COVID-19 and expatriation in Ecuador

I’ve decided to no longer fly for an indeterminate time. I’m a bareboat skipper of sailboats up to 40 feet , ex San Francisco Bay sail racer ULDB’s, one designs. I have skills. I have always abhored cruise ships; I would never sail my boat into anywhere they dock. So cruise ships are also out as a way to get to Ecuador from West Coast USA. Looks like I’ll be buying my own boat or crewing on one to get a ride South.

Over time I’ll re-evaluate the virus activity causing Covid 19, how it’s morphed, where it’s erupting. If things ever rerun to a semblance of normal and i wear a painter’s respirator - breathing protection beyond N95 P95, then and only then will I consider getting on a commercial flight again. Watch the NIGHTMARE in Wuhan  the CCP Chinese Communist Party hides:  YOU TUBE :  “Corona Virus in China 10 times bigger?!”

Hi, Corneliamarasusie. Your barefoot sailing skills are impressive. I live on the other west coast (Florida's Left Coast). When one lives at the seashore the world beckons.

If you sailed down to Ecuador, lovely thought just a few months ago, in which port would you moor your boat? Manta is where the cruise ships come in. I've heard Salinas is the place with the oldest yacht clubs (it's generational with Ecuadoreans and arriviste with expats!) also where facilities actually exist to moor and get services and supplies. I read an article in a sailing blog about Bahia de Caraquez's possibilities. San Vicente is just across the River Chone. All I've heard from blogs to state department about Esmeraldas is to avoid it. One person who owns property there praised it, but he was living in exile in Canoa at the time.

Last year I traveled around the country by bus for three months. The Pacific Coast seems like a gem of a place to set up a moorage. All-in-all Ecuador's a thrilling, diverse, and beautiful place. For nearly a year now, I've tried to get back to it. All the emigration/immigration red tape that blocks the way requires the skills of a bushwhacker with a machete it seems, but the real winner is to find a good visa facilitator. This damned COVID-19 though has big chilled the whole regatta, I'm afraid.

Stay cool in the mean time. Watch "12 Monkeys."

Cheers!
Buster

Hi, Loic.

The spread of the COVID-19 pandemic has stopped my emigration in its tracks. I contracted with Gringo Visas in 2019 to help me return to Ecuador to live. That has involved nine months of corresponding with government agencies, jumping through legal hoops, and getting it all apostilled. A year ago, I didn't even know what that word meant.  Now that I've got all the legal ducks in a row, they've closed the borders and planes aren't flying.

American Airlines and LATAM Airlines seem flexible and willing to change fly dates until the end of 2021. The apartments, Quinta Maria Apartments, in Cuenca are also willing to change dates when the borders reopen.  And the visa facilitator has emailed me that all the apostilled legal stuff, FBI and police background checks, etc. are in suspended animation. All will still be good (no five month expiration date) when the planes start flying again, and the borders re-open.

Thanks for asking, Loic. I depend on expat websites for news of Ecuador. It's such a small country that most in the U.S. couldn't find it on the map. It's not a goal of mine to clue them in--personally, I'd like to keep the secret and keep this little gem of a country to myself.

My heart breaks for the suffering of its lovely people. I wish I were back there, but there is no way of return for now.

Siempre joven, mis amigos.
Buster

My plans are about the same. I lived in Cuenca from August to January and got my visa work done.  Then, as planned, I moved to Canoa.  The lack of a bus bothered me a bit but I adapted. I was filling my days with surfing, swimming and then riding my bike. Even though the beach was deserted the Army caught me on my bike and sent me home. I understand that. Surfing daily  is not an option now even though the ocean is out my front door.  With the car restrictions it is difficult to go shopping but the stores are fully stocked. Then I realized, I can ride my bike for shopping and the roads are almost deserted. And the pool is in the complex so it is allowed.  I went shopping Saturday in town and the store had few customers.  I think there is a watermelon stand a few miles down the road, getting a watermelon today is essential LOL.  I thought about the lack of health care locally and the fact that is not the best. On the other hand, do I want to have the best when that might mean getting a respirator in your final week. I am also of the view we will get infected, it is when not if.

My husband and I are in the exact same situation. Did your visa contact give you an estimated date they think the country will reopen?

Are you asking me? My 2 cents, the President doesn't know, why would the Visa service know? The company will reopen when the people demand it, regardless of the virus.

Hi, BonnieKDesign,

Not sure who you're addressing, but here goes. No, the visa facilitator said they're checking with immigration officials daily. They said when the borders re-open and planes start flying again they will let me know to "come on down." I'm getting a tourist visa stamped on my passport at the airport, and the visa facilitator is walking (driving actually) me through the two year temporary visa process.

Have you and your husband got your paperwork, security checks, birth certificates, etc. apostilled and  in order? Just asking because it took me six months to get everything done and back from Dee Cee. I'm sure you're aware of what will be needed: birth certificate from your state of birth, proof of income, six months of bank records, state and FBI background checks, proof of insurance. etc. All translated into Spanish.

