Thomas Ives

My older brother passed away six years ago. I wrote the following obituary in one sitting, relying on a flood of memories that poured forth sculpting the character of a unique individual. It was published in our small hometown journal. _____________ Richard (Beau) de Boisvert Ives passed away in Taos, NM on August 6, 2017...
I’m occasionally asked, “How did you meet your Ecuadorian wife?” This question always triggers a reflection on why I had come to Ecuador, not to find love but to find a place of peace, wide smiles and laughter — a place to cast off the energy of a busy past, an exciting, but somewhat cluttered...
It’s 6:04 AM. I’ve been up reading the wonderful anthology of travel essays: Unforgettable Journeys: Great writers on great places,” wherein I discovered two bookmarks, one a photographic print of an abstract image I had created ten years ago that I like less now than I did then. And a crisp new $20 bill which...
Moderate rain had forced me to take shelter under a large avocado tree near the Rio Yambala in Vilcabamba. I had closed my eyes so I could concentrate on the air-born smell of petrichor, that universal scent that wafts up from the soil and plants during a rain. It always transports me back to my...
Two of the most ubiquitous items seen daily on earth are on display in this quick snap taken at a local tienda here in Vilcabamba. One of my campesino neighbors is relaxing in the the waning afternoon light wearing ubiquitous item #1: a New York Yankees baseball cap. No other utilitarian item of apparel has...
(Yeah I know … not much happening here in the pueblo today.) Sprucing up for the celebration of the founding of the parroquia de Vilcabamba. I was curious as to how the colors were chosen so I chatted with one of the municipal workers on site. He said basically there was no executive decision about...
There I was up in Cuenca on official business with the Ministerio de Franz Kafka. It hadn’t been pretty …. I had to return to GO and not collect $200. Later, near sundown, I was in a sullen mood walking the streets: looking for cans to kick or those silly baseball sized rocks that are...
His Spanish is pretty good except for those pesky irregular verbs. He’s clever enough to mumble them hoping the tense remains clear through context. He carries a well-thumbed mini-English/Espanol dictionary, so we know he’s sincere about broadening his vocabulary. He is humble (for a North American) and occasionally self-deprecating, often funny and sometimes loud, especially...
Tranvía de Cuatro Rios worker’s hands Not for want of hard labor! — Thomas Ives Photo created August 16, 2016 in Cuenca; Copyright, Thomas H. Ives 2016, Contact: codexoceanus@gmail.com ________________ Thomas Ives is an American-born photographer who has worked for international news and feature magazines for over 38 years. His photo essays and images have...
Styling in the Parque Central, Vilcabamba — Thomas Ives Photo created in Vilcabamba, 2014, Copyright: Thomas H. Ives 2014, Contact: codexoceanus@gmail.com ________________ Thomas Ives is an American-born photographer who has worked for international news and feature magazines for over 38 years. His photo essays and images have appeared in National Geographic, Time, Geo, Stern, Newsweek, Life,...
‘Tis the gift to be simple, ’tis the gift to be free                           — From: Simple Gifts. (Traditional Shaker song) A summery country road, a farmer with his dog returning to the village after collecting chilena grass for his cuy, a campesino mounted on his burro. One could not have staged such a bucolic rural...

“La Mordida” (The Bite) Image created August 7, 2013, Vilcabamba, Ecuador, Copyright 2016, Thomas H. Ives. For sale: Size 30cm. x 40cm., Edition of 5; Medium: Fuji Crystal Archive paper, Matte finish; Unframed, print only; Price $350 Contact: codexoceanus@gmail.com

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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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