombia I also watched Escobar: Paradise Lost. It is not entirely a true story of Pablo Escobar. For some reason, they decided to revolve the movie around a fictional character.

UPDATE: This post ends my posts on Ecuador. Moving forward, I will be posting using Wordpress that allows you to sign up with your e-mail so that you are automatically notified each time there is a new post. The link to the new site:  https://thehappyminimalist.wordpress.com/

MY APARTMENT for now

I have uplaoded a video taken with my camera phone. I get to see both the sunrise and sunset from the apartment.

Click here to view the video of the apartment

BUS RIDE ALONG THE CURVY COAST

I had always wanted to live in a place with a view & sound of the ocean. I found such a place in Olón . It is nice to be greeted by the waves of the ocean when you enter your room. It is even nicer to be lulled to sleep with the sound of waves and wake up to its sound as well.  Olón was my first stop along my coastal trip – which has now landed me in Bahía de Caráquez. I did not do the entire ~ 200 km/ 124 miles in one stretch. I stopped along the way to check out some of these towns along the coast. 

Olón is the one with the red dot. Virtually all of these places are under developed by Western standards. But of all the places along the coast that I stopped, I liked Bahía de Caráquez the best. So, I have just arranged to rent a penthouse with a view of the Pacific Ocean for two weeks. All the pictures that I have taken of this place with my phone's camera did not do justice to what you actually see. So, below is a picture from Wikipedia on  Bahía de Caráquez.

If any of you feel like making a trip here –  you will enjoy free lodging besides the view J

OFF TO THE COAST

Picture above taken during a morning walk.

Among the “interesting people” that I got to meet while here is Buddy Winston. He is a former staff writer for THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO. An American couple who recently had bought a property in Vilcabamba invited a few of us to their place. On the way back home, I shared a cab with Buddy and we had some good laughs with some of Seinfeld jokes. Buddy is among the several Americans who have relocated to Ecuador. Apparently, Matt Monarch, CEO of The Raw Food World lives in Vicabamba. Besides Americans, the next largest group here appears to be the Germans.

Tonight I’ll be taking an overnight bus to Olón – a beach town. After about 1.5 months in Vilcabamba, it is time to explore other parts of Ecuador.

COST OF LIVING - PART 2

Someone asked me via e-mail what is the typical food here. I hope the above gives an idea. Plus the earlier post on cost of living also provides an idea on some of the foods that are found here. With globalization, one can almost find anything anywhere. 

I have lived in Vilcabamba for more than a month now and hence have a better sense of what my monthly cost of living here is. It is 30% of what it was in Santa Clara.  That is considering that I had some unexpected onetime costs while here.  A typical lunch as shown in the picture above which consists of soup, rice with meat and vegetables and a drink will cost US$3 (US$ is used in Ecuador).

There is a laboratory here that is able to do all kinds of blood tests, poop tests etc. I was actually impressed that they were able to do that given that Vilcabamba is such a small town.  In fact, when I was in Singapore the last time, I wanted to do a fasting insulin test and the doctor told me (in a condescending manner) – “There is no such thing as fasting insulin test. There is only fasting glucose test”.  Of course you can get this and others tests that I am looking for in the US. But they cost more. If a cost of a test is $100 in the US – it is $20 here. Yes, medical tests costs based on the specific tests that I am looking for are 20% of that of the US. In any case, I did some of these tests since I have not done them before.  Some of the results are ready that very afternoon and the others I have to wait three days. I am positively surprised by the results I have received so far. They are not just good. They are exceptionally good. :)

UNWRITTEN LAWS 

My landlord lent me a book: UNWRITTEN LAWS - THE UNOFFICIAL RULES OF LIFE by Hugh Rawson

It contains laws from various famous people – some of which many of us are already familiar with. Below are some that I was unfamiliar with that I think is worth sharing:

It is easy to be brave from a safe distance.

Almost anything is easier to get into than out of. The easier it is to do, the harder it is to change. It is easier to take apart than it is to put together. Once the toothpaste is out of the tube it’s going to be very tough to get it back in.

Necessity knows no law.

A single man in possession of good fortune must be in want of a wife.

A falling body always rolls to the most inaccessible spot.

As scarce as truth is, the supply has always been excess of demand.

The hottest places in hell are reserved for those who, in times of great moral crisis, maintain their neutrality.

The efforts we make to escape from our destiny only serve to lead us into it. 

The lucky person passes for a genius.

Don’t ask a barber if you need a haircut.

If you have enough meetings over a long enough period of time, the meetings become more important than the problem the meetings were intended to solve.

The usefulness of any meeting is inversely proportionate to the size of the group.

When people are free to do as they please, they usually imitate each other.

It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data.

Friends may come and go but enemies accumulate.

90% percent of our lawyers serve 10% of our people.

Those who don't study the past will repeat its errors. Those who do will find other ways to err!

The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man.

Look around the table. If you don't see a sucker, get up, because you're the sucker.

The higher a monkey climbs, the more you can see of its ass.

In matters of conscience, the law of the majority has no place.

If a dog jumps into your lap, it is because he is fond of you; but if a cat does the same thing, it is because your lap is warmer.

When life gives you bitter chocolate make hot chocolate

When I was working at HP, one of the partners I worked with gave me a white shirt. Unfortunately, one day my pen leaked and stained the pocket beyond redemption. At that time I also had T-shirt that had a very nice motif but the color of the T-shirt really did not go well with my skin color. So, when I was in Mexico, I found a tailor and with my limited Spanish was able to tell her to stitch the two together such that it ended up with a unique combination that one will not find anywhere. I did not let either the stained shirt or T-shirt go to waste. Before leaving for Ecuador, I donated it to the Goodwill store.

Back in California, I have tried 99% dark chocolate. I had searched high and low for 100% chocolate but have not been successful till now – here in Vilcabamba. Organic 100% Raw Chocolate is bitter. I was wondering how I was going to finish it. Yesterday, at the Farmer’s market I bought the ginger soda, which Adrienne had made for me at my request. It was however a bit too sweet for me. Hmm! What should I do? Well, I boiled some water and poured it over some of my raw chocolate. As it was melting under the heat, I poured the refrigerated ginger soda. The result: Heaven in a cup! To drink it alone will have been selfish. So, I shared some with my neighbors – Jane & Peter. They both loved it & were inspired to try making some themselves. Perhaps you will be inspired to make yourself a cup too.

Side note: Adrienne who made the ginger soda for me mentioned that the ginger here is very potent compared to back in California. She said her eyes were burning as she prepared the ginger for the ginger soda.  I also noticed that the egg yolk here is bright orange just like the ones I had in Australia. Makes you wonder why the yolks in either US or Singapore are not that way…