Healthy Living in Ecuador

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We all want to live a healthy lifestyle but unfortunately for some of us it becomes a daily grind as we tend to fall back into our old patterns.

You know we are no different. But I have noticed that we can walk everywhere whilst we are in Cuenca and when we are down on the coast we walk the beaches. So there is no excuse for not getting your daily dose of exercise.

Mike Adams – Health Ranger who lives in Vilcabamaba gives out great information of the benefits of living a healthy life here in Ecuador. Check out his YouTube video below.  

I find the temperature in Cuenca (8,000 feet above sea level) is fresh and crisp.  You can actually experience four seasons in one day.  Generally I find the climate is about the same here all year round.  I do notice that my breathing struggles a little more here in Cuenca.

On the coast where we live in Ayampe you do experience a change in seasons.   From around June to September it is known as “The Garua” season.  You will have days of drizzle and not very much sunshine.  Many people don’t like this time of year because of the dampness, but that is why we have the beautiful rainforest and it truly is a beautiful sight.  We don’t mind the drizzle and it does not seem at all cold or even hot.  Maybe a little humid sometimes but certainly quite comfortable.

When we are on the coast we have an abundance of fresh seafood out our fingertips.  When you are driving to the coast along the autopista there are many stalls that sell beautiful fresh fruit and vegetables.

Ecuadorian food is fabulous and fresh. The markets are overloaded with fresh produce which are picked the day you buy. For example, we could buy Avocadoes at $1.00 per kilo. We could have a whole table of fresh produce for around $10 - enough meat, vegetables and other supplies for three meals per day for the both of us.

There are also vendors who can provide you with fresh organic produce if you want to pay a little more.  Here in Cuenca just across the Tomebamba River where we live is a new organic market.  The prices are great and have a look at the choice of Potatoes.  I was once told that Ecuador has about 300 different types of potatoes.

We all know how expensive medical and dental care is. Well in Ecuador you will find that many people from the US and Canada actually have medical and dental treatment whilst on vacation as it is so much cheaper than from their own country. For instance you can have a root canal done for about $400 and a tooth extraction will cost you around $45.  Dentists are mostly trained overseas and use state of the art equipment here in Ecuador.

August 2009:  John had a very bad fall down some stairs and basically cracked his head open and suffered bad concussion.  We were on the coast at the time and just about to drive back to Guayaquil to catch a flight to Cuenca.  When we are on the coast we live in quite a remote village.   We did return to Cuenca the next day and the following day……….a few days after the event………………our friend whose father is a Doctor here in Cuenca, made an appointment for John to see a Neurosurgeon.  The service was fantastic.  The Doctor then organized for John to have a head scan within half an hour of the appointment. 

The clinic and hospital were very modern and clean.  Once the head scan had been done (which by the way was all positive) the Doctor came over to check out the X-ray and explain to John that he should lay low for a couple of days as he had quite a severe blow to the head.

Anyway after all was said and done the total bill, Doctor $30, Head scan $85 and prescription for some tablets etc $90 = Total $205.00.  We were also given the Doctors cell number in case John required his services urgently.  We were very impressed.

Buying natural health food supplements here is also very cheap.  All your vitamins and much more are mainly available in the health food stores in the cities.  Even on the coast in Puerto Lopez is a small vendor who sells natural remedies.  I recently bought some teas from him which come from Peru but were so inexpensive and certainly did the job for the digestive system.

Ecuador also have state of the art hospitals and health insurance is very reasonable. It was interesting to hear from our local friend that many people from the US come over and have surgery in Ecuador as it is much cheaper. Cosmetic surgery is also rising in Ecuador. They now call it “medical tourism”.

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