Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Notes from Peru & Ecuador...With Pictures!

Good afternoon, readers. Things are easing back into a routine now that I am back in the states. Though I did get some bad news yesterday, as H.R. states that my request to work in Peru for three months violates some US tax and payroll laws. It seems working for a US entity while actually working abroad is not permitted. I am in no position to dispute this, but if anyone out there has experience (or even knows of someone) who has worked abroad while still working for a US company, please send me an email. It might be a long shot, but I'm hoping to draw on the awesome network of readers to get to see my wife next year. If not, it looks like we'll be apart for a while longer.

But, on to the subject of today's post. Mrs. Done by Forty and I got to spend a week together in Lima, Peru, and then another in Cuenca, Ecuador. I figured it might be best to let the pictures do most of the talking. I'll apologize for the picture quality as I'm no expert and I have just an old camera phone. But luckily I make up for it by taking way too many pictures. (If you click on the photos, they'll enlarge and you can scroll through with your arrow keys.)

Peru
Cliffs on the coast of Miraflores
If you squint, you can see surfers...
Paragliders in the park
Ceviche...maybe my favorite thing in Lima.
Yeah...definitely my favorite thing.
Okay, last photo of food, I promise.
An actual RadioShack...with customers!
Casinos are all over Lima. Kind of disorienting.
Church in Miraflores
The Canta Rana Cevicheria in Barranco
Guards outside of the Palacio del Gobierno...with machine guns! 
Iglesia San Pedro
Catedral de Lima
Traditional guards outside the Palacio del Gobierno
A parade about stopping violence against children.
Ironically, a lot of motorists nearly ran over the kids.
Ecuador


The old Cathedral in Cuenca, from 1557
Church of San Francisco
Church of San Cenaculo
A cool art museum...which I can't remember the name of...
Rather than supermarkets, we only found these open markets in Cuenca.
Negotiation is key here. Mrs. Done by Forty got us some mangos:
starting price of $5 per kilo, final price of 4 mangos for $1.
All sorts of meat is also sold in the open market. A little intimidating to this gringo. 
Church of Santo Domingo
Rio Tomebama, that runs right through Cuenca
View from the edge of the city center
Catedral de la Inmaculada Concepcion
Another shot of the same. I just think it's so cool to look at.
Coquette, the feisty cat who didn't care that we were renting the place.
It was her's first.
A view of Tomebabma, an Incan city on the same site as Cuenca
Llamas! Or, maybe Alpacas. I can't tell the difference.
These are the horses we got to ride for 5 hours. And we galloped! 
The Cuenca vs. Barcelona (Quito) soccer match. Craziest sporting event I have ever been to. Those white streams are rolls of plastic, like toilet paper, being shot at opposing players on the field (while they are playing!), while kids climb the metal fencing and old men shout unspeakable obscenities at the referees, and the whole crowd is chanting songs and jumping around. Soccer is serious business down here.
Sadly, Black Friday is down here too. As the ad says: just like in USA!
Luckily, there were no crazy crowds.

Budget
We paid cash for as much as we could, so I don't have a truly detailed budget. But, for anyone wanting to travel down here, we can give a rough estimate of what your costs might be.

Flight from Phoenix to Lima: $881/person
Flight from Lima to Cuenca: $292/person
Suite in Lima: $80/night
Funky loft in Cuenca: $20/night
Dinner for two in Lima, with two adult drinks: $32
Dinner for in Cuenca, with two adult drinks: $22

We brought $1,000 in cash and, except for the hotels, flights, the UPS shipment and a horseback riding excursion, we paid for everything from that $1,000, including cabs. We ended up with $200 left over at the end of the trip, so it's a relatively affordable vacation once you get down there. All in, since Mrs. Done by Forty was already in Peru, we spent $3,038 for the two week vacation. (Add in another $881 if two people were flying from the states.) I'm sure travel hackers could do a lot better, and we're trying to learn how to do just that. But for a couple of novices, I feel pretty good about the cost of the trip.

