Puerto Lopez

Dear Kathya,

While it is possible there have been upgrades, the knock on Puerto López for years was poor water delivery and poor infrastructure.  So if you are considering living in that coastal fishing village, check out those aspects of the place. 

Also you might look into the recovery aspects there since the Big One walloped the coast several years ago with a 7.8 magnitude K.O.

You could also ask the locals about the weather patterns of non-Niño years .. given the micro-climates known to exist up and down the Pacific shores.

cccmedia

I have owned a house here in Puerto Lopez for 3 years. Infrastructure is as good as anyplace in Ecuador. Roads are the pits ( pun intended ) all over Ecuador. Garbage gets picked up, town water most of the time, lots of bus service out of town and Tuk Tuks in town. Cable, Satelite, Internet, electricity most of the time unless it rains ( seldom on the Coast) and then it may go out a couple  hours.

Everything here at a slower pace.

Thank you for the info. But I'm curious, how do you get utility bills with no addresses or post office?

Electricity Bill comes to your door.

When I bought this place it had $200 Owing in water/tax bills owing so they cut off my water until paid

So you gotta go to Municipal hall and ask.
Easy if you speak Spanish I don't.

Well that makes two of us. I too do not speak Spanish. I have a lot to learn. Will be making my
first trip in May to see the tiny house i purchased. I can't wait. Is there stores to purchase basic
furniture there? Mattress and couch, maybe bar stools?

any info
thanks
Kathy

Dear Kathy,

If I read you correctly, you are visiting Puerto López shortly for the first time and have already somehow purchased a small house there.  That's probably not a first, but it is unusual among Expats.

Finding basic furniture in any town in Ecuador that's the size of Puerto López (16,000) or larger .. is not going to be a problem, provided you can communicate your needs when in the colorful fishing village.

Your lack of Spanish is probably the important thing to focus on, especially since you've got some time before the big move from North America.

Your life will be increasingly richer in Ecuador as you can communicate better with the locals.  Going to the frutería and pointing to the papaya section while holding up three fingers is not going to be sufficiently satisfying.

Naturally, there's a ton of Spanish-learning books available on the Internet .. Pimsleur's program is recommended lately by Expats .. and you can record and watch (with a dictionary or word reference.com) TV shows with Spanish subtitles.  Pause video while you look up a word or phrase.  That's how I got good at español in my first two years in La República.

There are also a couple of language threads on the Ecuador forum, reachable via search from the forum welcome page, including 'español for Gringos'.

cccmedia

Here are a few words that may assist you in your furniture hunt...

tiny house .. la casita

furniture .. los muebles

couch .. el sofá  (one of the occasional words that
               are masculine but end in an 'a')

mattress .. el colchón

table .. la mesa

deliver to the home .. entregar a domicilio

how much does it cost? .. cuánto cuesta?

can you give me a discount? .. puede ofrecerme un descuento?

Thank you so  very much for the info. I truly enjoy your posts on all topics.