From S/V Tappan Zee, Tom and Annie: We spent 6 months at Puerto Lucia Yacht Club from May to October 2018. Over all it was a good experience. There were plusses and minuses. On the negative side, we did not feel comfortable leaving our boat in the water as we traveled inland since the surge was bad enough to break dock lines and we saw more than 1 mooring line part on the med moorings. Also, Puerto Lucia is built on a natural oilfield and crude oil bubbles up in the marina, which smells and coats anything in the water. After two weeks, we chose to haul the boat to the yard and lived on the boat at the far end on the hard, away from the working side of the yard.
Stewart Yacht Services, which works in the yard, is a great asset both for advice and boat projects. We had our non-skid replaced and some expert carpentry done at very reasonable cost. However, import duty in Ecuador is 100% on many items so obtaining supplies can be a challenge. The yard staff was helpful and friendly as were the employees of the Yacht Club Complex. The Club is surprisingly large with several high rise condos and separate exercise building and multiple, but shalloe, swimming pools and we felt perfectly safe day and night on site. Safety off site was good during the day and we took cabs at night. We were pickpocketed on a bus once.
A note on visas because there is little written instruction available. Our experience was when we checked in our visa stamp (called a Tripulante Maritimo) was identified by a ship’s image and was linked to the vessel and was valid as long as the vessel was legal (1 year). When we flew to Peru and back to Ecuador our ship-based visa was canceled at the border and we ere given a 90 day tourist visa (a T-3 visa) with an airplane image on the stamp. We did not understand the cancellation until we were informed by a lawyer’s office, but if we had overstayed the 90 day limit there is a hefty fine. One can apply for a tourist visa extension but it has to be done prior to expiration.
On a related topic, the employees at the marina yard office managing our stay were friendly, but there were language issues and a lack of documented procedures that allowed for a certain flexibility in prices and requirements between boats for visas, official visit costs, etc. When we asked questions in both English and Spanish we were told “There is no problem”. For example, only upon presenting an email obtained previously with quoted yard costs were we able to avoid a liveaboard fee not included in our quote. The quote was honored. We were happywe had it in writing.
The weather in May when we arrived was sunny but by mid-June until we left in October it was rare to see the sun as the cold Humboldt Current cooled the Pacific and the shore. Temperatures were around 20 celcius and humidity was 85%. However, there was no rain, serious wind, or storms. For the first time we had mold issues on board with the high humidity. Residents told us in October that the weather would soon change and tourist season would arrive.
Access to shopping is great with a mall within a 10-minute walk and easy and affordable buses and cabs. La Libertad has a wonderful market with fish, vegetables, and meats. There are frequent buses to Guayaquil, Ecuador’s 2nd largest city and main commercial port where we had our anchor regalvanized, Viking liferaft repacked, and dive tank pressure certified. Guayaquil is also where the main airport is. The mountain city of Cuenca is charming with a thriving community including expats