Final Impressions
I had such a great time, but I might be a little biased. I love everywhere I go, and I am not picky. I've lived in different parts of the US and try to visit folks in different parts of the country when I can: there really isn't a place I don't fall in love with in some way. And, since I finally got to be with Mrs. Done by Forty for a while, how could I not have a good time?

Still, I think South America's a pretty wonderful place and a definite possibility for an early retirement locale. Here are final some bullet thoughts:

  • Lima is huge. It has over 9 million residents, making it roughly the size of New York City. I had no idea when we got there, so our naive attempts to just walk the city were quickly put in their place. Each neighborhood has a pretty unique feel, and some parts are dicey at night.
  • We got a warmer reception in Lima than we did in Cuenca. We're just one couple so it's anecdotal, but take it for what it's worth. Limenos really seemed to like that Americans were visiting their city instead of immediately jetting of to Machu Picchu. Cuecans might be a little sick of all the gringos moving there for retirement.
  • Cuenca is a prettier and more walk-able city though. It better fits our style as a small city, and just about everything is noticeably cheaper.
  • Both cities are developing, so they're a bit grittier than what you'd see in the states. More graffiti, some trash is about. The first night, you might feel a bit on edge walking around certain neighborhoods. But you adjust really quickly, too. We felt completely safe, and never ran into any theft or crime.
  • The food in Lima is pretty awesome. Mrs. DB40 and I are suckers for ceviche and would eat it every day if we could. It seems everywhere we went in Lima had a great dish. The food in Cuenca, while cheaper, couldn't really compare. It's all a little bland so, if you visit, bring a bottle of Sriracha.
  • If we go again, I think we'll take more day trips outside of the city, or to different cities. This city-hopping is normally what we do, but since we had so little time together we thought we'd rather just hang out together in one place than to spend more of our precious time commuting.
  • Each of the cities has so many little intricacies that are different than they are in the states. We saw elderly medicine women in the markets curing their customers by hitting them with bundles of herbs. We saw men gambling cards for a few bucks on park benches. Tough stuff to put into words, but these are the little things I really like about seeing a new place. 
Okay, that's all for now. I am sure I am forgetting a million little details but, as always, I am running long and should wrap it up. Thanks for reading, friends.



51 comments:

  1. Strange about your HR department - it's not like you're "moving", your permanent residence is in the US, your'e getting paid in US dollars.. I'm not an expert, but it sounds a bit fishy....

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    1. Yea doesn't sound right to me. I am UK based but there is a guy at my work actually living in France and still working for our UK based company, the only stipulation is that he has to spend a certain number of days back in the country to make it legit so has to make a trip back once every month or so.

      Realise the laws are different over there but sure there is a similar "loophole" that your HR department should really already know about or have done some research on when you asked. Let us know if you find anything!

      (On a side note do you think they were just using that as an excuse as they did not want you to actually go over there, or are they pretty relaxed on remote working in general?)

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    2. Thanks "Mom" & Firestarter. I am pushing back on HR and filling out some paperwork to make an official inquiry. I get the feeling there may be some way but, working against me is the fact that we don't seem to have a Peruvian entity at which I would work (or an office).

      I'm going to keep plugging away though.

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  2. LOVED this breakdown and especially the pics!!! I loved Ecuador's architecture, and I'm a sucker for ceviche. Thanks so much for sharing! Let me ask a couple friends about the US/working thing! That would be a bummer if you had to wait longer to see the Mrs.!

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    1. I'm glad you liked it, Anna. I tried to include some stuff you might find helpful if you guys end up going to South America next year.

      And thanks again for looking into help for me!

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  3. Thanks for sharing your trip. I want to visit Cuenca at some point too. Maybe in a few years. I like ceviche, but we don't get a chance to eat it that often. It's always pretty expensive in the restaurant around here. Great pictures.

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    1. I have seen Cuenca mentioned a lot on FI/RE type of blogs... is this a strange coincidence or is it some sort of well-known gathering place for financial revolutionaries?! :)

      @DB40 - Funnily enough I have also been to Cuenca in '08 as well, and natually I loved it, so thanks for the trip down memory lane! Couldn't stomach the ceviches though... too hot! (the one I had was anyway!)

