July 10

Called My Lawyer

I got a call from Maria del Carmen, my lawyer, saying that she can’t meet us tomorrow. But she’ll have her assistant come and meet us. Tomorrow is the day that Jayne has to apply for an extension on her visa and she can only apply on the last day of the current visa.


Some of our Ecuadorian guests. Judith who caught the bouquet.


I asked if she could fly out of the country (on our honeymoon) on her visa and I was told yes. I asked Maria if I could fly out on my Ecuadorian ID, and she said yes. I certainly hope she is right. But I will have to apply for a new ID that says that I’m married.



Ecuadorians and foreigners who have an Ecuadorian ID has to show not only their passport but their ID.



I was told that it would be better to meet at 10am instead of 11am, as they close for lunch at 12pm.

July 11

Getting Jayne and Extension on Her Visa

Jayne and I met with my lawyer’s assistant so Jayne could renew her visa. The process was simple as she just had to show her passport and a copy of the information page previous stamp in her passport.

Traditional picture of the Bride's back. Jayne in the hotel before we left for the wedding. (The champagne was delivered by Matt before we arrived - nice surprise!)


We were told by my lawyer that she has 90 days left and from what I read from the law it was 34 days left. Guess who was right? Me! Now we have to get her a resident visa within the 34 days. We were told that this is no problem, but time will tell. We read on the internet that it takes from 4-6 weeks.

What would happen if this is not done in time?

If the government takes into consideration that we started the process and that she is now married to someone who has a resident visa, they will extend this. Or, they will fine us. The minimum fine is $200. (This is what I paid when my lawyer didn’t get the work done in time!)

When my lawyer gets back from her vacation, I’ll give her a call to see what has to be done next.
It looks like we will have to postpone our honeymoon until the paperwork is over – unless my lawyer says it’ ok to go out of the country and during the time we’ll be away. She might need us to go to different offices to start the process. Jayne was given a stamp in her passport that says the new date.

My friend, who was at the wedding, invited us to his hostal in the country for a honeymoon gift. So, we might go first while the paperwork is being processed, after which, we’ll go to Aruba (or some other island, depending on the availability).

Wednesday July 9

We met Judith today who took us to an office that we were at the day before. We had to go back today as yesterday we got there after it was closed. Now we were told that I need another paper saying that I want the ID changed, along with all the other papers (showing that I’ve been married, etc.).

(This is part of the view from the balcony where we had our wedding.)

All this stupid government paperwork which serves no purpose.

Since by law I have to change my ID from one that says that I’m single to one that says I’m married – why do they need a letter that says ‘I want it’!?#

I’ll have to get my lawyer write up a letter and ask her to ask the judge if he registered the marriage. We won’t see her until Friday.

Looks like we have a day off from going into Quito – which is good. I don’t like the pollution and the congestion there.

Jayne and I went to a mall for me to buy an extra battery for my DVD camera. In this mall is the only place that sells batteries for Sony cameras.

Tuesday July 8

Today is back to Quito to get the paperwork sorted out. You’d think after the wedding all the work is done, but not in Ecuador when foreigners get married!

In the morning the electric meter man came. Later my gardener came to the door to see if we wanted the grass cut. I said yes. He was still here when we left for the city.

The first thing we did was I got some ID photos made. Then we had copies made of the documents we have to take in. then we got some breakfast after which, we went to the office we went to yesterday. We were told that one of the things she wrote down that we needed we had to get at another office. We went there and were told it was closed. So we have to come back tomorrow morning.

It seems like this running around never ends. Boy, will be glad to go on our honeymoon.
About 5pm I got a call from Judith who asked if it was ok for her father to stop by in an hour as he would like to drop off a gift. I said sure. She also said if it would be ok to meet us tomorrow at 10am instead of 11am. I said it was fine.

Judith will help us with going to some of the offices we need to go to.

Cecilia and Eduardo stopped over this evening with a wedding gift. They were at the wedding but didn’t bring a gift with them. The bought us a nice blanket for the double bed. It needs it here as it gets cool at night. We gave them a glass of champagne and talked a little.

Monday July 7

In the morning we got a call from Lil (Jayne’s mother and now my Mother-in-Law.) She congratulated us and wished us as much happiness in the future as we had on our wedding day.

