Preparing for South America

About a year ago, I read an article about retiring overseas and it mentioned several places that you could retire on the cheap. The ones that caught my attention were the ones that allowed me to live a modern life and still not cost an arm and a leg. The places that really sparked my attention were Ecuador and Panama.

Ecuador was voted the top spot to retire in International Living Magazine last year, so I did a little more reading and discovered that there is potable water in all of Ecuador as well as internet access in most of the country. Sounds pretty good so far. And I continued to dream of one day visiting...

I even went and got a passport in December. I didn't know if I'd ever have the opportunity to use it, but if you're not prepared it can't happen. So, I prepared - and received my passport in the mail in January, I think.

So, I like to read and I was reading a book that pointed me to a website that happened to have a workshop and tour in - guess where? Ecuador! Guess who was all over that? Long story short is, I'm going to Ecuador. Quito and Cotacachi to be precise. They are in the Andes Mountains, so we'll see how I do with the elevation. And, I'll get to stand on the equator. Not really something I ever thought about doing before, but I'm certainly going to enjoy it. 

In preparation for my trip, I called the health department - the government has a weird way of doing things, but anyway, you call a number and they get a travel nurse to call you back and tell you what shots you need. I was told I needed Typhoid, tetanus (if it's been 10 years since I had one) and Hepatitis A. After asking around, I realized no one else was required to get the typhoid shot, so when I went to get my shots, the nurse said it wasn't required. I declined since the thing cost $55. I'll probably end up with typhoid - probably no one in the last 10 years who visited that area ever got typhoid, but I will. Well, I hope not, but we'll see. If I start to run a fever, I'll definitely get to the doctor right away. All in all, I think it will be ok, though. And one of the activities is to visit a shaman for purification, so maybe he can purify typhoid germs!

I am excited about going and in just over a month -- about 6 weeks -- I'll be on a plane to Miami and then on a plane to Quito. Can't wait to experience my first international trip! I'll keep you posted...