Casa Colibrí is Born!

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Casa Colibrí (Hummingbird House) is nine months old today.  Bill and I have been living in the house about three weeks.  We swore we would NEVER build a house.  We only wanted to renovate an existing property or purchase a house that was livable. The old adage "never say never" sure has hit home with us. I am going to share some of the great, good, and bad things that have occurred as we have taken this journey.

We bought this plot of land (300+ square meters) from a man I met on the street in Manglaralto.  As crazy as that sounds, while we were looking for land or a house to purchase, I spoke to anyone and everyone who would listen in case they knew of a contact. We kept hitting walls.  Some houses were totally out of our budget, some houses were for sale by a few members of the family and not by others, some properties were beyond renovation, etc.... I was speaking to some girlfriends in the park one evening about a recent robbery of some friends and a man walked into our conversation offering to help share his security footage from his home security cameras.  I soon learned he spoke very good English and his family owned a couple of pieces of land in Manglaralto. He showed them to us the next day. We instantly fell in love with this property.  It has an ocean view, sits on the malecon (walking path) along the river, a concrete garage for construction materials was already on site, and the property is located in a quiet area of town, away from the central park.  The center of town can be noisy in the evening during festivals and concerts.  Some events last until 4 or 5 AM with lots of music!

In Ecuador a title of land ownership is called an escritura.  We worked with a lawyer to make sure everything was in order and when we were ready to transfer ownership, we all met in an office in Santa Elena.  The translator came in wearing all black with large rings, super shiny shoes, and a huge watch. He looked just like Roy Scheider.

We had to stand and be sworn in before he read us the legal document. He also recorded all the proceedings.  It was very official!

Next, we found the best maestro in the area.  Our friends, Tim and Janet, have hired Cristobal as their maestro and had complete faith and respect for him.  We asked his advice and opinions and that started the ball rolling. Bill worked diligently drawing a plan for our house.  He measured, planned, and made changes as we thought of things we wanted and needed. We did not use an architect and we don't regret that decision at all.  Cristobal and Bill planned things together so that the layout worked well.  We then had to get the proper permits.  Our great friend and liaison, Alfonso, helped us get our building permit and pay the fees involved.

Cristobal wanted to make sure we had full advantage of our terrific view so he wanted to raise the elevation of the lot to match the elevation of the malecon.  We started construction with the foundation and elevation material on September 11, 2017.

 All the columns are tied together with rebar to help with earthquake protection.  We live in a country with active volcanoes and earthquakes occur from time to time, although most are small tremors.

I want my friends in the states to understand that EVERYTHING has been done by the hands of 6 (now 8) members of our crew.  All the rocks were moved by hand. Pascual has bent all the rebar for every post.  Brothers Juan and Pedro have hauled more big rocks and bags of cement than you can imagine. Eveleo and his father Pedro have smoothed concrete and hauled materials as well.  The only days we had a crew of more than 8 were when the first and second floors were poured.  These had to be finished in one day, so Cristobal hired a crew of about 15 men to help with the process. When they poured the second floor, we also had a winch to bring up the loads of cement.

I didn't go up to the second floor until the stairs were poured, but I scared the crew because when I first went upstairs I cried and cried at the beautiful view of the ocean on one side, the river on a second, and the beautiful hills of Dos Mangas and the jungle on the third.

As the days went by, I took pictures of the progress.  We would rush over at lunch time and check on things and every evening after the crew left I would snap a few pictures.  I have hundreds of photos of the progress.

 December

 January

 February

 March

 April

May

We tried using colors and architectural designs which reflect homes and colors we have seen in our area. It's been a big change from the subtle colors I have always used at home.  We have lots of arches, which are found in many of houses in the area. We also wanted big windows and used lots of glass blocks as we know that the winters here have many gray days and we wanted as much light to help us through the gloom. We have used the construction materials which are well known here in Ecuador.  Rebar, concrete, bamboo are commonly used and our crew can work magic with them.  

Our living space is upstairs with one bedroom, a huge kitchen and open living and dining area. It's about 160 square meters (about 1600 sq. ft.)including a big covered porch.

Our bedroom with a small porch overlooking the river and ocean. (Abby's happy place!)

the porch off the bedroom. 

 master bath (no cabinets yet.)

 living room/dining room

 bar between kitchen and living room. (barstools being made as we speak.)

 kitchen (cabinets finished on Thursday)

 big porch off the kitchen

guest bath

The downstairs is currently being finished as well as the railing for the steps.  The downstairs will have the laundry room and storage area, as well as a guest bedroom and huge covered porch. We hope to have most things finished in the next few weeks but will work on some things (like the fireplace) at a later date. The garage will be torn down and in its place will be a garden and gateway to our house.