Jayne and I got ready to meet Maria in Quito at the office where I would get a new ID. I called before we left, but I could only leave a voice message. We waited for her but no Maria. We didn’t see her nor did she call me on my cell phone.

Now this is inexcusable. She should have either showed up, had her worker, Sophia, come or call me. If she checked her phone she should have returned my call, if she forgot about the appointment. As it turned out I called her later in the day and there was no answer. Again, she would have seen my cell phone on ‘missed calls’. Maybe she lost her phone and she forgot the appointments. Anyhow, this is what I had to go through with my lawyer.

Jayne and I won’t be defeated. When we went to the office ourselves, I explained what was needed and the woman told us we had to go somewhere else and gave me the address.
So, if we were not at the right office, why would Maria have us meet her there? One of her main businesses’ it to help people with IDs, so after years of doing this she doesn’t know what office to go to?


On the way to finding where I can get another ID we stopped by a Payless shoe store. Surprised I found a pair of shoes that fit me! It’s hard to find one in the US but here, where most of the people are small, it’s impossible. They weren’t the best shoes but it was a pair of black walking shoes, which is what I needed. Then I found a pair of construction shoes. These are similar to mountain climbing shoes, so I bought them, too, as we plan to go other places in Ecuador where there are hills and mountains.

I told Jayne what building I got my ID from the last time. This is the same building where the marriage judge has his office. On the first floor you can get your passport/visa photos taken. So Jayne had her done.


When I got to the cashier and told her what I wanted she gave us another address. (Doesn’t anyone know where to go?!#) So we went to the other address.



We finally found the place where I can get a new ID. Also in the same building and on the same floor I can register our marriage. The Judge is suppose to this, but will he? Since we’ll be there, we’ll do it ourselves.



We went to the address that was given and were told what papers we need. WIt looks like we can get this done without my lawyer and without the cost!



Jayne also has to get what is called a ‘perdido’, which allows her to stay here another 90 days. During this time we have to get her to have the same ID as I do. This means going to the clinic and give a pee and poop sample, and some other office. We might have to get my lawyer to do it.Jayne can only get an extension on her visa while she is still here and on the last day – according to my lawyer, provided that she is right. She can’t fly out and get it when we return from our honeymoon. That is why our trip is postponed until all the paperwork is completed.

July 5, Looking Back

After about 30 minutes of dancing I was told by the manager that we can’t have dancing there, he said that (because of the building being old) it would shake the ceiling below. I told Richard, who translated, why didn’t he say this when we said we were going to have band. What’s the purpose of having a band without dance? He knew it was going to be a wedding which includes dancing.

I ignored what he told me and didn’t tell my guests, so they continued to dance. He didn’t say anything. Maybe he didn’t say anything because it was not the feet stooping music that many young people dance to.

To say that the roof underneath is bad is BULL. If that was true, it would have been repaired. Yes, the building war built in 17th Century but this has been totally renovated (probably a couple of times in the past). And with it being a tourist place where hundreds of people pass by each day you can be sure everything would be fixed. It’s kept very nice by looking with all the shops that are in there. If the roof was in danger it would be closed and repair or should be closed and repaired.

The dance was mostly slow and the faster ones were not foot-stomping. So it was no different than people walking above.

Jayne pointed out to me that Maria del Carmen said that she would translate for us. Did she do so? No! She was late. If it wasn’t for Richard (who knows Spanish well), we would have got someone else. Maria being a lawyer should have kept her word or remembered her commitments.

I realized after the wedding that the CD I brought with the songs that we liked was not the original one. When my computer gave me problems I couldn’t make a copy. So I got out my old laptop and only found a couple of songs on there. So I made a copy of that. Then when I got my newer computer fixed I made a copy of the songs that Jayne and I selected. However, I don’t know where it is, though I labeled it. At least we had a substitute.

After the ceremony Richard asked me for my ID, ‘I have to give your cedular (ID) to the Judge to have it mutilated.’ I didn’t know what he meant at the time and thought it was a joke. It was returned with a punch hole in it. As I found out at that time everyone who gets married has to renew their ID. What they do is put a punch hole in your ID so other authorities know that you have to get a new one.

