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Notaria Quinta in Loja – Fast, Professional and Friendly

English version

Introduction

Going to the notary is serious business. This is where important transactions are irreversibly sealed. Nevertheless, this does not mean that it has to be a scary experience nor that it cannot be done in a relaxed manner and with a smile.

There are quite a few notaries to choose from in Loja. Most are conveniently located in the center of the city no more than a few blocks away from the central plaza. So which one do we go to ? Does it matter ? Would it make any difference ? Are the prices different ? And to start with, are we even allowed to choose one notary rather than another or do we have to let our lawyer decide for us ?

Before we address these questions, let’s clear a few things out of the way. A notary public is a qualified lawyer, he or she has to be in this country, but he is also a public officer and it is prohibited for him to give legal advice the way your lawyer does. His role is to give faith to an existing agreement not to give advice on what agreement is best for you. Give faith means checking the validity of the documents presented to him, verifying the identities of the parties, make sure all required signatures are present, assure strict adherence to the law etc…

Notaria Quinta in Loja - Fast, Professional and Friendly — Dr Rodrin Palacios

“Nosotros damos fe publica de los actos y contratos que la ciudadania requiere” Dr. Rodrín Palacios – notary public.

Impartiality is key. The notary has to remain neutral at all times and in case of disagreement between the parties, he has to send them back to sort things out with their respective lawyers. In a typical scenario the content of the agreement would be prepared by your lawyer, such as an affidavit, a sales and purchase agreement, a testament, a power of attorney etc… and then this content would be validated, sealed, legalized, in one word “notarized” by the notary public in the physical presence of all the required parties.

Having said that, this does not mean that one cannot seek a little guidance from a notary public. How much “guidance” exactly is he allowed to give you? Well, I would simply recommend to go and ask and if the type of question you ask is really out of what the notary is allowed to discuss, he will honestly tell you. No harm is done asking.

Notaria Quinta

I found that asking something to a notary public can be an intimidating experience. In Ecuador the notary offices tend to be packed and it is sometimes hard to even approach the doctor let alone ask him (or her because there are female notaries public) something. Some notary offices are actually designed to make people transit from one desk to another and pass through several “human filters” before they can even reach the doctor’s desk. It is only in the final stage when everything is ready for the signatures that the client is guided to a back room where the doctor’s office is located.

At Notaria Quinta, it is not like that. If you so desire, you can walk directly to the doctor’s desk and nobody will stop you. On the contrary Dr Palacios will shake hands and invite you to sit down at his desk.

The office design is an open plan where the doctor sits on a peer level among his assistants.

Notaria Quinta in Loja — Notaria Quinta Loja – Conviviality through Open plan design

El doctor

On the photo below we see the notary public, “el doctor” as everyone calls him. His name is Rodrín Palacios Soto. He is a soft-mannered, gentle-spoken man who kindly invites people to sit at his desk.

“Nosotros primero somos muy cordiales, damos una atención personalizada… Damos atención prioritaria a las personas que lo necesitan como por ejemplo gente de tercer edad …”

We try first and above all to be cordial and give personalized attention… We also give priority to the people with special needs such as the elderly …

“Nuestra atención básicamente es asesoramiento…”

“Asesoramiento” means “Legal advice” in English. However, the doctor clarifies that we are not talking about giving legal advice like lawyers do but rather advising people to make sure that they understand fully what they are about to sign.

It may sound obvious to some but it is not. People could be old or may for whatever reason find it difficult to understand the content of an agreement. People could also have been pressured by family members or partners. A good notary will spend the time and make the effort to put a person in a position where he/she really understands the consequences of what that person is about to sign.

“Por eso, cuando hay un extranjero, nosotros pedimos un interprete…”

For this reason, we find a translator in the case it is a foreigner who uses our services.

Dr Palacios has 17 years experience of which he has spent 14 as a lawyer and the 3 years as a notary.

The staff

On his right side by the window sits Guadalupe

She is a qualified lawyer and is Rodrín’s right arm.

The remaining part of the open plan is used by the staff in charge of welcoming the people, listen to their requests and preparing the documents. The place was quite busy on the day I was there but nevertheless everyone seemed relaxed, customers and staff alike, flowing with the flow. It was a beautiful sunny day in Loja.

I counted 5 people working on the ground floor. There is a second floor where the archives are kept and there are a few more staff members working on that floor. Notaria Quinta has a significant team of professionals working harmoniously together.

Customer feedback

I asked a few people what their experience was or had been with the Notaria Quinta.

Let me state that my visit was not planned, to be precise, the doctor was expecting me but the clients had no clue what I was doing there. I just walked to them and asked their opinion.

Some were regular clients and they all said that the service was outstanding.

“Es una notaria que tiene prestigio … la situación es que trabajan bien .. cuando nosotros abogados les pedimos que nos ayuden, que nos colaboren, porque el cliente muchas veces esta apurado, entonces nos hacen cuando les pidemos…” Dr Luis Alex Guarnizo.

Cecilia Espinoza’s desk is right by the door and she is naturally the client’s first point of contact. She was taking care of two ladies who also happened to be regular customers who have done all type of transactions at Notaria Quinta and wouldn’t go anywhere else. “Muy contentas. Excelente atención” were their spontaneous words.

Final thoughts

It is my hope that the information above answers the questions at the top of this article of why one would choose a notary rather than another and whether it matters. Is one allowed to choose a notary who is not necessarily the notary his lawyer invites him to ? (maybe for personal convenience or through habit). Yes it goes without saying. No-one can force a person to sign a document in front of a notary he does not trust. It is all part of due process. Trust and informed consent are keys.

As per the prices, I was told that they should be exactly the same regardless of the notary one decides to go to. At Notaria Quinta they have a large display on the wall with the notary fees for each type of transaction.