      The photos you have taken look as good as our ones which were taken on a pretty decent digital camera for back then, amazing how much technology has moved on! I think I have exactly the same pic of the Rio Tomebama as you.

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    2. @ Joe: Thanks for the kind words, Joe. I'd definitely recommend checking Cuenca out. Its on our short list for an early retirement spot.

      @theFIREStarter: That's great that you were able to visit, too. Small world! I do think that the secret is out for Cuenca as a retirement spot. I think Diane Sawyer put out a report a while back that made the rounds on the internet, calling Cuenca the best place to retire in the world.

      And I agree..it's crazy what a cheap camera phone can do these days.

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  4. Thanks for the pictures! I'm hoping to get down to South America this winter, Peru specifically, so this gets me really excited :)

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    1. That's great! I hope you have a fun time on your trip this year.

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  5. Thanks for sharing your pictures! Everything looks really nice, especially the architecture. I would love to go horseback riding one day, pretty scenery! I also love the random picture of the cat, so cute. I'm sorry to hear your request to work down there got denied, though. Hopefully someone will have a workaround for you.

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    1. Yeah, I'm going to keep chasing down every possibility before admitting defeat though. Persistence and niceness will be my weapons!

      If you haven't been horseback riding and can find someone willing to let you work up to a gallop, I definitely recommend trying it. I was sore like you cannot believe and was scared that I would fall off, but it was a fantastic experience.

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  6. Lovely! Mr PoP is with you on the ceviche! A new restaurant that serves ceviche opened up about half a mile from our house a few months ago... let's just say Mr PoP is ALL about our winter walking dates now. =)

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    1. It's amazing what the right 'carrot' can do for our behavior. I think Mrs. Done by Forty would walk many miles in the snow to get to sushi. :)

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  7. That sounds like an awesome trip! It also certainly looks that way from the pictures...

    I just can't believe that black friday has invaded other countries. As an american I am a little ashamed.

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    1. Yeah, I was a little bummed to see that. But I think the advertisers/stores are more into it than the people are. I didn't see any crazy uptick in shopping that Friday.

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  8. Awesome pics! My friend's family were missionaries in Ecuador for most of his childhood and it's a place I've heard a lot about. Would love to visit someday.

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    1. That's cool that you have friends who were missionaries there. I've kicked around the idea but think I might be more suited to do that on a short term basis only.

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  9. Great pictures . I love ceviche as well, even though l am more familiar with the Mexican and Salvadorian types. Those look mouthwatering. Glad you had some quality time with the Mrs. Sadly, I am pretty sure your H.R. Department is right. It could have only worked if your company had a branch there, then it would be a transfer. Otherwise, you would have to be their version of an "autonomo" . You need the proper visa, health insurance etc. and you would have to pay into the system. Currently in Spain, it is €250 per month (will soon be 50) fee. Of course people do it on the sly...but it's not really legal..

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    1. Hmmm, I'll have to look into the 'autonomo' option. I'd be happy to pay money, even a lot of money, to spend time with the missus. Is that similar to an Expat situation?

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    2. To qualify as an expat for US Tax code you pretty much can only spend less than 30 days in the US, no including transit. My father-in-law was an expat for several years over in Dubai. He was working for an American company out of their Dubai office.

      I tend to think you HR is mostly worried about the tax implications since they don't have an office there. They would have to probably pay local taxes as well as US taxes and that might be where the "no-no" situation is coming from.

      -Brian

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    3. Thanks, Brian. That makes sense, and possibly takes yet another option off the table.

      Hmmm...will have to get creative to make this happen.

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  10. What exactly is ceviche? I have a feeling it isn't vegetarian.

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    1. Hi Stefanie. Ceviche is a mixture of raw fish and some other cooked seafood that is marinated in lime juice, seasoned, and served cold. It is the dog's tuxedo.