What a stupid law!

I was told later that you can still fly out on it if you show an airline ticket (I guess because many people go on honeymoon right away). Had my lawyer told me this last week when we were in her office, I would have had a color copy made and have it laminated so it would look almost like the original.

I can see why people have honeymoons – as it’s a time to relax from the planning and the things that go wrong – it’s quite stressful. Planning a wedding is like starting a business – there are a lot of things that have to be done, and there are still things go wrong. Maybe the guests don’t notice some of them but the Bride and Groom do.

Jayne gave me a pearl tie tack to wear that was her father’s (William Powell). I gave her the ‘something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue.’ The old thing was a U.S. 10 cent coin made in 1876. The something new was a new cent (2008). The something borrowed (the 1876 coin). And the something blue was a sweet in blue paper (that’s the only things small and blue we had that would fit in her small purse!).

I wore on the other had a ring that was my grandfather’s and my father’s. In my pocket I had the ring that my mother gave me on my high school graduation. I couldn’t put it on my hand as I would have too many rings (with the marriage ring included).

Sunday July 6

We had breakfast at the hotel. Then we packed up our things. We waited for the driver which was to come at 12 noon. At 12.15 he still didn’t show up. Then I called Matt to ask about his driver. He told me he was on his way but he couldn’t get to our street. The thing is, that on Sundays some streets are closed to all traffic while other streets just taxi come (with no buses running). The driver finally came about 12.30 but we had to go to the next intersection. One man from the hotel took a suitcase to the corner with us.

We got home about 1.15pm.

Our first day home as Husband and Wife.

I carried Jayne over the threshold as is the traditional thing to do.

We unpacked, relaxed and took a nap after the Big Day. I plugged the new phone in. I didn’t have time to do so on Friday. The phone, as I realized later, takes 16 hours to charge. So there may have been people trying to call. Like I said, of all times for the phone to give out!

In the evening we saw a film from the TV series ‘The Saint.’

Thus ended our first day after our marriage in our home.

Our Wedding Day

Saturday July 5, 2008

We went to the tailor’s and Jayne picked up her dress that had a line running down the front of it. We were both displeased with them to say the least.

Then we went to the dry cleaner’s to see if they could clean it in an hour. They couldn’t, as the worker said it wouldn’t be until Wednesday. This wouldn’t do, so we went to the mini-supermarket to find something. Jayne bought something called Vanish.

Then we went to get some coffee (which was terrible at this café). We met two ladies (mother and daughter) who were at Tarquin’s place. We had seen each other during dance lessons. Jayne explained to them what happened to her dress plus more chit-chat.

Jayne stopped off at the hotel to see if she could get the dirt out while I went to the tailor’s to get my suit (where stitches had to be taken out). I also picked up a pair of pants that she had made for other wearing occasions.

Jayne was able to get most of the dirt out – thank God. There was a shirt I had the tailor made for for the wedding and that had a black dirt spot on it. She was able to get that out.

The dirt on my shirt was discovered the day before. I didn’t see it when I picked up the shirts (one for Matt, too) as it was folded and the spot was on the other side. The black spot was not there when we bought the material or I would have noticed it. Even if Jayne couldn’t get the spot out it would have been hidden behind the vest. However, this goes to show that this tailor and his wife are not careful of the work they do.

I had no problem with the shirts outside of the dirt and with the vest – they were both done excellent but with Jayne’s clothes they are not well made. The dress and the jacket for our wedding had to be refitted. The paints they had to put in another bit of material plus it was too big at the top. Then there was the dirt on the dress and shirt. Of course, they never said it was their fault.

In the morning during breakfast at the hotel there was another couple sitting at a table. Later we saw them walking on the street seeing the sights. When I got back to the hotel with my suit I met the guy with a policeman. I heard that they were robbed a little while ago. We were talking while he was waiting for his wife and he said that a man with a big knife robbed them. Among other things they took his camera that had all his vacation pictures on it!

He said that someone gave them a guide of places to go and streets to go on. You can be sure that this was a set up. I figure that the robber called his buddy to say if a couple looks like such-and-such comes by, get them.