Conclusion

At Notaria Quinta in Loja I found the atmosphere to be both professional and relaxed. The notary is a gentle-spoken and approachable person who will gracefully assist you to the extend he is allowed by the law. The staff is cordial, the service is fast and excellent according to the clients I spoke to. As a plus the space is open and bright, with many windows opening onto calle Bolivar in the heart of the city of Loja. There are many comfortable seats for people to wait while being looked after.

Only one thing is missing: the espresso machine and some home made cookies. And why not a little children corner with a few books. Maybe one day 😉

Bye for now and see you at Notaria Quinta.

Contacts

Address: Calle Bolivar y Rocafuerte
Tel: +593 (0)72573743
Email: notariaquintaloja@gmail.com

Comments

Do you wish to comment or share some experience? Please leave your message in the section below. You can also contact us through our web page here.

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Why should Venezuela and Brazil matter to Ecuador

Español AQUI
Español AQUI NO es una traducción humana!

There is so much propaganda and misinformation nowadays that even with the internet it is getting harder and harder to know what’s what. Social medias with the large number of trolls polluting them play an important role in brainwashing the masses. Let’s not even mention the mainstream media like CNN or the BBC.

My audience is not the people who still rely on this type of media for information. My audience is for people who rely on social media and the so-called “alternative media”. I find that often this type of media also falls prey to financial interests and publish propaganda verbatim and without analysis. Is it innocent, because they did not read the material they published? Is it lack of time and resources to apply some critical thinking to what they publish ? Or is there a darker agenda? Hard to know.

Look at Infowars.com for example. This morning they published an article with this title:

Revolution Rising: Colossal Protests Rock Socialist Venezuela

Millions rise up against socialism
Jamie White & Kit Daniels | Infowars.com – September 1, 2016

Impressive photo !

Although the title is factually correct, its implications that millions are rising up against [the economic disaster caused by] socialism could not be further from the truth. This is all so obviously orchestrated and it is so easy to do when the power of money and the power of the media are in the same hands. All it takes is:

Create chaos through economical crisis, in the case of Venezuela which depends on oil sales, by lowering the oil price and taking various measures to reduce food supply and make ordinary people suffer in long queues at the supermarket, we have all seen the pictures.
Use the media to convince the people that their suffering is the consequence of the “failure of socialism”.
Get the brainwashed masses to protest against their socialist government and make sure the protests are well covered in the press with great photos of large groups of people.

And voila! Just wait for the government to fall and leave room for the elite to take the power back. In effect, this is using the people to act against their own interest. No need for war. The people wage it themselves from the inside. This is brilliant !

And this is what happens today in Venezuela. Brazil is a variation on the same theme using slightly different tools to achieve the same goal. I am appalled to read about what is currently happening Brazil, our neighbor. The people of Ecuador seem to have no idea and little interest. They are too busy with their phones, their latest apps and the latest football match.

I have no intention to become a political writer and extensively cover topics such as these on a web site like bbxmusic.com. Our focus is Ecuador, tourism, culture and life. The reason we publish this is to help our readers who live here in Ecuador to become more conscious of the nature of the game that surrounds us because it will affect us directly sooner or later. Indeed tourism is directly and negatively affected by the type of events that occur in Venezuela and Brazil. Ecuador is currently trying to recover from this terrible earthquake that shook it recently. It would not take much to bring its economy to its knees, organize a few protests with good media coverage and turn it into another Venezuela.

What is happening today in Venezuela is what will happen tomorrow (and is already happening today) in our beloved country of Ecuador. Ecuador and Bolivia are on the same list of “ill-behaved countries” (meaning countries that do not behave as American stooges and, god forbid, try to make their people benefit from their own resources) as Venezuela and Brazil. So beware of the propaganda. It is everywhere, on all social medias and on alternative medias.

I spent half an hour this morning looking up information on this massive protest in Venezuela and it was hard to finally get to a web page where someone says something intelligent about it.

Venezuela’s Opposition: Attacking Its Own People

The corporate media would have you believe that Venezuela is a dictatorship on the verge of political and economic collapse; a country where human rights crusaders and anti-government, democracy-seeking activists are routinely rounded up and thrown in jail. Indeed, the picture from both private media in Venezuela, as well as the mainstream press in the U.S., is one of a corrupt and tyrannical government desperately trying to maintain its grip on power while the opposition seeks much-needed reforms. In fact, the opposite is true.

We invite you to read the article above using the link provided. Next time you see a protest in Ecuador against Correa you will think about it and be better equipped to understand the game that is being played, by whom and for what purposes.

For a broader perspective, you can also read this article:

Regime Change throughout Latin America: The Monroe Doctrine Becomes the “Obama Doctrine”

Any comments? Want to share some experience? Please post here below.

Appreciated.

Síganos en Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/todoloja

#HechoConAmor #TodoLoja

Sweet Potato – Living Healthy in Vilcabamba and Loja Ecuador

Español AQUI NO es una traducción humana!

Todoloja researches the topics of health and longevity in this part of the world (Loja Ecuador).

Good health starts with good nutrition.

SWEET POTATOES – DID YOU KNOW?

Sweet potatoes are native to Central and South America and are one of the oldest vegetables known to man. They have been consumed since prehistoric times as evidenced by sweet potato relics dating back 10,000 years that have been discovered in Peruvian caves.

Sweet Potato - Living Healthy in Vilcabamba and Loja — Camote – sweet potato

Sweet potatoes belong to an entirely different food family than either yams or the common potato that is (unfortunately) such a large part of the common diet.

One difficulty in describing the health benefits of sweet potatoes is knowing where to begin. There are a surprising number of nutrient categories responsible for the health benefits of this underappreciated tuber. Among these categories are antioxidants, anti-inflammatory nutrients, and blood sugar-regulating nutrients. Each category brings with it valuable health benefits.

