“Often when you think you’re at the end of something, you’re at the beginning of something else.”
― Fred Rogers
What you imagine is that your home will be built along the same lines as any other single-family dwelling in Canada. This is entirely delusional.
As Mike Tyson said, “Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.” Ours remained valid until a magnitude 7.8 destroyed much of the coast.
The lot we purchased from HolaEcuador was a first real step toward retirement. In two years, we would have a villa on the Pacific coast of Ecuador.
That evening, we watched Manta retreat behind us as the sun set over the ocean. I felt a sincere pang of regret for leaving too soon.
Geoglyphs, ancient mummies, expansive plateau vistas, impressive ranges, and palm oases straight from a romance novel. We were immediately spellbound.
We saw the colonial city from a bus window. The rest is a haze of roadside trash, black belches of diesel exhaust, and dour-looking barrios.