ALL RIGHT, NOW WHAT?

One of the major questions friends have is “What the heck do you do all day?” We’re not alone, I’m sure - it’s definitely a question most retirees end up attempting to answer at some point. ATTEMPTING - that’s the operative word. 

First of all, let me be clear. This article isn’t just for retirees or those at the verge of considering taking that leap. It’s really all about daily life, no matter what stage you’re in. What do YOU do all day? 

Back in the States, it seemed all I could do to keep the balls up in the air. The biggest challenge was mental exhaustion - trying to deal (at least adequately) with the million different aspects of my job as a school principal. Thank God I never had kids. I can’t even begin to imagine holding it together then. God Bless working moms. I would’ve caved, I swear.

Then Jeff and I decided to go for a “simpler life”, selling everything we owned to head to Costa Rica. HA! Retired or not, we were surprised to find ourselves constantly running every minute. Okay, so a major factor was that everything took so long to accomplish there. If you went to the bank, electric, or telephone company, you brought a book. You spent half your life waiting. The other half was spent scrambling back to the same places to just get whatever it was done. The running joke there was that “three time’s the charm”. Nothing ever got accomplished the first trip round. Or the second. They always managed to ask for some obscure document you never had (and had to go elsewhere 3 more times to get), or their systems were down, or some other such nonsense. Patience. We learned the art of patience there.

In addition to trying to beat the systems, we were never at a loss for something to do. The house needed an endless amount of care and updates, which kept Jeff busy all the time. Then he got into building a workshop and garage, and later a boat, which then led him into charter fishing. Never a dull moment. And of course, with my being able to speak spanish, I was right in there with him. Go, go, go, all the time.

It’s different here in Cuenca. We no longer have a house to maintain, nor boats or workshops to build. As you know from other posts, we’ve spent the first few months running everywhere to find just the right furniture, and also to establish bank accounts, utility services, etc. (processes that are SO much easier here!) Then we got into decorating the terraces with furniture and flowers. But what’s to come next? How will we fill our days?

Well, now that we’ve graduated to a real vehicle, our plan is to go exploring the country.


 The everyday things are pretty much taken care of, and there’s only so much you can do to keep busy in an apartment. This blog is one thing that has kept me busy and gives me purpose. But as you may have noticed it’s already being ignored a bit, thanks to our being able to hop into the pickup and discover this beautiful country we’re living in. So get ready to explore along with us. We’ll take you right along. 

¡VIVA ECUADOR!