Here in Vilcabamba they grow like weed. On our land, we don’t pay too much attention to them and let them go wild and out of control most of the time but we should give them more care. They deserve it. Despite of that, today we extracted this monster from our ground in Sacapo, San Pedro de Vilcabamba.

I want to add that there is nothing healthier and more fun apparently for a young child than spending time outside in the “huerto”. This is one of the things that people living in cities have lost. The children are weaker and get sick more often.

One of the factors of longevity is certainly :

More time outside and better food.

Comments

Do you wish to comment or share some experience? Please leave your message in the section below. You can also contact us through our web page here.

Subscribe to our newsletter

If you wish to be informed about what goes on at bbxmusic.com and receive quality information about Vilcabamba, the city of Loja and the entire Loja province in Ecuador, please do subscribe here.

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Salud y Vida SPA – Natural therapies in Vilcabamba

English version Español AQUI

Relaxation therapies – Body Massage – Steam Baths – Reflexology – Clay exfoliation – Hair removal – Facial care …

Health is a pervasive topic in the so-called “Valley of Longevity”, Vilcabamba, a small town in the Ecuadorian Andes mountains. Many people have come from abroad and have settled in Vilcabamba precisely to seek a better quality of life. In fact many of them are professionals engaged in one or another form of natural therapy: massage, reflexology, acupuncture, osteopathy, yoga, bio-magnetism, Rolf therapy and more … Vilcabamba has it all.

Mariana Avila is a native of Vilcabamba. We visited her center of natural treatments called “Salud y Vida SPA“.

Introduction

Many of you living here in Vilcabamba already know Mariana and perhaps already felt her magic hands … I met her when she had a vegetarian restaurant. I must confess that was my favorite at that time.

However, we have now discovered other qualities and skills that she possesses. Mariana is a sweet and spontaneous person, inspires confidence, she carries within herself what I would call “the angel”, something that I immediately felt when I saw her. The persons who possess “the angel” have something special that other people don’t have, the true vocation of caring for others and do it with love, patience and sweetness. Mariana has that and it makes you want to stay there forever in a never ending massage.

She told us that her attraction for alternative therapies and natural medicine was born when she was still very young. It is something genetic in the Avila Cabrera family. She explained that several close family members favored the branch of medicine both eastern and western. She also has an uncle who is a shaman and her daughter Ruth is studying child psychology at the university. They are a long chain of guardians of health …

And before you ask, her prices are very affordable too.

The place is simple without fuss and quite cozy indeed, adorned with many beautiful plants and flowers of various colors. Every corner is well designed so that when one enters this place, one feels comfortable and relaxed.

Salud y Vida SPA Vilcabamba - The place is cozy and well decorated — The place is cozy and well decorated

Mariana told us that her customers usually ask for suggestions on which therapy to attend and she advises them depending on their ailments. However, the “baño de cajón” (in English literally “the bath in a drawer”) is always the recommended first step in order to detoxify the body and at the same time get the person to relax. She then continues with either a massage or an exfoliation, a mud bath, a reflexology etc …

Mariana has been trained through workshops, courses etc … about therapies that she performs in its SPA. It is evident that she loves doing these activities and this makes it different.

To let go in Mariana’s hands

As is our custom at bbxmusic.com, we want as much as possible to only talk from experience. For the purpose of this article, Mariana offered me to do me a treatment and I asked her which one she would recommend. We talked a little about my health and my ailments, she asked me a few things about my life. I have a tendency to be a little over stressed and nervous which in my case manifests itself in the skin. Because of this she recommended a steam bath and a clay exfoliation.

It is something that Martha has already mentioned above in her introduction but I wish to reiterate it because it is important. The therapist’s personality, her “energy”, her “aura” is an essential part of the patient’s experience, is it not? This is something that cannot be explained but rather felt. I felt immediately relaxed with Mariana and had no issue surrendering myself to her capable hands.

Baño de cajón (steam box)

Salud y Vida Vilcabamba - Baños de cajón — Salud y Vida Vilcabamba – Baños de cajón

This is basically a steam bath, similar to a Turkish bath but performed in a custom designed cupboard or “drawer” (hence the name “cajon” in Spanish which means drawer) inside which the person sits leaving only the head outside. I read that it is inspired from Ayurvedic medicine. The advantage of leaving the head outside is that one can still breathe comfortably “up here” despite the heat and heavy body sweating “down there”.

So I took off my clothes, put my belongings in a cane basket that she gave me and put on a white dressing gown.

It was then time to sit in the steam box that I distractedly was about to walk into with the gown still on. Mariana gently told me to take it off. “Of course“, I thought, “Silly me, I am not going to get in there with the dressing gown on, am I?”

However, I felt a little shy I confess. I heard myself saying, “What? I have to take it all off?“.

She laughed and replied:

“That’s right. The body is the body.”

I sat in the steam box and slowly felt the heat all over my body and the nice scent of the plants while I started to sweat a lot, which is good because the objective is for the heat to open the pores and allow the body toxins out. I had to stay 15 minutes inside the box.

From time to time Mariana approached to ask how I feel, wipe my face and put a wet towel on my head. Also when the heat became unbearable, we opened the lid a little to have a pause. I must say that she did the whole process very sweetly, nothing by force, nothing uncomfortable. After the treatment, looking at the photo below and remembering the heat and the cool “life saving towel” that Mariana put on my head, I had to laugh while thinking about those famous biblical words:

Clay Exfoliation

Salud y Vida SPA Vilcabamba - Exfoliacion con arcilla caliente — A sheet of plastic and a good blanket to continue perspiring

Fifteen minutes later I felt totally relaxed. Mariana then covered my whole body with warm clay including the face and wrapped me in a sheet of plastic and a good blanket to continue perspiring for about 20 minutes.

