20.000 km in 3 months on a bike

We had the first motorbikers in for a lunch stop. They started their trip in Alaska and are making their way down south on all of the Panamericana. 20.000 km on a bike. I guess you have to be slightly mad to do that in only 3 months. Anyway, the guys appeared to be of good mental health and we had a nice chat on some of their experiences. As much as they would have liked to buy some souvenirs in our shop, their cargo capacities were a bit limited, so they had a burger and some local delicacies instead, and took off again.
The most amazing thing for me was the fact that they only travel through South America with the map you see on the picture below. Cool.

They have a blog and gave me their (tiny) card but I currently can't find it.

Main business update

Hi all,

It’s been such a long time since my last update that I really feel a bid guilty. Many of the readers here have contacted me by mail, Facebook and other means. The main reason for not posting was the fact that I didn’t have internet in my apartment as it seems to be very difficult to get hold of a decent internet supplier that actually delivers what they promise. Anyway, I am connected now and should be able to supply you with information about what is going on here.

First things first: we opened La Yunta in the second half of March. This means that we have been operating for more than a month now and it has been a fine ride so far. Today was by far the best selling day so far with many people stopping to buy Easter presents and treats for themselves. We had twice the revenue of our previously strongest day. Very promising. We will see if tomorrow – Easter Sunday will be equally successful.

You can find nice pictures of our products on our Facebook page: Link

I really don’t regret having come to Cuenca for the business. We are constantly promoting our business and will have the first 2 big events next Friday and Saturday. On the 29^th of April we will have a large group of English expats with the official UK representative in Cuenca to air the royal wedding in the UK. We offer Fish & Chips and other English delicacies along with Grant’s whiskey and beer. Should be a fun evening for our guests and ourselves. Saturday will mark the most important date in our short company history. We will host our official opening party with more than 250 invited guests. Surely, not all will show up but we will have a very busy time and should see some media coverage of our event in the press that day.

In terms of products that we offer, we have moved our main focus a little bid towards farm decoration and furniture. The latter has sold amazingly well in the last couple of weeks and we are very happy about that.  Also antique decoration sells really well. We currently have a 250 year old oil barrel, a large wine barrel (sold today) and a semi-complete copper distillery on show. The prices are very high but the people are nonetheless interested and I am sure we will move this stock quickly. The best part of those products is that we sell those on commission. So we did not need to buy before selling. Nice for our cash-flow ;)

Our kitchen is also doing well. Their performance has stabilized after a few starting issues and after a reorganization all is running smooth now. At peak times (weekends) we have 3 professional chefs operating the 9 flames and 2 fryers in the kitchen with the help of one help who washes the plates and prepares the yummy fresh juices that we offer.

Now I will find some pictures that show what has happened over the last months.

Happy Jim

A look into the shop

Wines and decoration

 Coffees and sweets

Juan Carlos - barman and shop assistent.

Part of the restaurant.

A peak into the kitchen...

Our church and fire station - home of 10 chickens and 2 cocks.

A bit of relaxing in our garden after a busy day...

Mr. and Mrs. Porky

The first time all seats are occupied. That Sunday, we had to send quite a few guests away as we had no more capacity.

My car has now advertising on it. And some off-road experience.

Building the pig house...

Leonardo working with the chili sauce - he is our Colombian contingent, making La Yunta a 4-nationality team.

We sponsored a local rodeo...

Many news, little time

Hi everyone.
I had quite a few emails and phone calls to ask how I am as there were no updates to my blog over the last 2 weeks. First of all, I am really fine. Actually, I am extremely fine :)

The reason for not posting anything is that I don't have internet in my new flat and am on our site all day every day. So, here is a short update on what has happened in the past 2 weeks.

We had quite a few issues with our lawyer regarding the registration and formation of the company. Some of the information we have received were wrong or we didn't get the information that we needed to do official steps. Also, my visa situation is different than explained to me before. Well, anyway, we are on the way and should everything sorted within the next 2 weeks. Our company is founded and registered. More or less what is left is the tax number that we need to start trading. I will receive a work visa for one or two years as investor visas in Ecuador make absolutely no sense because you cannot use the investment (so actually it isn't one in the first place).

Construction wise, we are more or less on track. The guard's room and office is completed, the security for the windows will be done today and the bar and checkout will be finished this week.
Yesterday, we started on the first chicken house. It was a lot of fun and learning. Jim's idea is to build a chicken village with fire station, police and a church. What a great idea!

Unfortunately, I misplaced/lost my camera charger, so I don't have a lot to share here. I hope to get hold of a replacement soon to be able to show you what is going on. Jim took some pictures with his camera a few days ago which I can share when I get hold of them.

Start of Constructions

The office is almost done. Next are the guard's room and the changing rooms. Those will be followed by the shower, the security measures, bar, counter, etc.... :)

Shopping Tours

Since we are only some weeks away from opening our business we are - besides many other things - busy with buying and organizing our initial stock. This is a fun part of the business, as you not only spend money on nice trading goods but also can have a break from the busy city life and enjoy the beautiful country.
Of course, I am happy to share that with you...

New Flat

It was time to find something of my own to live in. And so I did :)
It is a furnished apartment in a nice part of town. Not directly in the center but very close to it. It's a 5 minute walk to the stadium, if you care to look on the map of Cuenca.
Since it is in the 5th floor of a 6 store building, I have a very nice view over Cuenca, including great sunrises and sunsets :)
Here are some pictures...

Logo Competition Result

And the winner is...

For some applications, we wanted to have a logo with a border, so we have selected this version as well.

I think the logo looks really nice, is simple enough to be easily recognized yet sophisticated enough to look professional.
Now we can order our marketing material and some other things for which we need the logo. We will have polo shirts for the staff and long sleeve shirts for us. On the window to the kitchen we will have privacy glass with the logo cut out. It's basically a layer of thin foil from which the logo is cut out by laser. Really effective and very inexpensive. I think I don't have Jim's "ok" yet but I would also like to see the logo on our cars.