Tuesday
August 6, 2013 update #535
Well we never did receive any email today about this
supposed possible meeting with the President of Ecuador but I wasn’t about to
miss it, if it was going to happen. I
was awake at 5am anyway and mulling over the things I would say to him, if I
got the chance, so I got ready and headed down to the courthouse area for 9am.
There were several gringos departing for a new location
around the corner and down a couple of blocks, past the El Vergel
SuperMaxi. There were tents being set up
with sound system and video for an event to celebrate breakthroughs in women’s
rights. Then we were told that the
president is not coming until Thursday, but the Governor was going to be at
this event, along with other dignitaries.
The original hope again was to
try to see the Governor while he attended this event. Then they also said they apparently now have
meetings scheduled this week with the Governor, and the President, to present
our issues. And, depending on whom you
talked to, the Government is going to return up to $30k or $31k to the larger investors (although this is not
borne out by the SEPS government website yet).
Hopefully we are finally seeing some progress.
We were all first forced to seat ourselves in the last 3
rows or so of the first tent, supposedly all the other rows were for
dignitaries. Then we were asked to go
to the corner and present our case in a more suitable venue so we followed the
crowd out of the tent but nothing transpired and nobody seemed to know what to
do next. Then we were asked to go back
and sit down in the same area we had just left. We are just starting to roll our eyes
already when we are again asked to move our “protest” to the rear and then the
reporters from television and the local papers came out and listened to our lawyer
who gave several interviews. Several
banners and signs popped up in the hands of many of the Ecuadorians and at
least we feel like something was accomplished.
I figured the situation had run its course so I headed to
the book exchange and got another Tom Clancy novel in hardcover. I also had a duplicated movie to exchange
and, lo and behold, right on top of the pile was the new Lone Ranger video. I can’t wait to watch Johnny Depp in this
one.
On the way home I got off the bus early to talk to the
English-speaking manager at the Banco Del Austro in our area. She is very nice and will make it much easier
for us to open accounts there. I gave
her some preliminary information and will return with further documentation
tomorrow.
I finished my chores at home then it was time to head to
Hearts Of Gold for a meeting to work on the Christmas Gala. With the changes in the bus routes for 2
months, while they rip out a traffic circle on Solano, I wasn’t sure how close
they would bring me, or where to catch one home. I figured it out.
The meeting was well attended and Richard, the founder,
attended a rare meeting because he had definite issues about many of our
suggestions. The last meal served at
this venue at a big gringo event was sub-par and there is no way he wants
anything but the best for our Gala. We
intend for our Gala to be the Event of The Year so we are to go all out to
fulfill this desire. Many great ideas
came out of the meeting but will require a complete menu and seating overhaul
and a new negotiation with the venue.
Richard wants a test meal that we will all attend with our spouses,
which we will pay for, and he is willing to attend the negotiations with the
venue to help browbeat them. I was very
thankful to accept that offer.
We had cake after the meeting to celebrate Gayle’s
birthday. I don’t know where they got
that cake but it was scrumptious!
Tom Thumb really likes our nectar offerings so he is a
regular visitor again. He even popped up
this morning and scolded me because I was too slow to put out his meal. He is such a little tyrant, but he did let
me get a reasonably close hand-held shot this evening.
That was the day's
excitement, Cheers, Al
