Reasons to visit Ecuador for three months.

We are going to Ecuador for three months!

And yes! We are staying for 2.5 of those months basically rent-free in Cuenca Ecuador! We love house and pet sitting, especially internationally. What better way to truly immerse yourself in the Ecuadorean culture than to take up residence and live like a “local.” But let me back up a bit to answer the question of “why Ecuador?”

Ecuador is one of the top ten, if not the top five,

Countries recommended for retirement. International Living Magazine, a monthly publication that researches global retirement, ranks Ecuador #4 in their January article “The World’s Best Places to Retire in 2019.” It consistently ranks high in its annual “Best Places” article.

Cuenca, a UNESCO World Heritage Colonial City,

is the name that most often pops up whenever you mention Ecuador. At an elevation of 8,399 feet in Southern Ecuador’s Andes mountain, it maintains a much cooler temperature than you’d think for being so close to the Equator. In fact, I found it downright cold on some days. (Remember, “cold” for me is anything below the 60’s.)

Cuenca is favored by many expats because of it’s low cost of living,

year-round “spring-like” temperatures, affordable healthcare, established expat community, welcoming locals, and the opportunity to experience another culture. Although the native language is Spanish, many expats get by with little or no Spanish speaking ability, although we do recommend learning the essential Spanish phrases.

The many beautiful Colonial buildings and parks

helped Cuenca earn its UNESCO World Heritage status. Additionally, four rivers flow in and around the City, providing a relaxing respite from “City Life.” And, if hiking, camping, and fishing are your passions, Cajas National Park, with over 270 lakes, is only 19 miles from Cuenca, and provides outstanding outdoor opportunities. We had to check it out!

Pet and house sitting fuels many of our travel adventures

and Ecuador is no exception. “Look at this!” I exclaim excitedly to Jack. “They want a plant sitter in Cuenca Ecuador for 2.5 months.” I thought I’d died and gone to heaven. I mean really, how hard can it be to keep some plants happy? (Plant sitting is rare!) Our verbal communication with the Homeowner started a year in advance of the “sit” so when the time came for our departure, we are more than ready to go. If you’re curious about pet/house sitting, you may enjoy our post “Pet sitting around the world.”

The initial travel visa, (T-3) which they give upon entry,

is good for 90 consecutive or nonconsecutive days within a chronological year. In other words, you cannot reset the 90 days by leaving the country, say by going to Peru, and coming back in. Your time in the Country starts upon your arrival.

Warning! Make sure your passport is valid for 6 months

past the date of entry. If it is not, you will be denied entry! Major fail if that happens! You need a return ticket, as well as health insurance for the time you are in Ecuador. No one asks to see either of these, but we are prepared.

It’s always quite a journey from Kauai to anywhere, and we are exhausted

by the time we reach Quito, one of the two international airports in Ecuador. The other is Guayaquil which is where we departed from on day 90! But I am ahead of myself, again.

Quito is also a popular retirement destination. It too, boasts a strong expat community, is even higher in elevation than Cuenca at 9,350 feet, and offers much of the same quality of life as Cuenca. One major difference is that Quito is home to 2,690,000 people while Cuenca has a population of 400,000.

We spend four days exploring Quito, then arrive excitedly at the airport

for our 8 AM flight on TAME airlines. Uhhh, no. Your flight has been canceled. What? No one told us. In fact, no one even tried to tell us. Ok, well, get used to it. This is not your home country and maybe they don’t do things the same way here.

“Can we take a later flight?” “Yes, of course. The next flight is at 8 PM.” Big sigh on my part. Yes, we did wait in the airport forever for our 8 PM flight, arriving tired and depleted at our beautiful colonial hotel.

To make a long story short,

travel is always an adventure, of one sort or another. We never did meet the Homeowner because they were out of Country for 5 months, As a result, they needed two 3 month sitters, and we were the second half. We met with Hillary and Ken for the handover at “our” traditional Ecuadorian home right in the middle of El Centro. Shops, restaurants, fun, and adventure at every turn. But again, that’s for another blog post.

House / pet sitting has taken us on many adventures.

Most of our sits have been through TrustedHousesitters.com. You can easily go to the website and look at the various opportunities. If you feel this lifestyle might be the perfect adventure, and you want to save 25% on the cost of membership, please use our code. You will get 25% off and we will get two additional months of membership.

The other house sitting website we are active on is Housecarers.com.

We enjoyed Africa with a sit from this site. You can also view the sits there and if you’d like to join, here is our link.

All links in this post are to sites that we have personally used. We are affiliates for some of these sites and may receive compensation when you purchase something via a link in this post.

If you think a travel lifestyle is for you, please check our post, “Why now is the best time to prepare for a travel lifestyle.”

Thanks for joining us on our 3 months in Ecuador!

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