I was most concerned that there's a 5 month limit on the security checks, but the v.f. said that since the process was already started it would pick up where it was at when things got shut down. Fortunately the airlines, and apartments where I have pre-paid rent will work with me to reschedule.

Just reading the news from several online sources (CDC, WHO, various officials) the earliest seems to be  about July. Or possibly next July (2021) if they can find a vaccine.

Cheers and good luck!
Emigrayo (Buster)

Hey, BigBrad2008.

I spent two great weeks in Canoa back in 2019. Awesome place! Have you found an affordable place to rent? You mentioned, "No bus" was available--Horrors! It was less than 50 cents to ride into San Vicente or Bahia in spring last year. I guess the COVID-19 messes with everything 

How long a time was it when you arrived in Ecuador until you had your visa and cedula? Did you have an agency help you with that, or did you just figure it out and do it on your own?

Best wishes. I hope you can dodge the po-leece long enough to get some surf time in 
Emigrayo (Buster)

We moved here in November last year. Yes, there are challenges, but Ecuador has not disappointed.
Given the chaotic response to the pandemic in the US, we feel safer here. We have no plans to leave.

The US embassy arranged for/gave info about several return flights to the US.  While close to 3,000 returned, I elected to stay in Ecuador for many reasons.

I'm supposed to renew my residency visa by next month, changing it from the 2 year one to permanent status and all my documents are ready; but, as you know, the world is in a standstill.  The deadlines for this type of stuff, visas, driver's licenses, etc. have all been suspended until the lockdown is over.

The curfew from 2PM to 5AM, only one day a week to drive your car based on the license plate number, no-one on the street except to go to the grocery store or doctor, etc. is more restrictive than almost anywhere in the US, and it's getting a bit old, but will end eventually.  One big reason for staying here was that my healthcare coverage is far better here than what I had in the US and costs me half as much.

It's interesting to watch the news and hear that there are partially empty shelves back home, while the SuperMaxi store I go to here is completely stocked, as well as the small neighborhood shops near me.

I too am looking forward to easy, simple, international travel.  Ah, the good old days - didn't know how good they were....

My husband and I left for Ecuador in March so we could file for our visas.  We have a home on the mountian side next to Vilcabamba.

We got our visa filed and approved in a week.  That was fast.  Then all the offices closed and everything is on hold. We stayeda at our home - and our only contacts were our neighbors on the mountain.  We helped each other out. They are Ecuadorian so we had both side of the story in Ecuador and out.

My husband I a I tried to leave once with out tickets out of Guayaquil, but we were turned back by the military. We did not know it was under marshall law.  We went back home in a taxi.

We have a friend, Ulises, that helped us get out of the country about a week and a half later. It was trick and required lots of paperwork.  We thank him, but Guayquil was so strange.  NO traffic or anything.  We had to wait outside the airport and home that they did not cancel our flight.  There were only seven passengers.

I think we would have stay in Ecuador but we had to get back to the USA to finish some important business and my husband needed back surger.  We are now on lockdown in Kansas (Lenexa).  We can get what we need but no surgeries for a while - who know when?

We will return when we can, hopefully this summer and the 90 day visa rule will be revisitied by the government.  Our home is there and we want to get back.

Friendships grew closer with several people via phones and technology.  When we got back we tried to help by sending what we could to people who could help because they were there.

The kindess of Ecuadorins to us was amazing.  We followed all the rules and most of all respected the fears everyone had during this time.

My husband and I look forward to returning.  This pandemic didn not change our opinion of Ecuador.  It is our home now.

I thank our friends, expat and especially Ecuadorian that help us learn what we needed to know.

Robin and Joel

Part 2

I do want to add that we contacted the US Embassy for flights out.  But honestly, they were not much help.  We had to get to Quito. There was no time to get that far from the province of Loja and taxies were almost impossible to get due to restrictions.  And hoestly, some did not want to drive to Quito or Quayquil.  I don't blame them.

I hope the embasy could help others that wanted to leave.

Robin and Joel

@Emigrayo68 thanks for the response. Yes, we have all of our paperwork apostilled and translated. It’s with the agency we hired to help us complete it all. I was mostly concerned about the FBI Reports and background checks expiring. We were supposed to fly into Cuenca June 3rd and finish up the final part of the visa processing when we got there. I would hate to have to postpone but will do whatever we can to stay safe and support the government regulations. We can always come a little later when things settle down.

Hi, Robin and Joel. I'm also in process of getting the two year visa and cedula. I had begun the process at the end of January by contracting with Gringo Visas. When the (virus) lockdown happened the visa people called and said the process froze where it was and would resume when the restrictions were lifted. This means my FBI and Florida security checks won't expire if this should go on until after August.

Like you, I look forward to returning to Ecuador as soon as possible. I had really hoped to get out of the U.S. before the borders closed and planes stopped flying, but it didn't happen. So, I wait.

I stayed in Vilcabamba for a month in 2019. I found it to be a lovely place.

