Note from Blog: Patricia does not metion the desire for "Black Friday".
by Patricia Adams Farmer
Cut
down coconut bunch with machete. Put one or two coconuts in the fridge
to get cold. Cut a hole in the top of the coconut. Insert straw...
This
routine is part of my daily life on the north central coast of Ecuador.
My husband Ron and I live in the small fishing village of El Matal near
the town of Jama and drink fresh coconut water daily—from our very own
coconut trees. El Matal happens to be the setting for the award-winning
film Pescador by Sebastian Cordero, but to us it’s just home.
We never dreamed of
retiring early to such a life, but we have fallen in love with it—the
simplicity, the beauty, the climate, the people, and a way of life the
locals call tranquilo.
We are expats from
Southern California who wanted to retire early, but could not bring
ourselves to venture far from the ocean and the warm weather. But
retiring on the coast of California was out of our realm of
possibilities. The coast of Ecuador captured our attention in 2008 and
in 2011, we made the leap.
Here
in El Matal we have a unique situation: a beach too beautiful for words
with hardly anyone on it—okay, a couple of cows saunter by on occasion,
but scant few people on the whole. The concept of a rural beach sounds
like a paradox. Don’t beaches this beautiful boast of high-rises and
crowds of tourists?
Not this one. And with fingers crossed, we hope it stays this way for a long time.
Such
a rural setting is not for everyone. Cities offer convenience,
shopping, amenities, and social stimulation. We do enjoy our visits to
cities. But we are quiet people who love nature, so for putting down
roots, we chose the rural end of the spectrum. We prefer to wake up, not
to city noise, but to the rhythmic sounds of the sea and the whistle of
blackbirds in the coconut trees.
On sunny days the warm,
turquoise water reminds us of the Caribbean. On cloudy days the cooler
temperatures attract large flocks of pelicans. We live according to the
tides. Every day is different like the sea.
Aren’t we bored? On the
contrary, we’re busy and active—sometimes too much so. We teach online
and write and practice our Spanish when we’re not walking the beach on
the hunt for shells and pre-Columbian pottery.
We
chose Ecuador for its natural beauty and low cost. We have found both.
Our cost of living is a fifth of that in Southern California. But we do,
by choice, live a simple life. We don’t even own a car! (Southern
Californians without a car? Another paradox). For me, this means grocery
shopping in the nearby town of Jama by means of "moto-taxi"—settling
back on the red-cushioned seat of an open-air cab while enjoying the
sight of fishermen working their nets, vistas of green hills arching up
in the distance, and serene shrimp ponds dotted with ducks and snowy
egrets.
Making
the transition from urban California to rural Ecuador was no easy
matter. At times we questioned our sanity. But the Ecuadorian locals are
always there to help. And there are other expats—a growing number, even
here in El Matal—among whom we find mutual support. I’m not saying that
we don’t continue to face challenges and frustrations, but as we near
the three-year anniversary of our life in Ecuador, we feel grateful
beyond measure to have found such a place as El Matal to call home.
www.internationaliving.com
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