In this process I felt quite hot and thirsty, Mariana gave me to drink a refreshing mint tea, then she made an exfoliation with a glove to remove the wet clay, gently massaging the whole body.

Salud y Vida SPA Vilcabamba - Exfoliation — Salud y Vida SPA Vilcabamba – Exfoliation

Finally I took a shower, not too cold not too hot. Perfect ! And it was easy to take the clay off my body because the clay had not been allowed to dry out. I then leaned back in a long chair and felt like a fresh lettuce … well actually I wish I could have stayed right there to sleep overnight since I felt so comfortable and relaxed.

Reflexology

“Reflexology is the application of appropriate pressure to specific points and areas on the feet, hands, or ears. Reflexologists believe that these areas and reflex points correspond to different body organs and systems, and that pressing them has a beneficial effect on the organs and person’s general health.” Wikipedia.

We did not do a reflexology session. While she was briefly explaining us how it works, Mariana took my feet and applied pressure to different points. When she made me cringe or even jump she explained that the pain was not something normal but rather the reflection of a problem in some area of my body.

Salud y Vida SPA Vilcabamba - Reflexology mat — Reflexology mat

Talking about reflexology, Mariana had something interesting. She showed us a mat made in such a way that it stimulates the reflexology points of the feet, allowing to reach excellent therapeutic results.

My feet are very sensitive so I could not even stand for a minute on the carpet. It is like walking on pebbles but worse. Martha, who is native from here had no problem at all standing on it. “She is a river girl” I thought.

Actually, Mariana recommended me to take shoe-less walks on the river bank.

Massage

We did not have time for a massage. It must surely be excellent and we’ll try to include information on this topic some time on the bbxmusic.com web site.

In the mean time, if you are reading this article and have already experienced a massage at “Salud y Vida”, please leave your comment in the section below.

Conclusion

In her Vilcabamba natural treatment center, Salud y Vida SPA, Mariana knows her subject. She has a lot of experience dealing with both locals and foreigners. She works with sweetness, love and respect. The place is cozy and has good energy. We recommend it to anyone who wants to relax, relieve stress and improve his or her physical and psychological health.

Salud y Vida SPA - Natural therapies in Vilcabamba - Mariana Avila — Salud y Vida SPA – Natural therapies in Vilcabamba – Mariana Avila

Visit the center of natural treatments Health and Life the next time you are in Vilcabamba.

Contacts

Address: Valle Sagrado y Diego Vaca de Vega, Vilcabamba Ecuador (opposite to restaurant Mexibamba)
Tel: +593 (0)9 86782084
Email: marianaavilac@gmail.com
Opening hours: please call for an appointment

Comments

Do you wish to comment or share some experience? Please leave your message in the section below. You can also contact us through our web page here.

Subscribe to our newsletter

If you wish to be informed about what goes on at bbxmusic.com and receive quality information about Vilcabamba, the city of Loja and the entire Loja province in Ecuador, please do subscribe here.

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Pharmacy in Loja – By the people and for the people

English version

Español AQUI

Only a few meters from the “centro comercial” main entrance in Loja, there is a pharmacy. The place is small indeed, so small that you may never have noticed it but his owner is not small and I don’t mean size-wise. Ramiro Delgado is what I would not hesitate to call a “great man”. On this beautiful sunny day I truly enjoyed spending a couple of hours with him.

Ramiro has done many things in his life and occupied important functions. For example, he was involved in writing the Ecuadorian constitution in 2008 in Montecristi and he has been the owner of a 5 floor business in central Loja with an ice cream parlor, a restaurant, a children playground, a dance club… but this place, this small pharmacy is truly his and he explains that it is in this place that he can truly be himself.

“Why own 10 businesses? To live with a level of stress of 500% ? No. It is better to be able to freely say hello to a friend, lend a hand to an elderly to help him cross the road. And be the person I have always been“.

Pharmacia del Pueblo Loja Ecuador - Ramiro Delgado — Farmacia del Pueblo Loja Ecuador – Ramiro Delgado

“My father was a wise man and he used to say that money only has two virtues: it poisons the soul and kills the feelings. Because when you have money you think that you can buy it all, you lose the capacity to love, you lose the capacity to respect and fell compassion.”

So once again in this small third-world country called Ecuador, I found myself exchanging profound ideas with a great and wise man in the middle of a nothing place next to a popular market where people go to buy their potatoes and their chicken. How amazing!

Let’s take a look at the place this man is running, shall we? It is a pharmacy, “the people’s pharmacy” is its name, la “farmacia del pueblo”, but we shall see that it is much more than just a pharmacy. It has all the expected pharmaceuticals for sure but also a range of natural products. We don’t have the space to list them all here and I strongly advise the reader to pay Ramiro a visit and check him out. Below is an example of a popular plant-based products that help people sleep better.

Farmacia del Pueblo Loja Ecuador - Pharmacueticals and Natural Products — Farmacia del Pueblo Loja Ecuador – Pharmaceuticals and Natural Products

Secondly, it is a small bank, two banks more precisely: Banco de Guayaquil and Banco de Pinchincha. In this pharmacy people come to make deposits and perform other types of transactions without having to queue in a main branch and with the possibility to talk to a real flesh-bone-and-heart human being instead of a human-like robot.

Farmacia del Pueblo Loja Ecuador - Banco de Guayaquil y Banco de Pinchincha — Farmacia del Pueblo Loja Ecuador – Banco de Guayaquil y Banco de Pinchincha

Thirdly, Ramiro makes copies of most types of keys with an automatic machine.

Farmacia del Pueblo Loja Ecuador - Key cutting — Farmacia del Pueblo Loja Ecuador – Key cutting

Finally and just as importantly, it is a place where everybody smiles and just that is a therapy that no medicine in the world can beat !

