Souvenir Photo Studio, by Al Bourassa: Thursday September 17, 2015 Night Ride

Please see more of my artworks for sale at http://saccc05.tripod.com

Welcome….. Please note that you may SUBSCRIBE below to this Blog.

Comments or purchase requests are graciously accepted at souvenirphotostudio@gmail.com.

NOTE that you may click on any photo for an ENLARGED VIEW.

Thursday September 17, 2015

I apologize that I have too much going on in my head, and I am trying to save money, so the camera is not getting much work.

Yesterday I saw Dr Annis again and had more treatment on my shoulder which is getting more mobility but still wakes me up at night.

Since the Doc is right across the street from my friends Ed & Lynne, I popped over there for a visit and got a lovely lunch in the bargain. Ed just had surgery on his shoulder, for about 4 ligament tears, so he will be moving gingerly for a few days yet.

Today I got together with my Ecuadorian insurance agents to go over some auto and home insurance products that they hope to sell. I have agreed to work with them to come up with some products that would be attractive to the Gringo crowd. Their insurance is very different than what we are accustomed to ($5,000 Liability limits as opposed to our normal $2,000,000). At least they are going to have a higher limit product solely for the Gringos who do historically have less claims.

Their home product has coverage including flood and earthquake, which is great, but their overall prices are about triple what they should be... The homes here are masonry, concrete, so fire is not a huge risk, but they are very concerned about theft so I recommended higher deductibles for theft and robbery. One odd thing is that the coverage does not extend outside the home, so I hope they can get that changed sometime soon. They also seemed surprised when I showed them that a home must be insured for replacement value, not market value....

One of the problems (if it really is a problem...) is that they do not have common law protection here, but rather a form of civil law which is totally foreign to us. Their car insurance is basically a no-fault coverage and the insurer will go after a third party if they could be deemed at-fault, and if they stuck around to be identified... Hit and run is the name of the game here.... Anyway, I gave them a lot more to think about and ideas to bounce off of their insurers. The information that they brought today was a good beginning but it needs a lot more work.

Then, at the last minute, because Facebook was not allowing me to chat, I decided to go out with the Thursday night biker gang. They said to be at the Broken Bridge at 7:30, so I was there, on time,... and all alone... The next person didn't show up until 7:45 and the rest by 8:00. Then they stood around smoking and chatting for 1/2 hour and we didn't get underway until after 8:30, grrrrrrrr.

This time we headed west and I thought that we were going to end up in Tarqui, but we hung a right at a bus terminus and headed up into the hills to an area called Tutupali. A dark church, and no view of the city, so it was a little disappointing, but it got me out of the house. I am becoming too much of a hermit again in an effort to save money.

I have bought some dog dishes and dog food in preparation for the arrival of Cristina and her critters. Tonight I found out that Cristina will now be accompanied by her sister and her niece, and they will be on their way a week from today..... Now I really have to rush to do more preparations.....

I hope you enjoy the photos. That was the day's excitement, Cheers, Al