During my stay at Casa de Cuenca I was lucky enough to meet a VERY wonderful Chonera woman. Her name is Nieve (which translates to "Snow" in English). I am not sure she has ever seen snow, but I showed her a picture of our house back in Canada which was covered in snow and that photo now resides on the main screen of her cell phone.
"Chonera" is a term that is used to describe a woman from Chone, Ecuador (which is where Nieve was born).
I met Nieve on May 22nd when she came over to visit Mariel and Mariel's daughter Madeleine. Since that day I have seen her almost every day and that is likely not to change.
 |
| What A Smile!! |
Nieve works as a Manager at the Social Security Hospital (IESS) here in Cuenca. And she knows the city very well. Needless to say she is a very great resource. She has been so, so helpful in everything I have been doing.
On May 25th, she took me to meet her family and to have lunch. She has 1 daughter (Hija in Spanish), 3 sons (Hijos in Spanish) and 2 grandchildren (Nietos in Spanish). They were as warm to me as if I was part of the family. Hugging is a big thing here in Cuenca even when you meet people for the first time.
Spanish lesson: H's are silent and a J is pronounced like our H so Hija is pronounced ee-haw. Nietos is pronounced knee-ay-tos (the ay is as in the word way).
Nieve and Madeleine (a longtime friend of Nieve's) were very helpful in that they consented to provide me with referral letters stating that they know me. I needed these to open a bank account at one of the more preferential banks in Ecuador (Banco Pichincha). An gringo that holds an account in the same bank is not acceptable as a referral.
Banco Pichincha Bank Account Requirements.
As well, Nieve and I have been looking at rental units. Her help in this has been most appreciated.
We have found a condo in a brand new building called the River View which looks very promising. It has 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms and is roughly 1200 sq ft. It has absolutely beautiful views of the mountains and river from two sides of the building as it is on the 7th floor. The apartment is totally unfurnished. The owner is asking $600/mth (US) which in terms of what a condo like this should cost is roughly $100 too much (in Cuenca). To Canadians, this would be a steal. But it is important to think in terms of Ecuador and not Canada (or whichever country you are from).
Alternatively, we have found a brand new apartment on the first floor of a three story building which is also completely unfurnished for $450 per month. This one has 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms and is approximately 1400 sq ft. The only significant difference is this one has no view.
The question is: Do I pay $150 more per month strictly for a great view?
I have been puzzling over this issue all weekend.
According to the real-estate agent, that is representing the owner, the owner is not prepared to negotiate. I am not sure I believe the real-estate agent. I am going to try to get the phone number of the owner and talk directly. Possibly signing a 2 year or possibly a 4 year lease might interest the owner in reducing the monthly rate.
UPDATE: No need to pursue either of these as Nieve informs me that these two apartments are fairly distant from where she lives. Since Nieve is a big part of my life now I would like to find something closer to her house. The search continues.
AN ASIDE: I have read on a few expat blogs of people living in Cuenca that there are no mosquitoes here: That is not true. I have killed roughly 6 in the two weeks I have been here. Fortunately, there numbers are not great.