Farmacia del Pueblo Loja Ecuador — Pharmacy in Loja – By the people and for the people

So check him out next time you go to the market or have a need for medicinal products. His English is not great he does admit but he can understand you if you speak slowly.

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Porque Loja se queda atrás y no despega ?

Vivo y trabajo en Loja (y Vilcabamba y toda la provincia de Loja). Me dedico al turismo, he viajado y vivido en algunas partes del mundo y a veces me pregunto porque parece que Loja se queda atrás y no despega?

He descargado el mapa de la página wikitravel desde el siguiente enlace http://wikitravel.org/en/Ecuador y no puedo creer lo que ven mis ojos. Este mapa se puede ver arriba en este articulo.

¿Donde diablo esta LOJA? El Podocarpus si esta pero la palabra “Loja” no aparece, ni la ciudad ni la provincia. Macas, Riobamba, Puyo, Tena, hasta Babahoyo, pero Loja no existe !

No es la primera vez que me pasa este tipo de sorpresa. No es un error tipográfico aislado. Puedo dar otros ejemplos. La realidad es que el turismo internacional no llega acá. Los tours pasan por Quito, Otavalo, Centro del mundo, Galápagos, Cuenca, Guayaquil pero no pasan por Loja!

Tengo mis experiencias e ideas propias sobre la cuestión y las publicare próximamente en las páginas de bbxmusic.com. Mientras tanto me gustaría saber su opinión. Favor comente en la sección bajo esta publicación. Las tomare en cuenta y tratare de hacer una síntesis.

Muchas gracias.

Pierre Volter
Editor bbxmusic.com

Simple tips to identify dangerous snakes in Vilcabamba Loja Ecuador

English version

Español AQUI

Let’s be clear and upfront. I am not a snake specialist. I live near Vilcabamba, a small village in the Loja province of southern Ecuador. My house is on a large piece of rural land (una finca) surrounded by beautiful wilderness and yes there are snakes (and scorpions and spiders).

Having said that, I took some time to try to identify simple ways to tell whether one snake specimen is deadly or totally harmless, something that you must admit is good to know when you encounter one.

Like I said, I am no specialist and this write-up is no attempt to cover the subject exhaustively. It is rather an attempt to make simple and easy to understand something scary and apparently complicated. Readers will tell me if I succeeded.

I roamed the land for years without ever bumping into one of those creatures until one day finally I almost stepped on one very large Bothrops Asper, the one that they call here the Macanche, that was having a nap in the sun right in the middle of my road a few meters only from my front door. It was 2 meters long approximately (no I did NOT measure it with a tape) and its body must have been around 10 cm – 15 cm diameter. After a moment of sheer panic, I went to get my camera and since I could see that the creature was very calm and in no way about to jump on me, I sat down a few meters from her and took some photos.

I say “her” because I now know that only the females of that species can be that large. I had no idea then that I was looking at one of the deadliest snake on the planet, let alone a large specimen of it. My instinct was telling me that she could feel my energy and since my energy was good nothing bad would happen. I was very curious I must admit. So below, there she is just like I found her.

Equis Bothrops Asper- Macanche - Vilcabamba Loja Ecuador — Bothrops Asper – Here they call it “MACANCHE”

After a few years without seeing another Equis, recently I had my second encounter, a smaller specimen this time. I had a better camera with me with a better zoom and I took some good close-ups. On the photo below, the shape of the pupil can be seen and it is vertical which is an important parameter.

Todoloja - Simple tips to identify snakes in Vilcabamba Loja Ecuador — Todoloja – Simple tips to identify snakes in Vilcabamba Loja Ecuador

On the photo just above as well as the almost all of them, two reddish dots can be seen between the eyes and the nostrils. This is one of the most important identification attributes. These are called “loreal pits” or “Jacobson’s organ” and are part of the sensory organs along with the tongue that my friend is precisely pulling out in one of the photos above. Using these organs they can sense you and I guess this is also how they “feel” your fear or lack thereof maybe through the pheromones that you emit I am not sure.

To identify a snake one has to look at the shape of the head, the shape of the eyes and the tail, easier said than done I know but that is what it is.

The head and the eyes

Equis has big triangular flat head that sticks out. That is a bad sign. Whereas harmless snakes have a spoon shaped head.

Equis has elliptical vertical pupils as opposed to round pupils. That is another bad sign.

Equis has the two reddish dots, the pits, and that is yet another bad sign.

To compare let’s have a look at another friend who I found comfortably sleeping in my roof right above my head. Our house is a rustic house made of adobe blocks with a sugar cane straw roof and it had been left empty for a long time which is why the snake made it its home.

Harmless snake - Dormilona — Harmless snake – Dormilona

The head is smaller and spoon-shaped rather than sharply triangular, not that much wider than the body, meaning that there is no room inside this snake’s mouth for the venom glands. It also has round eyes.

The one below which we found in a stack of timber in our shed is also harmless. It is a banded cat-eyed snake, totally harmless. It is called cat-eyed because … hmm … it has eyes that look like the eyes of a cat. It also has a relatively small head that does not stick out so much.

The tail

Admittedly the tail is not often easy to see because snake have a natural tendency to make a tight roll of themselves.

Below is the same macanche but this time we can clearly see that her tail is thick and short.

Bothrops Asper- Macanche - Vilcabamba Loja Ecuador — Macanche – Thick and short tail

On the other hand, this one which I found in a water reservoir that I was letting dry in order to do some maintenance has obviously a thin and very long tail. That is good. Equis has a short and thick tail, meaning that the body does not get thinner and thinner over a large part of the body but stays pretty much the same thickness and then ends in a short tail. On the specimen below it is clear that roughly as much as 25% of the body length could be considered the tail.

