Tim Schalesky:
CLASS OF 1969
Golden Gate AcademyClass of 1969
Oakland, CA
Tim's Story
After almost 40 years of working with patients, much of it in the Pacific Northwest, my wife of 34 years (Marcia) and I, along with our 2 Savannah cats (Cleopatra and Scheherazade), have retired, and moved to Ecuador. We are having a small house (3 bedrooms, 3 1/2 baths) built in Challuabamba, outside of Cuenca, Ecuador. Since we chose not to have children, the extra bedrooms are for visitors, friends and family. Perfect climate all year long (it's right on the equator), at fairly high elevation, (never hotter than 76 degrees, and never colder than 45 degrees), incredible scenery, incredible history, (Incas, and Spanish conquistador conquest), and the city of Cuenca is a UNESCO world heritage site, due to it's wonderful Colonial architecture.
Ecuador has the greatest biodiversity of any country in the world, and the Galapagos Islands are a part of Ecuador. You can go from the ocean to the Highlands (much of it over 8,000ft...and still eternal spring weather)...Expand for more
, up into the high Andes (over 20,000 feet high), and back down into the area referred to as the Oriente. (beginning of the Amazon rain forest) In just one area of Ecuador, they have identified over 750 species of butterflies, they have over 1500 species of orchids..many you can grow in your own yard, and more species of birds than any other country in the world. We can't think of a better place to live for the rest of our lives.
After all the years of moving around, traveling throughout much of Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, (we even lived in Saudi Arabia for a couple of years,) it's a fantastic feeling to be finally free of any financial burdens, and to have a permanent location to settle down, especially in such a beautiful and diverse country.
While we will return to the States probably once every year to visit family and friends, this is now our home. If any of you get the thirst for adventure in another country, drop us a line, and then come visit.
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