Deke Castleman

By Deke Castleman As Calvin Trillin wrote in a recent Condé Nast Traveler, colonial Cuenca “doesn’t look like a 16th-century city that has been preserved; it looks like a city that has been in use since the 16th century.” Trillin describes himself as an inveterate urban walker, taking great pleasure in strolling city streets, so...
By Deke Castleman Quick: Who’s buried in Grant’s Tomb? How long was the Hundred Years War? The Canary Islands are named after what animal? And what country do Panama hats come from? If you answered General Ulysses S. and his wife Julia, 116 years, the dog, and Ecuador, you’re smarter than you look! It’s one...
By Deke Castleman On my very first night in Ecuador in 2010, in Quito at the Casa Sol, a sign in the bathroom initiated me into toilet tissue Ecuador-style. The sign put us on notice that local plumbing has a hard time with paper, so instead of flushing the TP, Casa Sol respectfully requests guests...
By Deke Castleman and David Morrill Although most expats get by without a car in Cuenca, many own one. You’ll find prices for new cars to be about 20%-30% higher than in the U.S. For used cars, the markup is can be even higher, since most Ecuadorians can’t afford new cars. Also, we’ve observed that Ecuadorians...
By Deke Castleman This survey, conducted in January 2013, received 282 responses: 240 from Cuenca and 42 from miscellaneous places around the country (Vilcabamba, the coast, Quito, Loja, Cotacachi/Otavalo, etc.). Just over 200 respondents rented (73%); the rest (27%) owned. Just under half of the renters paid $300-$499 per month. Another 15% shelled out $500-$599;...
We didn’t sample either of the two American fast-food operations in Cuenca: Kentucky Fried Chicken and Domino’s. (Nope: no McDonald’s or Burger King, Taco Bell, or even Starbucks.) I’m not prejudiced; I’ll try both when I go back (Lee at Carolina Bookstore claims Domino’s Ecuador is surprisingly different than stateside and decent), but we had...
The mid-day repast in Cuenca, typical of Latin America, is a big meal and a big deal. It’s long, starting as early as 11:00 and continuing till as late as 4:00, and many shops, stores, offices, and museums close between 1:00 and 3:00 for the leisurely lunch. And you can dine out in a range of restaurants, from no-name...
[Editor's Note: This is the debut restaurant review from Deke Castleman, who spent a month in Cuenca recently and delved deeply into the dining environment. Deke'll be the new food dude at CuencaHighLife, but we encourage anyone and everyone with a dining tip, restaurant review, market story — any Cuenca or Ecuador food experience worth recounting —...

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The Cuenca Dispatch

Week of March 17

Banks and Cooperatives will pay almost $200 million in taxes to fund the internal armed conflict.

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Illegal mining advances uncontrolled in the Ecuadorian Amazon and threatens protected areas and indigenous communities.

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Foreign Minister Sommerfeld refutes the notion of ‘bukelization’ in Ecuador’s fight against organized crime.

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