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  11. Beautiful pictures! That piece about throwing things at the soccer players is pretty crazy. If that happened in the US it would be all over Sportscenter as some sort of travesty. Glad you guys had such a good time. And good luck figuring out the whole tax law thing. I don't know anything about it but I wish you the best.

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    1. Matt, I think you would have loved the game. Soccer fans put the average NFL stadium fans to shame. Crazy enthusiasm, songs everyone knows, and heckling that would make an NFL referee blush.

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  12. Love your pics....especially the beach. That is truly beautiful!

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    1. Thanks, Holly. I miss the beach already. Maybe we need to move to where the water is...

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  13. Woah looks like a pretty cool trip. Beautiful mountains and greenery.

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    1. Thanks, Stu! I'm glad you commented...will go over and check out your blog.

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  14. Thanks for the recap! I'm jealous of your trip, and I love the architecture in Ecuador! I'll pass on the Ceviche though. I love seafood but belch. ha ha! Not my favorite.

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    1. Yeah, I can definitely see how it's not for everyone. It's a bit like sushi that way.

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  15. Thanks for sharing the pics of your trip! Glad you got to go to a soccer match, although it sounds crazy!

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    1. It was a trip seeing that game, Laura. By the end I was throwing my hands up in disgust at bad calls and chanting "Cuenca!" along with the locals. Fun stuff.

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  16. Gorgeous pictures! It sounds like you guys had an excellent trip. Reading about your experiences makes me want to book a plane ticket down there right away!

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    1. That's great, Kali. If you end up taking the trip, please write a post (or three) about it. :)

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  17. Great pictures! I've heard of Cuenca as being a popular location to retire to. Did you see a good amount of ex-pats there? You didn't get a chance to go to Machu Picchu on your trip?

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    1. Hi Andrew. Yeah, we found there were lot of expats (and they tended to eat/drink at certain spots, as far as we could tell). No Machu Picchu this time since we had to spend several days in Lima to deal with Mrs. DB40's shipping situation, but next time. :)

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  18. The photos are awesome and I enjoyed this post so much! I cannot wait to travel to Peru and Ecuador. I definitely like to do some travelling around too. I am a little scared to be travelling to Brazil and Argentina on my own in February since I've heard some horror stories about travelling in SA, but your travel story makes me want to go to SA today!!! :) We have a little Peruvian restaurant in London's Soho called Ceviche, the food is awesome!! I'm so glad you had an amazing time and got to spent time with your wife! It's a shame about not being able to work remotely for 3 month, I hope you will manage to find a solution!

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    1. February? That's soon! I found it to be a pretty safe place, but didn't travel to those countries. Oddly, those were the other two we were considering, instead of Ecuador. That $200 charge the countries charge to visit is what turned us off though (but maybe they don't apply to tourists from the UK?).

      I'll let you know if we end up figuring a way around those international laws, for sure!

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  19. Amazing photos, what a beautiful country. For early retires a third world country is the way to go.

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    1. Thanks, Charles. That's what we were thinking too, regarding an early retirement.

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  20. Now you need to go to Guatemala to try local ceviche, it is made with tomatoes and worcestershire sauce so it is red-ish, really good too. The cost of flights sounds reasonable, South Americal is pretty expensive to fly to. You could check out airbnb and rent an apartment next time to save on eating out.

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    1. Oh, pauline, that ceviche sounds wonderful. We used airbnb for part of the trip but may go that way for the entire vacation next time. Cheers!

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  21. I am so jealous! I cannot wait to pay off my loans and get to experience these places! :)

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    1. Thank you, Tejana! As a former teacher, I am always happy to see an educator come by and comment. Great work on your student loans so far!

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  22. Awesome photographs I have to say! Makes me want to go back to Peru as soon as possible...I had a blast there last March and could take quite many photos similar to yours: http://www.travel-photographs.net/peru-photos/

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    1. They're nothing compared to your photos, Hans. Well done! Mine were all just taken with the camera on an old LG Android, but I'll take what I can get. Cheers and thanks for pointing me to your site. Great shots, again.

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