Edd:  Can’t even begin talking about “Living the Dream”, the title of the last book in our trilogy, without referencing the Thoreau quote that has guided us all these years.

Cynthia:  “Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Live the life you’ve imagined.” That refrigerator magnet message has followed us everywhere.

E:  Last time I mentioned a Dan Fogelberg lyric: “Where do you go when you get to the end of your dreams?” In our case the answer is simple—create some new ones!

C:  Ever since I can remember our dream was to chase perfect weather around the globe. As we related in a previous blog, we found that special climate, or at least our version of it, in Cuenca. Now we’re embarking on the second part of our original vision.

E:  The Great Recession of 2008 unexpectedly knocked our life way off course. Consequently, those dreams got put on the shelf for a while. But we never, ever, forgot or gave up on them.

C:  Nope. Everyone probably has fantasies when they’re young abo...

Cynthia:  Last time we started talking about how our new adventure is repeating the stages described in the titles of our trilogy of books. Specifically that we’re once again taking a “Leap of Faith.”

Edd:  The second volume, “Letting Go,” is my personal favorite. We could have called it “Cutting Loose.” My Gosh, it seems like we partied for two straight years!

C:  We arrived in Cuenca so broken from the financial strain we’d been under. The sheer joy of being released from that burden translated into a nonstop celebration of freedom.

E:  Totally unsustainable but what a blast while it lasted! We truly were leaving behind so much. Not only the money hardships. We were also saying goodbye to the stress and pressures of everyday life in American culture. The multitasking and over-scheduling. Traffic. Never feeling relaxed.

C:  What do you think we’re “letting go” of now?

E:  Well, our belongings in Cuenca certainly shrank. It was definitely time to go through everything we own once ...

Edd:  On the plane from Cuenca to Quito it dawned on me that with our new travel adventure we’re once again going through the same stages as the titles of our trilogy of books.

Cynthia:  H-m-m-m. Well, I certainly agree that abandoning what many people would consider an ideal life to roam the planet with no agenda is a "Leap of Faith!"

E:  But to be fair the circumstances now are completely different from 11 years ago. Initially we moved abroad because we had to. We metaphorically hurled ourselves off a cliff and hoped the parachute opened.

C:  That’s a little dramatic but I get your point. This time we’re making a proactive decision to do something very different because we want to.

E:  And if everything goes sideways, we can always return to our residence in Cuenca. Still, I don’t want to minimize the fact that choosing to basically live out of carry-on luggage for months at a time in unfamiliar places is a pretty edgy choice.

C:  Like we say about living abroad in general—it’s ...

Edd:  I never anticipated the feedback we’ve gotten since announcing our plans to reimagine our own retirement.

Cynthia:  The support has been remarkable. So many friends and relatives all over the world have said, “You must come stay with us!”

E:  And we’ve heard from a lot of our subscribers and members too. Not only to wish us well. Several have recommended really interesting places for us to visit.

C:  You know what else has been a surprise?

E:  The film production company contacting us from the UK?

C:  Well, yeah, that for sure. I’m talking about the number of people who have shared that what we’re about to do—freely roaming the planet with no agenda—is a dream of theirs too.

E:  That’s true. I think “freely” is the key word. Whether it involves travel or not, who doesn’t want to enjoy a sense of freedom in life?

C:  Yet so few are willing to do what it takes to achieve it. Like we frequently say, hope without action is only wishful thinking.

E:  You know me with the song ...

“Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Live the life you’ve imagined.”

~ Henry David Thoreau

For years we’ve been encouraging all of you to follow your dreams.

We’re extremely proud that Retirement Reimagined! has provided enrollees with the in-depth guidance and knowledge they need to make their desire to move abroad a reality.

Now, after 10+ years living in Ecuador, we’ve decided that it’s time to reimagine our own retirement.

Thoreau’s quote is on a refrigerator magnet that has been part of our lives for longer than we can remember. Turns out our dreams are about to lead us in many directions!

In celebration of our upcoming 50th anniversary, at the end of this month we’re going to “hit the road.” Or, more accurately, to spread our wings and take flight.

While maintaining our residence in Cuenca, we will divide our time between more frequent family visits and scouting trips to the countries we spotlight in our program.

You may be thinking, “But you always talk abo...