Harmless Snake - Vilcabamba Loja Ecuador — Harmless Snake – Vilcabamba Loja Ecuador

It is also green and has a small head. Another thing I noticed is that to make matters worse, the bad guys don’t move and just sit completely still whereas the good guys tend to run away. Too bad it is not the other way round.

To sum it up

Look at the head: flat, big, triangular, sticking out IS BAD
Look at the eyes: round pupil is GOOD, elliptical vertical pupil is BAD
Look at the pits: two reddish dots between the eyes and the mouth is BAD
Look at the tail: long and thin is GOOD / short and thick is BAD (*)

(*) A trick to remember which one is what is to think about the rattlesnake that everybody knows is dangerous and makes a rattling sound with its tail.

It would be hard to shake the tail and make that sound if the tail was long and thin, much easier with a short one.

So to remember: short and thick = DANGER, long and thin = SAFE.

Unfortunately there is one exception

Hey, life would not be fun if it was that easy, would it?

In Ecuador, we have the pleasure to host a wonderful and deadly snake that is called the CORAL

One day we were enjoying our breakfast on the porch when this guy just “walked by” as if nothing. I followed him and took some shots. Here he is:

Serpiente Snake Coral (this one is dangerous)

As can be seen it has a long thin tail and we cannot see it on the photo but it also has a small head. However it is very easy to identify because of its beautiful colors.

Coral snake - Loja Ecuador — Coral snake – Loja Ecuador

So beware of that one !

Any comments? Want to share some experience? Please post here below.

Appreciated.

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Living healthy in Vilcabamba and Loja Ecuador

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Español AQUI

19 July 2016

With our sympathy and our love to our neighbor, Balbina Camacho, who died the 18th of July 2016.

“You are not wealthy until you have something that money can’t buy” .

Garth Brooks

If there is something that I have learned living in Vilcabamba since 2008 it is that health is not something that money usually buys.

This statement requires a little bit of clarification.

What is the secret of health?

Sure money can buy better medical care. With money, one can go to a private clinic like San Agustin in Loja instead of relying on the free public system (and get his prostate taken out to treat kidney stones as happened to an Ecuadorian friend of mine).

Money can also buy expensive supplements available from the Juice Factory in Vilcabamba or on line or get a full set of essential oils. Money can buy everything organic, usually at double or triple the price of the non organic equivalent.

But does health really depend on good private healthcare and on supplements ?

I live in a small village a few kilometers from the “buzzing metropolis of Vilcabamba” (:-)) and there one can still witness some people, not so many unfortunately, living the old way, wandering around on their donkeys, eating their traditional diet which they do not call “organic”, and certainly not “raw”, they don’t even know the word “organic” and have never heard of “raw diets”.

Life and Health in San Pedro de Vilcabamba — Living healthy in Vilcabamba and Loja Ecuador

These people look very healthy, they are skinny, they are fitter and stronger than 30 year younger typical westerners. Most are not rich and some are really poor.

These people represent what to me is the real “secret of longevity” that nobody will find in the Vilcabamba water or in the air or in the Iniger lab.

Old man in Vilcabamba – Every single day he goes really slow but still does his own shopping – Must be well over 90

The secret of longevity

The secret is a complex. multi-dimensional combination of factors involving lifestyle, diet, exercise, water, air, emotional state, stress, possibly genes and certainly others that I forget to mention or am unaware of.

What is certain is that money is not one of them.

Balbina harvesting yuca in Sacapo - San Pedro de Vilcabamba — Balbina harvesting yuca in Sacapo – San Pedro de Vilcabamba

Balbina is well known in Sacapo. I never remember her age although I have asked her several times. Is it 95? or is it more? It does not really matter in the end. She is skinny, too skinny now because she is getting old and won’t probably last many more years. She was a midwife and a reputable one.

Lily, Balbina Camacho y Martha Jaramillo

We asked her to be our midwife for our now 3 year old daughter but she declined saying that she could no longer handle it and no longer had the strength.

But ten years ago when she was “only 85”, she was very active, always out, walking along the river, always doing some physical work. She still managed to help my wife a lot during pregnancy, alleviating the back pain for example and putting the baby back in a good position with gentle movements and massages. She obviously knew what she was doing. She was very sweet and I will never forget her.

The point I am making is that her health, she does not owe it to money but rather to her lifestyle.

When foreigners come to settle here, my very first piece of advice is for them to keep a low profile, watch and learn and not come here to teach the people of Ecuador about their own beliefs. Everything is relative. I am sure that there is value in raw food diets and in gluten free diets and in vegetarian or vegan diets. However let’s not forget that we are here in the “Valley of Longevity” and that our hosts were here well before we had even heard about the place.

@bbxmusic.com
18 July 2016

Dumas Restaurant – French Italian Gastronomy in Loja Ecuador

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Watch our photo album (3 minutes)

Who has not heard of Italian and French cuisine?

“They are considered among the most important in the world. They are characterized by their variety, the result of regional and cultural diversity, but also by their refinement. Their influence is felt in almost every kitchen in the Western world, which have incorporated into their recipes technical knowledge of French and Italian cuisine .” Wikipedia.

Now, Dumas is not a French restaurant nor is it an Italian one. It is an Ecuadorian restaurant of “French/Italian inspiration” where the food is a fusion of different styles. We have already introduced Roberto Delgado, the restaurant owner, a talented and very likeable 30 year old chef, in our previous note Dumas Restaurant – Traditional lunch with a gourmet touch in Loja Ecuador . It is true that the lunches are delicious but, as we were to discover that night, they are nothing compared to the a la carte dishes served Monday through Friday from 4 to 9 PM.

So? you fool haven’t taken her out yet for dinner at Dumas restaurant?

I have, and I am delighted to let you know that she confessed to me that it was the best meal of her entire life.