This is one thing not to do – get advice from someone on the street, and not to have all your photos in your camera or on your person.

Anyhow, they had plans to go to Galapagos the next day and were deciding to buy another camera. Galapagos is world famous for its natural habitat. It’s a group of islands a couple of hundred miles off the cost of Ecuador.

Richard came by about 2.45pm to our hotel room. As soon as he got to the door he said, ‘Oh damn. I just discovered that I left my cell phone in the taxi! That is why I never like to take taxi. Each year I lose about $1,000 worth of stuff. I should have taken my car.’

Jayne said, ‘Calm down. Why don’t you try to call your cell phone?’
He said, ‘I never would have thought of that!’
Jayne said, ‘It might still be in the taxi and the driver might answer it.’

Richard made the call on my cell phone, it rang and the taxi man answered it. He said he would be by to drop it off. Sure enough he did. I said to Richard, ‘You owe Jayne one.’ (Just kidding)
Richard came as he will be walking Jayne to the table where the ceremony will be.

About 3.pm Rachael stopped by and I gave her the cameras. She took some pictures in the hotel. Then we waited around to the right time to walk to the restaurant. We only had two blocks to walk, which was good – no limo or taxi was needed!

We got there about 3.40pm. We saw a lady from the wedding store going to deliver the bouquet. This was great timing. Jayne, Richard and me had some pictures taken before we went upstairs.
When we got there, we saw that Matt was already there along with Tarquin and his family but no one else. The time was about 3.55pm and we told everyone that the ceremony will start promptly at 4pm. Matt said that he’s waiting on his wife (Amparo, and his two children). She should have been there as she was one of the witnesses.

The Judge in the meantime asked for my ID. I gave it to him, plus the money. The Judge asked who will translate and Richard said he will.

About 4:05 Amparo arrived.

Jayne was to my right with Matt to her right and Amparo was to my left. The band started playing Richard Wagner’s ‘Wedding March’ when Richard walked Jayne to the ceremony table. We started before the other guests arrived as the Judge said he had to be at another wedding. Well, the guests were told what time to be there for, but this is typical Ecuadorians. Since many Ecuadorians do this I couldn’t see why the Judge could start a few minutes later. After all, the other people, who are probably Ecuadorians wouldn’t notice the difference.

I noticed from someone taking pictures that more people showed up during the ceremony. Later in the ceremony the other guests had shown up.

After the ceremony I noticed that I forgot the CD in the hotel. I was going to have Richard go back and get it. This has the songs on that Jayne and I wanted. Matt said he would call the hotel and have someone come and bring it. This is what was done. I paid the hotel worker a tip for bring it.

Also after the ceremony I was asked if I wanted to have dinner start at 4.30 or 5.00pm. I said 5.00pm – big mistake! I didn’t realize how fast time would go by as I would have liked more time for the guests to dance. It also ran up my tab bill for the drinks.

The meal in Mea Culpa was excellent but the portions were small. We were told before we booked the restaurant that it would be Mediterranean style (which means bigger portions) but in reality it was French style (which means small portions).

My Best Man gave a speech followed by me giving a speech. I commented on how beautiful Jayne looked, I mentioned briefly how we met and I thanked all the guests for coming.
During the meal I noticed from the balcony, which overlooked Plaza Grande, another wedding couple was having pictures taken. Later, there was a mini-demonstration of some people having complaints against the government.

Jayne and I danced our first dance to the song ‘Welcome to My World’ by Eddie Arnold. Then we danced with the Maid of Honor and the Best Man to ‘Hawaiian Wedding Song’ by Elvis Presley. This is the song that my Mother likes.

We had a great time. The guests were quite and although there were four children they were well behaved.

I paid the band and the restaurant. The band had four people playing, which included a guitar, electric keyboard and drums.

During one break one of our guests, David, played two songs. He is an accomplished pianist; through this is only his hobby. That was nice of him to play.

Mathieu had invited us and some of the other guests to his house for after wedding drinks.

Jayne and I left about 8.15pm. Richard came back to the hotel with us to help us carry some of the things back. Then we walked to Matt and Amparo’s home which is about 5 blocks away. They have a beautiful home which was made to look colonial Spanish. It’s really a work of art.
We took a taxi home from Matt’s place as it’s not safe to walk the streets at night. Even walking in the wrong places during the day is not safe – as happened to the guests at our hotel.