Best Wishes.
Emigrayo (Buster)

Sounds like we are in the same exact boat as everyone else we have all our paperwork ready to go.  Our container was scheduled to be picked up and start the journey to Ecuador on March 24 and we were to fly out on March 28 but as you all know the border closed so now we’re stuck here in Texas waiting for them to re-open.  we sold our home here in Texas, thankfully we were able to lease it back till April 30 and currently we have flights out for May 1st.  checking not only the US Embassy website daily but also the airline website daily and so far it’s still showing that it’s flying out on May 1 landing on May 2.   we rescheduled the container for April 28, however with all that being said we are being realistic and since we’ve already sold our home here in Texas and the new owners move in on May 1 regardless of what Ecuador does.   on April 28 either our stuff is going into a container and starting the journey to Ecuador or we’re moving it to a storage facility and rescheduling everything once more.   Thankfully we have a Lakehouse that we can move into until the borders reopen assuming that we’re not flying out of here on May 1   
I think the worst part is the unknown, we just have no clue when they’re going to reopen the border and being in limbo especially when we both quit our jobs we are literally sitting around eating junk food and binge watching Netflix!!!
Here in Austin Texas they’re certainly not as strict as they are in Ecuador but I kind of think they should be  because most people are not taking it very seriously.  yes lots of restaurants and movie theaters etc. are closed but people are out walking and mingling and having parties every day it seems like and unfortunately it seems to be the younger generation that seem to think they’re bulletproof and don’t really have much for thought for everybody else. 
So with that being said we are 100% in limbo and the day they open up that border if even for two days we’re on a plane and we’re heading to Ecuador we bought a hotel on the beach and I have easily 4 to 5 months worth of work to do so I can easily quarantine myself and be busy for the next five months with no problems. 
I just need to get there LOL!!
My wife is very active on the Facebook groups from Salinas and Ecuador so we certainly are hearing all the nightmares that are happening over there and we hope that everyone is safe and this will all be behind us soon even though I don’t think they’ll ever be a normal again.
Everybody stay safe and stay inside!!

Hi, Rriiccaarrdo, It seems like it will never re-open! Congratulations on the hotel at the beach. Where are you located on the coast?

Emigrayo (Buster)

Emigrayo68,

Joel and a I are really wanting to get back to Vilcabamba. It is a friendly town.  I really like the Ecuadorian people and others we have met over time.

However, we do have to take care of things here in the USA. First, Joel's back surgery, healing time, and the leagal move.  I don't know how long all this will go on in Ecuador - our visas were approved in a week but who knows when things will open up again.  So, we wait for informaiton here and in Ecuador.

Joel and I really look forward to things getting back to some kind of normal!

Good luck to you, and all others, in the wait and see mode.

Robin

Thanks.   Not exactly the best time to get in the hospitality business right now.  Lol.  We are in Salinas on the playa de oro.

rriiccaarrddoo, I just read something on CNN Travel about booking flights now (cheaply) for future travel. Their take is that prices will quickly rise with demand as the market returns to normal. Interesting that within that same article, the dates of the market  return varied from July of this year to sometime in 2022 when a vaccine becomes widely available.

Best Wishes,
Emigrayo66

My plans are not changed, It will still be another year or even 2 before I will be ready to move back to Ecuador, and my selected city is Cuenca, and was so happy to read that there not been any Covid-19 cases at this time.  I have family in both Quito and Guayaquil so needless to say, I am worried for all of them. I stay in touch frequently. I work in a hospital in the U.S. as a Social Worker, I was in ICU but now they have me floating to all areas of the hospital. I also developed a not-for-profit here in the U.S. 2 years ago with friends to support the work a close relative has been doing for many years, to provide medical clinics, food and at this time PPE for indigenous people in the Amazon Rain Forest. We  arrange eco-educational tours and needless to say the one we have scheduled in June 2021 may be postponed. We continue to hope for the best, and I will continue to make my plans to relocate to Ecuador at least for part of each year.

Thank you for checking in with me,
Karen Cecilia

kcvonholck wrote:

It will still be another year or even 2 before I will be ready to move back to Ecuador, and my selected city is Cuenca, and was so happy to read that there not been any Covid-19 cases at this time....
Karen Cecilia

Karen Cecilia's information that there have not been any covid cases in Cuenca is not correct.

Cuenca's mayor, for instance, says 15 percent of 244 vendors from El Arenal market have tested positive for covid (per an article e-published yesterday, April 26, at www.cuencahighlife.com ...)  This testing result prompted Mayor Palacios to suspend all activity at another market to which the Arenal vendors had been relocated.

In an article at the same website published today, Ecuador's health minister is predicting that at least 80 percent of the population will have been covid-infected by late this year.  He says probably one million -- and possibly millions -- in Ecuador have already been infected.  "This is a positive," he says, because it means "the level of immunity is increasing rapidly."

cccmedia

Good luck, Karen Cecilia,

I hope you can realize your dreams in the near future.

Emigrayo66 (Buster)