We started with the Dumas salad, a true symphonic piece of work by itself. Roberto brought us a plate full of colors, a mix of greens with mozzarella cheese and crispy caramelized onions, edible flowers that had a pumpkin flavor, olives, sauteed mushrooms with garlic and honey and mustard vinaigrette with sesame seeds.

At Dumas just forget about what you do not like

I am not a great lover of salads I must admit, but she is. However, both of us we liked it so much that it left us speechless. The truth is that if you do not really like something, like there are people who do not like onions, or I do not like very much olives, my advice is to forget about these preconceptions and simply let the magic of Roberto do its job. You may simply find that you did enjoy what you never used to like.

Then we ordered two entrees, the “Bourbon Ribs” and a Pizza. As the menu says, the ribs are nothing short of spectacular and they are so tender that they melt in the mouth like butter. The BBQ sauce is, it goes without saying, 100% home made, courtesy of Roberto. They come accompanied with something called “rustic patatoes” and a Dumas salad it could not be otherwise. With a good house red it was really something from another world.

Dumas Restaurant - Bourbon Ribs — French Italian Gastronomy in Loja Ecuador

Dumas Restaurant - Pizza — Making the Pizza

Roberto prepares his pizzas from fresh and personally selected quality ingredients . He said his handmade mozzarella cheese is the best one can find in this country (from Cuenca). He also prepares the tomato sauce himself. He only uses extra virgin olive oil.

Dumas - Pizza a la piedra — Dumas – Pizza a la piedra

We had the pleasure of spending a few minutes with Roberto who came to sit at our table and we asked him to tell us a little more of his life.

Roberto Delgado = Dumas Restaurant Owner — Roberto Delgado – Dumas Restaurant Owner

His parents had a restaurant in Loja before named “Gino Ginelli” and it was quite a success too. At this time he was still at school and helped his parents out in his spare time but did not really pay too much attention because he had other plans and gastronomy was not something he was interested in yet. His desire then was to study medicine.

“Then I had the opportunity to leave the country in 2004. Apparently at that time Argentina was very convenient for those who wanted to make their higher education abroad. So I went and then decided to study at the school of gastronomy “Gato Dumas“.

Hence the name of his restaurant in Loja. In Argentina, Italian and French cuisine are well known and widely practiced. Then when he left school in 2007, he worked in Buenos Aires in a restaurant of typical food where they attended 500 people each night. Wow! He later returned to Ecuador and worked at a French restaurant in Quito as we explained in our previous article .

Dumas - The best customer service — Dumas – The best customer service

What is really noticeable in Roberto’s attitude, besides his good humor and smile, is his high level of commitment and customer service. While we were talking, customers were coming in, and every time Roberto stood to greet them personally and show them a table.

This surely is the result of his experience outside the country and this should be an example for the many businesses in Loja who have not yet understood the tremendous importance of customer attention and service.

The nail on the coffin. The desserts.

After so much of this rich and tasty food accompanied with red wine, my girlfriend and I were barely standing when they brought us two plates of their special homemade desserts: crème brûlée and chocolate fondant.

The crème brûlée or burnt cream is also called Catalan cream . You can read about this wonderful dessert on wikipedia here . I already knew it from my previous life in Belgium, a country neighboring France, but for my girlfriend it was the first time. We must say that there are as many versions of crème brûlée as there are chefs who prepare it, some better than others, but, once again, the Roberto’s version of it was one of the best I’ve had.

As per the chocolate dessert, it was so yummy and so rich that I really do not recommend it after eating too many other things or possibly share it between two people.

Social events

One very important thing I want to mention is that “Dumas” also caters for social events such as baptisms, first communions, confirmations, friends gatherings (but no bachelor party, too messy 🙂) etc …

Book your event with just one phone call and enjoy the best …

conclusion

The conclusion is that there is no conclusion because the story does not end here. Roberto told us, but it is a secret and please do not repeat it to anyone, that he is preparing a new menu with new dishes. Then he will surely surprise us again and we will have to revisit our current conclusions whatever they are. Stay tuned.

What is true and will not change is that if you want to experience some fine dining in the city of Loja, and this without killing your budget, Dumas is the ideal place. It offers typical lunches and at night it offers gourmet à la carte dishes at affordable prices.

I can not resist one last comment. Whatever your religious beliefs, it is true that what is done with pleasure and love is always better that what is done out of duty or for money. And love abounds in this place. Only watching how Roberto puts his arm around his mum’s shoulder speaks volume. She helps a lot in the kitchen and has years of experience in restaurants including her own.

Dumas - Made with Love — Dumas – Made with Love

I’m not very religious myself but while the flavors of the bourbon ribs were filling my mouth a thought came to me, sweet like a caress but strong as a revelation,

” Dumas must be the proof that God does exist! ”

The bbxmusic.com team at Dumas Restaurant in Loja

Thank you, Roberto, our friend from Loja, for these magical moments we lived together on this night of the 15 of July 2016.

To you who read this note we recommend the following.

Do not wait even one more day to visit Dumas restaurant and please do tell us your opinion in the comments section below.

Dumas Trattoria and Restaurant in Loja Ecuador — Dumas Restaurant – A cozy place of French and Italian cuisine in Loja Ecuador

Dumas Restaurant - Traditional lunch with a gourmet touch in Loja Ecuador — Dumas Restaurant – Gastronomy at affordable prices in Loja Ecuador

Contacts

Address: Jose Antonio Eguiguren y Bernardo Valdivieso, Loja, Ecuador
Tel: +593 (0)7 256-1494
Social networks: https://www.facebook.com/dumastrattoria
Opening Hours: 12:00 – 21:00 hours

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Dumas Restaurant – A gentle gourmet touch in Loja Ecuador

English version

Español AQUI

Whatever the correct formula might be for a restaurant to be successful in Loja, it seems that Dumas found it. There is this “je ne sais quoi” that makes one immediately feel as a regular customer although it might be the very first time.