It’s exciting to see nuggets of optimism that the worst of this pandemic is behind us.

According to the CDC, the percentage of new COVID-19 cases and hospital admissions has declined over 60% since the first of the year.

As of now around 70 million doses of vaccine have been administered in the United States, with over 1.5 million more doses of vaccine happening each day.

Many states are starting to loosen restrictions, and entire countries are once again opening their borders to visitors.

All this good news is giving a lot of people hope that life will soon be back to normal.

But that’s not going to happen. The COVID-19 pandemic was a global game changer, and things will never be the same.

The economic, social, and psychological disruptions have been so disastrous that the damage is still being assessed. Even the most knowledgeable experts are uncertain what the future holds.

Where does that leave each of us? What will our new normal look like?

While we individuals have no con...

Cynthia:  Well, it’s that time of year.

Edd:  I love Valentine’s. It’s the official day to celebrate how much I love my forever sweetheart.

And our lunch at Rosée yesterday was fantastic!

C:  That’s so sweet, but I wasn’t referring to Valentine’s, Romeo. This is the time of year when we schedule our medical appointments.

E:  Yikes. Why are you bringing that up? Going out for a romantic meal is so much more fun to talk about!

C:  Because it’s what we do every January and February. And taking care of ourselves is part of how we’ll get to celebrate Valentine’s Day for many more years.

E:  Can’t argue with that. I think a lot of folks in the States try to squeeze their medical stuff into the end of the year before new deductibles kick in. That’s not an issue for us with 100% coverage and $0 deductible.

C:  Right. We do it now because 1) we always return after the holidays to enjoy summer here in Cuenca, and 2) it makes our life simpler to get doctor visits out of the way so we...

If last year had been “2020-The Movie”, it would have been a box office disaster, would you agree?

And thus far trailers for the sequel, 2021, don’t look remarkably better.

Many Americans are becoming nostalgic about how life was for them growing up and longing for simpler times when:

• You didn’t bother to lock your doors
• Kids freely played outside until it was time to come home for dinner
• You knew and socialized with your neighbors
• People behaved civilly and respected each other’s property

“Ah,” you think sadly, “those days are gone forever.”

In much of the U.S. perhaps, but not elsewhere in the world, we’re happy to report.

We recently returned home to Cuenca, Ecuador after a long trip to the States. Not surprisingly, our refrigerator and pantry needed restocking after 3 ½ months away.

Stepping out of our building to go to the grocery store, the restaurant owner across the street saw us, smiled and said, “Welcome back! We missed you!”

As we were walking up the sidewalk,...

Edd:  Well, here we are back in Cuenca after a l-o-n-g time in the States.

Cynthia:  Yep. When our son asked us to extend our trip to help out with remote learning for our two grandchildren, a 6-week visit turned into 3 ½ months!

E:  As we discussed in a previous conversation, our lifestyle is pretty simple and extremely portable, so once we figured out how to pay the rent from abroad we were all in.

C:  In another chat we talked about differences we observed between life in the two countries. You’ve been out and about more than me. What have you noticed since we’ve been home?

E:  We wondered what would change during our absence. Turns out that aside from some businesses closing and a few new ones opening everything is pretty much the same. Ecuador moves at a slow pace.

C:  You know, we were fortunate that this is one of the most lenient and still sensible countries as far as requirements for entry. Of those opening their borders, many require a negative COVID-19 PCR test taken 96...

Note ~  We’ve extended our family visit in the U.S. to help with our grandchildren’s remote learning. The current plan is to begin 2021 back home in Ecuador. Thank you for continuing to follow our expat adventures!

Cynthia:  So much has changed since this time last year when we had a big Thanksgiving celebration in the Yunguilla Valley outside Cuenca. At least 18 friends were there!

Edd:  Yep. Tons of food and “adult beverages.” Catching up by the pool. A fun day. Although gatherings will be smaller, I’m sure expats will still get together and continue holiday traditions if they aren’t with family.

C:  And now here we are in North Carolina planning a quiet family Thanksgiving dinner.

E:  With two young grandchildren I wouldn’t call it “quiet!”

C:  Ha! I stand corrected. You know, 2020 is a year many of us will always remember but would like to forget.

E:  I’ll say. There’s definitely been a surplus of negativity and overall weirdness. The words “social distancing” had never bee...