Now for the great, the good, and the bad, in reverse order.

The Bad

• We have gone over budget and won't be able to completely finish things right away. 
• The language barrier has slowed us down a bit, but we are improving every day.
• It has taken longer to complete than we expected.

The Good

• We have loved getting to know the construction crew.  We know we have made lifelong friends as they all live in the area.
• The crew has taught us so much about ingenuity and making things from scratch.  
• We have provided jobs for a lot of people in the area.  The crew, the window maestro, the cabinet maker, the tile store, and the local hardware store have all done great business with us. 

The Great

• We would have never been able to afford to live by the ocean in the states and now we have a beautiful home right on the Pacific.
• We are mortgage free!
• Our utilities (including internet)for one month are less than $100. 
• We have used lots of bold color and Ecuadorian craftsmanship. 

hand painted floor tiles from Cuenca

• We wear flip flops and shorts all year long!

Heartfelt Thanks

We have had so much support from friends here in Ecuador and we want to send big hugs and thanks to some friends.....

Tim and Janet McGuinness- Tim and Janet opened their home to us when our lease was finished on our rental house.  We stayed in an apartment in the downstairs of their house for six months.  They always made us feel loved and welcomed.  We spent many evenings together on their porch watching the sunset and talking about the day.  Tim and Janet also introduced us to Cristobal.  They provided us with a listening ear when we had problems and always gave great advice. Tim was so, so, so helpful with translating for us when speaking with Cristobal.  They both would come to the construction site every Friday for our weekly meeting and Tim would help us understand the construction process.  Tim and Janet have become our very best friends, and Bill and I look forward to many more sunsets and lots of traveling with them.

Alfonso Baudilio Bonilla Rosales- Baudi has helped us make connections with great people.  He helped us find a good real estate lawyer and helped us obtain the construction permit.  He and his family have become our family as well. We honor his advice and perspective on things.

Cristobal Manuel Orrala Suarez- Cristobal knows more about construction than you can imagine. He does everything from electrical wiring, plumbing, concrete, woodworking, and laying tile.  He is the ultimate perfectionist and you can tell he loves his career. Cristobal is humble and kind and always wants his clients to be happy with the outcome.  He is a great leader for the crew and a wonderful family man. We will forever be grateful to him for building our dream home.

The Crew- We want to thank the rest of the crew for building our house and for their wonderful work ethic. Pascual Matias, Pedro Yagual, Juan Matias, Eveleo Yagual, Pedro Matias, as well as the new additions of Pedro and Gilson have worked diligently every day.  Bill and I enjoyed coming over every Friday evening with payroll and a case of beer. We loved trying to chat and joke with everyone as they tried to teach us new sentences. We thank them from the bottom of our hearts.

Bob and Rox Hedges- We stayed with this couple who have since become our good friends, when we first visited Ecuador in 2016 and again when we returned in 2017.  They shared their love of Ecuador and their knowledge of Manglaralto with us.

Tom Butinski- Tom was a stranger to us in September of 2017.  He lived in Cuenca, Ecuador and was about to move to Colombia.  He posted a video on an Ecuador Facebook site that he wanted to sell all his household goods to one person.  We communicated back and forth and finally made an agreement.  Bill and I bought all his household good, sight unseen.  Tom made sure things were packed carefully and shipped to our little town on the coast.  Since we didn't have anyplace to unpack things, they stayed in storage for seven months (Thanks to Woot Gibson for allowing us to store things.).  When we moved in last month it was like Christmas as I opened the crates and unwrapped the furniture!  Everything is beautiful and we were very fortunate to have found Tom.  We continue to stay in contact, even though he has moved on to Colombia. *If you remember, we came here with six suitcases, a dog, and a cat....so we needed to furnish this house!

Miss Judy at Omnisariato- Omnisariato is the hardware store in town.  Tim, Cristobal, Bill, and I went in to open an account.  With a handshake and a kiss on the cheek, we opened an account and Crsitobal was able to charge construction supplies to our account as he needed.  We go there twice a month and pay some money toward the balance.  We will miss seeing Judy, but we won't miss handing over the money!

Cyndy Wergin and Annie Rikel- Thank you, ladies for allowing me to copy some of your design styles.

We had to put a lot of trust into people that we really didn't know and that is a true leap of faith, but time and time again people have been very generous and kind to us. ́́́́́́

Finally, thanks to my partner in crime and the love of my life.  I have often heard that building a house can put strain on a marriage but I can honestly say it was a pretty easy process....except for that one week.

Bill and I are still in awe of the life we are building here in our new country.  We love Ecuador...the good, and the bad, and the strange. We are excited to continue this next chapter of our lives together.

Cheers!