What were we thinking?

On approach to our next phase in our life lots of thoughts were running through our minds.

Should we stop full time work?

What will we do to enhance our life?

How can we slow down and relax?

Can we take care of ourselves financially without work?

How to fully enjoy the healthy next few more years before aging process kicks in?

We live in beautiful Del Mar and our boys are close to us, two huge positives that should keep anyone happy.

Debating all of the points we got excited by the adventure of exploring new places, potentially finding another Shangri-La, this time in giving to the community, being with nature, and really slowing down the pace of life. At the same time be close to come home frequently to be with family and friends.

On traversing the globe in search of areas that would excite us, we finally focused on Ecuador, in particular Cuenca and its surrounding towns and villages. The equatorial country is lush with mountain cities in the center, awesome coast, and Amazon forests on the east. It is sparsely populated, politically stable, US dollar currency, culturally rich, very friendly people, lots of outdoor life, and affordable.

As everything always sounds exotic online, we decided to venture to Ecuador to taste living there in person. Just visiting for two weeks would not do justice, as the excitement of seeing new places needs to wear down to experiencing the feeling of actual day-to-day life. Thus, our ten-week adventure to Ecuador was planned.