News
Strike costs the country at least $1.3 billion, most of it in the private sector, government reports
The 18-day indigenous strike cost the country at least $1.3 billion, according to the Finance Ministry. The figure is preliminary and will probably go higher as more information is collected from private businesses and services, the Ministry says. The amount counts all loses, public and private,...
The key to expat contentment in Cuenca? You have to adapt to the Ecuadorian way of doing things
By Silvia Ascarelli Bill and Dean Keyes and Chase and Saralee Squires separately say they have found the same retirement spot with perfect weather — temperatures in the upper 60s and low 70s year-round during the day and in the upper 40s at night during the winter (in this case, August and...
How hightech and social media have stolen our souls
By Justin Smith Philosophers have seldom lived up to the ideal of radical doubt that they often claim as the prime directive of their tradition. They insist on questioning everything, while nonetheless holding onto many pieties. Foremost among these, perhaps, is the commandment handed down from...
U.S. targets what it claims are illegal Chinese fishing practices; Galapagos encroachment is an example
U.S. President Joe Biden has signed a national security memorandum to fight illegal fishing, part of pledged efforts to help countries combat alleged violations by fishing fleets, including those of China. The White House said in a statement that it would also launch an alliance with Canada and...
Fuel prices drop but concern grows about the cost of subsidies, which could exceed $3 billion
Although motorists aren’t complaining about lower prices for regular gasoline and diesel fuel, the government is scrambling to figure out how to pay for the increased subsidy. Prices for low-octane Extra and Ecopais gasoline and diesel dropped 15 percent Saturday following the agreement between...
Cuenca Soup Kitchen increases its reach to needy families in partnership with Hearts of Gold
By Stephen Vargha Most know a soup kitchen as a place where free food (usually soup and bread) is served to the homeless and destitute without judgment or discrimination. These places are usually run by charitable organizations and staffed by a group of volunteers. Cuenca Soup Kitchen started out...
Strike costs Ecuador 1.99 million barrels of oil sales; Production should reach 90% of normal this week
More than two weeks of indigenous protests in Ecuador caused state-run oil company Petroecuador to lose 1.99 million barrels of oil production, the company said on Friday, adding that it expects to reach 90% of pre-crisis output in the next week. Protests erupted in Ecuador in June to demand lower...
Cuenca cleans up, restores and restocks
Cuenca was busy Friday clearing and cleaning roads while hundreds of supply trucks, some of them stuck behind roadblocks for two weeks, rolled into town. Markets and stores were busy refilling shelves that had been left empty by the 18-day indigenous strike and LP gas supply trucks resumed their...
Some thoughts on my 90th birthday and how I came to live a better life in Cuenca
Editor's note: Long-time expat Dave Nelson died early Friday morning in Cuenca. He was 93. Born in a small town on the Oregon coast, Dave spent most of his professional career as a workers' comp attorney in Oakland, California representing injured workers. Besides his legal advocacy, he described...
Airlines are overbooked and overstressed and things will get worse before they get better
By John Walton Now is the summer of our discontent, Shakespeare didn't exactly write in "Richard III," but for airline travelers in the US and Europe that's exactly what this summer is shaping up to be. Flights are vanishing from the schedules -- some at the last minute as airlines fail to offer...
End of strike celebrations are underway but many are unhappy with terms of the agreement
Although celebrations of the end of the indigenous strike will continue through the weekend strike leaders and the government understand the agreement signed Thursday afternoon is far from satisfactory. “On many points, we do not agree with the government,” Conaie President Leonidas Iza said after...
Public hospitals take drug inventory; Egg and chicken sales devastated by strike; Street artists decorate the walls; Symphony plays Beethoven and Debussy
Jueves, 30/6/2022 Hola, Todos - Actividades - Director invitado para recital de la Sinfónica (Guest conductor for Symphony recital ) - The OSC will perform a concert Friday a las 20:00 in the Teatro de la Casa de la Cultura. It will be directed by Yury Sobolev and will have The House of Beethoven...
Expat Life
The key to expat contentment in Cuenca? You have to adapt to the Ecuadorian way of doing things
By Silvia Ascarelli Bill and Dean Keyes and Chase and Saralee Squires separately say they have found the same...
Cuenca Soup Kitchen increases its reach to needy families in partnership with Hearts of Gold
By Stephen Vargha Most know a soup kitchen as a place where free food (usually soup and bread) is served to the...
Some thoughts on my 90th birthday and how I came to live a better life in Cuenca
Editor's note: Long-time expat Dave Nelson died early Friday morning in Cuenca. He was 93. Born in a small town on the...
Cuenca’s GRACE foundation offers assistance to displaced Venezuelans and the occasional expat too
By Stephen Vargha A horrifying and tragic experience out in public changed Karla Sánchez’s life. “I was working as a...
Health News
Vitamins and supplements are a waste of money for most people and can actually harm your health
By Mark Waghorn Vitamins and supplements that countless people take to improve their health are just a waste of money,...
Vaccines and prior Covid infection don’t protect against infection from new Omicron subvariants
By Jacqueline Howard Omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5 appear to escape antibody responses among both people who had...
Opinion
How hightech and social media have stolen our souls
By Justin Smith Philosophers have seldom lived up to the ideal of radical doubt that they often claim as the prime...
Suddenly, the strike heads toward resolution; How did Lasso win and Conaie, Iza and the Correistas lose?
The momentum shift was dramatic. Within the span of 24 hours President Guillermo Lasso went from being a man on the...
Is this how history dies? The world’s heritage has become a tourist spectacle, sterilized and lifeless
By John Keeble I remember sitting in the ruins of Olympia, Greece, half a century ago and feeling part of it – as if...
Community Posts
2-br Apt. by ECU911 is close to El Estadio
Just few blocks to the Rio Yanuncay , this is a 2 BR – 2 bath apartment on the grownd-floor,...
Cooking With Rey “South East Asian Cuisine”
Authentic Southeast Asian Cuisine "Spiced Just The Way You Like" It's been cold and rainy so I'm...
Beautiful Exclusive Apartment for Sale
Comfortable 2-bedroom, 2-bath unfurnished apartment on Cuenca’s historic Tomebamba River. The...
Home Help Care – Relaxing Massages
This massage releases your muscles and calms your nervous system – it’s the perfect recipe for...