Cuenca to Bahia Ecuador

Fellow expat Gary Scott has an intriguing article about investing in the excellent beach area known as Bahia, just north of huge port town of Manta.

Unfortunately, AFAIK right now Bahia is pretty much the farthest beach area to reach in Ecuador from Cuenca. It **should** be soon remedied when neighboring Manta gets improved airport connections…. but untill then, it takes two flights from Cuenca to Manta and the peak travel time (aka weekend flights) cannot really be considered “connecting” flights in that you have to stay overnight in Guayaquil or Quito. A drive to Bahia by private car is about 7-10 hours depending on roads and traffic, add a few hours if going by bus. For fellow North Carolinians, its analogous to driving to The Outer Banks from Asheville along HWY 64 in 1960.

That being said, Bahia ROCKS! Its clean, calm and picture perfect. Its the first coastal city that is more or less “environmentally aware” with hosts of sustainable horticulture, agriculture, and other ecolodge / projects going on in that region. Across the bay in neighboring and burgeoning Canoa, the surf and sun is right for a tranquil getaway that’s hip with the backpackers and surfer crowd. Its much more low key than Montañita to the south.

I truly hope the purported growth of nearby Manta and the new bridge being built across the bay are not too detrimental to the pristine environment in the Bahia de Caraquez, but continual pollution as Ecuador grows is almost inevitable.

About The Author: James (aka J.R., jrguitar21, elementalidad) is a freelance web developer living in beautiful Cuenca, Ecuador.

7 Comments to “Cuenca to Bahia Ecuador”

Jason Sostaric 27 November 2008 at 7:00 am #

Hi James!

Glad I found you on HC! I’m interested in visiting Ecuador and possibly setting up shop there with a natural med clinic and/or English school. I was mainly interested in the Cuenca area, as I had not been able to find anything like what you described in this blog that I’m posting the comment to. Now I’m interested in both.

I’d love to hear your views. I teach English over the internet now on a part-time basis to individuals. Any ideas on how get there and stay long-term while scouting the area to find land for my project WHILE continuing my online work and picking up some work there?… I’d be grateful to hear your story!

Kind Regards,
Jason
James 27 November 2008 at 1:37 pm #

Hi Jason,

There are actually other Americans who write for International Living magazine and cover topics that may interest you such as Ecuadorian real estate, conducting business, and retiring in Ecuador.

As for myself, I personally believe that the best way to get to know a place is to simply visit and have an experience. Many times, the image portrayed online is helpful but just doesn’t give you a wholesome picture. Much of what you find will be geared only towards the tourism / retirement / dollar aspects of Ecuador, and rather nothing to do with normal everyday living.

My view is that Ecuador is simply a tranquil place to live in peace, particularly on the coast and in Cuenca. My recommendation is come and try it out! I did just that and the beginning was slow. I have never been in a hurry to get somewhere outside the present, so I just live here and continue to enjoy my stay some 3 years on now.

Obviously there are lots of English language schools that seek out foreigners for teaching positions. If you get lucky perhaps even a management position occasionally opens up, but you’d need to be sufficiently bilingual.

That being said, one final recommendation to anyone coming south:

Learning to speak and understand Spanish fluently is a highly useful goal to pursue early on. Cuenca is small and the people here are genuinely friendly and courteous. This in and of itself may open doors, if you get out to meet people and try to observe and participate in local culture.
Jason 28 November 2008 at 8:45 am #

Hi and thanks for responding…

James, near the end of your message you got to something that is really important for me. How have you managed to stay for 3 years now?

I’ve scoured the IL resources and honestly they are of minor help.

I agree with what you say about knowing a place by living there, but really I’m trying to find out about how YOU are doing that. How do you earn a living there? Do you have some special visa arrangement, etc?

Thanks again!
Jason
James 28 November 2008 at 1:18 pm #

Up till now I’ve just overstayed the typical tourist visa, and when I go to leave the country I have to pay the fine. I did’t make enough money the first two years to even justifying paying taxes in my home country (I was well under the poverty level). Not exactly the most recommended thing to do but its still possible. Almost anything is possible really, but to do things legally you NEED a lawyer. Otherwise you waste time trying to do it by yourself. I finally found a friend of a friend who works with Peruvian and Colombian immigrants who could help me to get legal, so I’m doing that paperwork now. Since I’m making more money doing freelance work now, legalization of everything is important. Living as an illegal in Ecuador was a very great experience.
Jason 11 December 2008 at 5:05 pm #

)))

That’s was great!

I like the way you think, James… you just keep it real, man! I like it!

So the fines… how big are they?

And I guess they don’t prevent you from re-entering after you have over-stayed?

Good on you, my friend!

Jason
James 11 December 2008 at 6:12 pm #

The fine is $200 dollars, which is effectively the same price (actually cheaper in the end) as most extended non-immigrant visas, only, without the hassle of hiring an attorney, getting papers notarized, etc etc etc.
Ecuador Travel 20 April 2009 at 1:52 pm #

insightful analysis and lively discussion here makes this blog the destination for those wanting to write creatively and think about our society and the impact we make on it at home and abroad