Sometimes the Cosmos bends in your direction. That's how Gwen and I felt in January, 2019, when we sat with Tom in his office thinking we were opting - at least for the moment - not to purchase real estate in Ecuador. We were near the end of a three week stay at Tom and Lynn's signature oceanfront development called Ensenada del Pacifico, in the village of San Clemente. "A little piece of paradise" is surely an over-used phrase, but Ensenada del Pacifico merits the distinction, from its unobstructed ocean viewto the meticulous landscaping to the modern amenities and the eco-friendly best practices (seriously, is there a resort anywhere else in the world where a Ph.D. geochemist ponders the intricacies of swimming pool pH?).
Ensenada del Pacifico, though, was a sold-out property
. And the other properties in the area, as well as a novel project still on the drawing board at the time, didn't quite 'check' everything on our list; so our plan that morning was to ask Tom to keep us in mind as listings came up, but, for now, we were off to Galapagos, then home to Kansas City.
"Especially let us know", we said, "if something becomes available here at Ensenada del Pacifico". I can still see the wry smile on Tom's face as, it seemed, the Cosmos nodded in our direction. It just so happened that a rare event occurred prior to our visit that morning: one of the original investor/owners at the complex had decided to sell their condo and use the funds for world travel; and their condo checked all our boxes, plus some. So, long story short (and after possibly the briefest listing-to-contract period in the history of San Clemente), here we are, owners at Ensenada del Pacifico.
The 'long' story deserves some elaboration, though. Gwen and I have bought and sold a few small properties in our 38 married years, but never outside the U.S. and never in a country where English is not the native tongue. And, frankly, we are careful with our savings and always leery, rightly or wrongly, of a deal that is not simple and straightforward (to a North American way of thinking). Like others before us, it is purely, solely and only because of the comfort and trust we have with Tom and Lynn that we placed money down and marched through the sometimes arcane but unfailingly fascinating process of buying real estate in Ecuador. Tom and Lynn have committed to Ecuador, to San Clemente, and to their clients in such an admirable fashion that a person who hardly knows sopa from nueces in Espanol can get the help they need to own real estate in this beautiful country, and, just as important, to 'settle in' to life in a picturesque fishing village in Latin America.
Bob and Gwen Sholar (February 2020)
Kansas City, MO USA