It had been a thoroughly enjoyable Wedding Day, which Jayne and I will always remember!

American Independence Day

Friday July 4

Happy Independence Day!


Jayne and Craig on July 4, taken at Katherine and Tarquin hostal.

Today I had to get up at 4.00am to make a call to my Cyprus bank because they are 8 hours ahead of Ecuador. The first call I was put on hold then I noticed that there was no power in my phone. I put the phone on the rack and picked it up and everything looked normal. I thought it was beyond reach of the charger so I went to the kitchen where there is no door to block the line. Again when I was waiting the phone went dead.

So, it looks like the phone needs to be replaced. The problem might be that the battery no longer holds a charge.

Then I got on my cell phone (good thing I had enough money on it).

I had to call two different numbers because I had to do two different things to do. I called my local office to ask them to activate my cards (you had to send a fax and later call). He said he would do it.

Then I called the main office to activate my online banking. I got the subscriber number. Later I went on the internet and was able to log on. This is good. Going online also told me that it’s not the phone connection – as it was before – but now it’s just the phone.

Looks like I’ll have to make a trip to the mall before Jayne and I leave for the city so I can buy a phone. With the time that I’d been on the phone I might have to add money to my cell phone. I don’t want to be without it for the wedding day!

I went to the mall to buy a phone, put money on my cell phone and to buy an umbrella. In the meantime Jayne packed our things.

Matt’s driver came at 1.00pm. We still had a few things to do so he waited. When we left and we were a couple of blocks from home I realized that I forgot the music CD that we are to dance to, so we returned home.

We checked into the hotel about 2pm. At 3pm we went to the tailor to see what they’ve done. Jayne’s dress was to be finished but we had to wait. When she got it she noticed that it had a faint charcoal like line down the front of her dress. At first she thought that it came from the material shop but looking at it closely the line stop right where other material was sewn on top so she knew that they got it dirty. Also there was slight dirt right at the corner of her jacket. This indicates that they did it.

I dropped off my suit that I’m wearing at the wedding. When I bought it in the suit had a stitching all around the suit. At one time this was the style but it could also have been what the tailors use when the made the suit. Wearing it with or without is ok but it looks better, according to Jayne, without it. He said it would be ready in two hours. Since we had to be somewhere else I said I’ll pick it up tomorrow.

Well, their shop is very scruffy looking with the carpet dirty. She asked them if they had some cleaner to get it off and they didn’t. Well, this is poor of them; every tailor should have that in case of accidents. So the lady told her that she had to buy some at another store!

We went with the dress to the dry cleaners and they said it won’t be ready until Wednesday. Since this would not do, we went to a supermarket where Jayne bought rug cleaner. She also had a left over piece of the fabric to test it on.

Off to the wedding shop where we paid for the extra things we got, which was a cake and candles. Grace, who works there, said she would be glad to set up the wedding tables at no charge. Also, her mother said that she will put a figure of the Bride and Groom on the cake. That was very nice of her. So Jayne picked one out. We would have bought one but since we left one that was already bought at Giovanna’s place we were without one.

Then we had to go back to the tailor shop to see if everything was ready as more fitting had to be done. While we waited we saw that the time was getting late to go to Tarquin hostal. I couldn’t call as my cell phone was in the hotel being charged.

When we got back I called Tarquin to say sorry that we are late (we were to meet the photographer there at 5pm). I said that it’ll be 6pm by the time we get there. He said that’s ok.

I packed the cameras then we walked to his place.

We met Tarquin and Rachael (who’ll be taking the pictures). I showed her how the cameras operate. Then we had dinner there. The main course was vegetarian stuffed eggplant – which was delicious. I forgot already what we had for starters.

We were told that they’ll be a Salsa lesson. This is great as there might be some Salsa at the wedding. First the teacher, who is also the manager at the hostal, started us out with Merange, which is simpler. However he never went over a couple of turns. Anyhow, I took both lessons in Cyprus so I’m acquainted with what to do.

We got to the hotel about 10.30pm.