Is it the nice relaxing classic rock – jazz – 1950/60/70 something that is playing ?

Is it Roberto’s always smiling and inviting face, making you want to sit down and enjoy his French inspired gastronomy?

Dumas Restaurant in Loja Ecuador - Roberto Delgado - owner — Dumas Restaurant in Loja Ecuador – Roberto Delgado – Owner and Chef

Is it that social atmosphere that permeates the place where families come to eat together or individuals are happy to join a table with strangers who will become new friends?

Dumas Restaurant in Loja Ecuador - A Place for Families and Friends — Dumas Restaurant in Loja Ecuador – A Place for Families and Friends

Or could it be the decoration, the wooden furniture and the original paintings on the wall?

Or the typical “almuerzo with a gourmet touch” that Dumas has on offer every single day of the week ?

Lomito de cerdo con salsa de ciruela - pork tenderloin with plum sauce — Pork tenderloin with plum sauce

Could it be that deserts are your worse sin and Dumas is your redemption ?

Dumas Restaurant - The home made deserts — Dumas Restaurant – The home made deserts

Or could it be the classy, professional, super fast and always friendly service that Roberto and Patricio his very experienced garcon provide ?

Dumas Restaurant in Loja Ecuador - Classy Service — Dumas Restaurant – Patricio

To me it seems that it is all of the above combined.

A la carte or set menu ?

At noon, Dumas offers “almuerzos”, usually a soup, a choice of two mains and one desert. For those who are not familiar with life in Ecuador, the word “almuerzo” of course as the dictionary says means “lunch” but it also has another meaning.

Firstly, it means a three course meal made out of a soup of the day, a choice between 2 or some times 3 mains (a meat, a fish) and a small desert. It also includes a non alcoholic beverage such as horchata or juice. Portions are rather small, in my view anyway, but that is what people want here because they also eat at night.

Secondly and most importantly the word “almuerzo” conveys the meaning of “economical“, not expensive, something around the $3 dollar mark per person all included whereas “a la carte” is usually at least double that price.

Dumas does not offer a la carte menus during the day except wen they run out of almuerzos. They do serve a la carte at night though and that will be covered in the next article.

Part 1 : Lunch Time Set Menu

I arrived on this beautiful Tuesday at around 12 noon when things slowly pick up until the place gets in full swing at around 1 PM. This is the famous “almuerzo”, this time of the day when everything comes to a grinding halt in Loja, when people leave the office, shops close their door and people focus on one and only one thing: EAT.

Dumas is conveniently located only a few steps from Loja central square

While the entire city of Loja goes to sleep, Dumas goes into a frenzy serving their delicious lunches. These lunches are not complicated. This is not the time for gastronomy. This is a time and a place for families, friends, colleagues and couples to eat the typical lunch that they are used to but very importantly with a touch of something that I call

“the gourmet touch“

This day, after the traditional soup of the day, we had a “lomito de cerdo con salza de ciruela” (pork tenderloin with plum sauce) and a homemade carrot cake for desert which I personally enjoyed with a good cup of espresso coffee.

Roberto makes everything himself from fresh ingredients, meaning that his day starts way before lunch time, making bread, making pastries, making sauces … Roberto who is only 30 studied and worked 4 years in Buenos Aires, then came back to his home land Ecuador to work at “Chez Jérôme” in Quito for Jerome Montelier, a french chef of international reputation. Roberto told me that he was his “sous-chef”. Then after working two years on a boat in Galapagos he finally decided to drop the “sous” in the word “sous-chef” and become his own “chef” in his restaurant called “Dumas” in Loja Ecuador.

Dumas Restaurant - Santiago hermano de Roberto — Dumas Restaurant – Santiago hermano de Roberto

His entire family works there which is yet another proof of this amazing family spirit that Ecuadorians have.

His sister is at the counter, his mother runs the kitchen, his brother helps at the table, even his father lays a hand during peak time.

I was early and I have to admit that just watching all this food being prepared in anticipation of the peak hour made me very hungry. I sat down at the end of one of the large tables and enjoyed my lunch while there were still few people.

I strongly recommend people who read this post and who like me enjoy a quite time to eat to go either early (before 12:30) or late (after 2PM).

Later on, people came to sit down at my table and we chatted. I found out that many people come here every single day. The entire place started looking like a beehive. It struck me that everybody was laughing and having a good time. I got up to wander around and take a few photos. I went upstairs. They have two floors. Everyone seemed happy, relaxed and nobody seemed to be waiting.

Dumas Restaurante en Loja Ecuador - El almuerzo momento feliz — Dumas Restaurant in Loja Ecuador – Lunch and Happiness

Dumas Restaurant in Loja Ecuador - Time for all generations to share family moments — Dumas Restaurant in Loja Ecuador – Time for all generations to share great family moments

Dumas - todo el mundo esta riendo y pasando un buen rato — Everybody having a good time

Conclusion

After having lunch at Dumas, you may no longer want to have an “almuerzo” anywhere else. Indeed, why pay the same price to get a very plain tasteless 90% white rice “almuerzo” somewhere when for the same price you can get that gourmet touch and enjoy a nice recipe with a french sounding name?

Other places should follow the example and learn to develop some culinary imagination to provide better lunches. That would certainly benefit Loja and attract more tourism.

Definitely a thumbs up for Dumas Trattoria and Restaurant and his friendly owner Roberto Delgado. Give it a try by all means a let us know in the comment section below what you think.

Dumas Restaurante Loja — Dumas Restaurant – A gentle gourmet touch in Loja Ecuador

Contacts

#HechoConAmor #TodoLoja