That is how our friends or family would arrive to visit us. That is how Ed and I entered the country. But, since Ed and I are going after our residency here, we have to report to the National Direction of Immigration of the National Police of Ecuador's Office within 30 days upon our arrival. We have to get the movimiento migration paper. This will record our entrances and exits from Ecuador, I guess it will link us with Immigrations at the airports by our passport numbers & names.
The office was not very far from our condo, but we still took a taxi and the driver knew right where to take us. Coming from our condo the street we turned down was directly after the Bank of Pacifico and between another large bank, a rather narrow street. The driver pulled up to a white house about half way down the block on the right and it had a tall fence and a policeman standing our front. The office hours are from 9:00 until 1:00 and from 3 until 6:30PM. We arrived at 4:00pm and there wasn't anyone in the office. But, what I first noticed were the rather large holes in the wooden floor and a step down from the entry to where the desks were located. I have learned that you always need to watch where you walk in Cuenca (I guess that also applies to anywhere in Ecuador).
The policeman that had been standing out by the front gate followed us in and told us to take a seat in front of this desk. He said sit down and Ed told him what we needed. He asked for our passports. He turned and typed some information into his computer and out came a printed piece of paper for each of us. We had been told by the lady at the Immigration's Office to read this piece of paper very carefully. Make sure your name is spelled correctly, that your passport number is correct, the place where you entered & the date you entered and the type of Visa you received is all correct. So, we sat there and read each page twice. Because, the Immigrations Officer said the only place to correct the mistake if caught after we leave is going back to Guayaquil.... yuck!
Now, as this policeman was working with us, a young very attractive lady came in and he greeted her with a warm hello. She walked directly to his desk and he handed her some papers from the file on his desk. She then handed him a small roll of bills that quickly went into his pants pocket. There are ways to get things done here - you just have to use an expediter. She then went into her car parked right in front of the gate and looked through all the documents he handed her and then drove away.
I did notice that my full name was only listed as Peggy Mooney and we tried to explain that my full first name is Peggy Lee. We tried to explain it needed to be that way and he would not add it. He told us "not to worry - not necessary". Do I see a trip to Guayaquil in our future? We will learn about this on Thursday afternoon when we return to the Immigrations Office to turn in all our paper work for our Residency Visa.
After the printed page of paper was gone over by us and we signed it, Ed paid him $10 in cash (no receipt) and then he signed it. He then told us to take the pages and our passports and go get them copied and return them to him. He gave us general directions from the office to a store that makes copies. So, off we walked and it wasn't that far maybe 2 to 3 blocks. The store was located on the opposite side of the street (large 4 lane very busy road). Ed went to the store and I stayed and waited. It took him about 5 minutes to get the copies we needed and paid 54 cents. We needed the front and back of the page the policeman printed off for us and also the picture page of each of our passports (total 6 pages).
We then walked back to the Police Station and presented our copies. He then stamped the original document and handed it to us.... we were done. The whole process took about 35 minutes.
We returned to the main street to catch a taxi and head into the Old City. Every Tuesday night there is a Gringo night at the Di Bacco Restaurant at 9-61 Calle Tarqui. Ed and I needed to meet some of the other Expats living here. The restaurant was small but lovely inside with about 9 to 11 tables and a small bar was located in the far back. We walked up to the bar and the young owner, Lauro, took our requests for our drinks. I tried their orange Margarita and found it good for the second one. Lauro had lived in NY City for over 15 years and worked in the restaurant business and even managed a restaurant. He loves good food, good wine and lots of conversations. He is just charming and fun to talk to. I guess there were about 40 to 50 Expats there last night. Ed & I got to meet many but only had a good conversation with a few; Barbie & John give us lots of great information and really seemed interested. They had even lived for several months in this same condo... They are oldies by living here over two years now and know the ropes.
Ed and I found a table and sat down, we asked a couple of ladies to join us and found out they were with other people and our four-top table soon became 9 person table. It was very difficult to talk to anyone other than those sitting directly next to you.
Now onto the food.... a favorite subject of mine....
I started with an avocado and shrimp salad and Ed had the shrimp bisque. Both were excellent and again we got to eating and enjoying the food and I didn't get one picture. Next, I had the chicken Parmesan with pasta - large serving and very good choice given by Lauro. Ed had veal Marsala with veggies and he cleaned his plate so I guess he liked it. Ed had also requested a red wine with his dinner and it came and we tasted it but really didn't love it and Lauro noticed right away and brought Ed another red wine much better.
John is the other owner who is an American that had come from the East Coast. He is more quiet and very nice but seemed to stay in the background more. He did do some serving to our table and I got to speak with him briefly.
All and all it was a very nice evening and I see future friends in the bunch. We were also given a tip on a great dinner that we need to attend this Saturday night. It is at the Secret Garden and you have to get in your request for reservations in as soon as they post the menu on Tuesday. I came home and got our reservations in and accepted. So, we are going to dinner Saturday night.
Days & nights are good & having fun,
Peggy
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