Thursday, February 12, 2015

Road Work




 THIS IS THE WAY WE REPAIR OUR ROADS
REPAIR OUR ROADS--REPAIR OUR ROADS
THIS IS THE WAY WE REPAIR OUR ROADS
DOWN IN ECUADOR




First you need a stack of wood


Then you need to build a fire
to thin the tar


Then you need someone to tend the fire


Of course you need all the proper tools


---and a pile of sand to thicken the tar


then you should have a bunch of guys
standing around--


--watching two guys work


one fills the crack and the other plays 
steam roller with a flat tool


--then you need a boiler to keep the tar soft
(there is a fire in that wheelbarrow)


I wish they would fix our sidewalk
it is very hard for an old man to walk on all the way to my panadaria

Tuesday, February 3, 2015

A Step in the Right Direction

Today was a big day. Ecuador granted us a visa good for another ninety days. So what is the big deal you ask.Well let me tell you.

Our first ninety day visa was up on Jan 21 2015. On Jan 4, we applied for an extension so we could stay until our resident visa was approved. We had applied for that visa way back in Dec and it had been rejected for several reasons. I had sincerely hoped that our resident visa's would have been approved prior to our arriving. It was not, so a new set of problems began to loom as we began to run out of time.
Problem #1  In January when we applied, we were told that we needed a copy of our bank account showing sufficient income to live here OK we can do that.I printed a copy of several monthly statements and returned the very next day.
Problem #2 Since our statements only had Sharyl's name listed on the account, although I was a cosigner, we now needed a certified and apostatized copy of our marriage license to prove each of us had access to the account. This required help from our daughter in Tucson to secure the certificate get it notarized and apostatized and sent via DHL to us. This took several days while the clock continues to tick toward Jan 21.
Problem #3 We were able to return to the immigration office 9 days later. Now we are told that the bank statement is not good enough. We must have a total of at least $3000 in the bank proving that we will be able to live her for the full 90 days of the extended visa. We did not have that amount in that account.Now I am really scared. That means only 3 working days before we will be required to leave unless we are able to "show them the money" I am thinking it will take 10 to 14 days to transfer the money for our IRA. OMG. As I tried to explain the problem, the answer I received was " Those are the rules" I was devastated as we left the office. We are going to have to leave the country for 90 days. What about our cats. Where will we go.How can I make this happen.
However, as my mind calmed down and I was able to think more clearly about the  problem, I realized I could solve the problem simply by asking Sabrina to deposit $3000 in our account from Desert Villa until I could download a copy of our statement " Showing the money" Once downloaded, she could then withdraw the funds back to Desert Villa. Thank goodness for Sabrina. She did it-we did it- I showed them the statement. the next day -- Everything was approved . We were told to return Feb 3 to pay for and receive our visa.


Today we had the visa's placed in our passports
Oh what a relief it is.