City parks need maintenance; Car thieves target online advertisers; Shelters sought for abused women; Baños offers spa services for all budgets

Lunes, 22/5/2023

Hola, Todos –

Actividades –

De El Mercurio del sábado, 20/5 (1 article): Baños, nicho de los ‘beauty trips’ (Baños, a niche for beauty trips) – The parish of Baños in southwest Cuenca, is full of locations for ‘beauty trips’ where you can get a relaxing massage and spa services. From underground, water flows out at 75° C. and is cooled to use in the spas. The steam is rich in minerals that detoxify skin and act on your respiratory system. There are spas for every budget and some offer complete services including massages, facials, contrast pools, volcanic mud baths, saunas and restaurants. Others have childrens’ and adults’ pools and recreation areas. Two spas are the Hostería Agapantos and Piedra de Agua Fuente Termal & Spa at opposite ends of the price spectrum. Termal Rodas is one of the oldest and most popular locations for a ‘beauty trip.’ <Unfortunately, a ‘beauty trip’ is a lost cause for me, but I’ll settle for relaxation.>

Titular –

Users of Cuenca’s parks say that green areas are not being maintained. They complain about muddy areas and dead grass in playgrounds. (El Mercuiro)

Un ‘refugio’ para víctimas de violencia (A ‘refuge’ for victims of violence) – The Fundación María Amor in Cuenca has received an increased number of reports about gender violence this year. It is looking to create locations where women who are victims of violence can be treated and helped. Paula Flores, the minister of Women and Human Rights was in Cuenca to share a proposal for a ‘Centro Violeta’ which will be implemented in about 100 days after approval from the Consejo Cantonal. The 547 sq. m. facility will be next to the “La Libertad” headquarters of the Registro Civil. It will have psychological, social work, counseling and support, educational services, and more.

Blanca Pacheco, director of the foundation, said that it attended to 70 families in 2022; and alarmingly, it has already attended to 50 families in 2023. She said the average age of the women seen varies between 18 and 25. Most worrying, the emergency call service took 530 calls from women living in violent situations, just in 2022. She expects to provide uninterrupted 24-hour service. The urban parishes with the most violence against women are San Sebastián, Yanuncay and El Vecino, and the rural ones are San Joaquín and Sayausí. Judiciary data showed that 66 women died due to gender violence in Cuenca between 2015 & 2023.

Cuenca –

Daños pasan factura a parques y megaparques (Damage takes toll on parks and mega-parks) – Green areas for recreation, dog walking, and sports are deteriorating in the El Paraíso, Guataná and De La Madre parks and the Tarqui-Guzho, De La Luz, and IctoCruz megaparks. Users are asking for better maintenance, noting areas with standing water and mud around the play structures. A neighbor of the parque Guataná said the area isn’t safe due to insufficient lighting and that it’s become a hangout for drug sales and use.

De El Mercurio del sábado, 20/5 (1 article):
Publicar ventas en redes puede resultar peligroso (Posting sales on networks can be dangerous) – The Policía Nacional in Azuay is investigating a criminal gang which is stealing cars, kidnapping the owners, and demanding ransom from the families. The gangs get the information from social networks. Manuel Cabrera, a computer crimes investigator, recommmended not posting lots of details <Like I’m selling a car, I live at …, and will not be home at ….,PS – the alarm system is broken.>

When showing the car for a test drive, he advised not going alone <bring your Rottweiler with you> and try go to places that have some security. A technician at a security company said one way to avoid a car robbery is to install a GPS system on your phone. He recommended a system for your car that can turn the car off if it’s stolen. Best is to do the transaction in a car lot. Never pay to get your car back since it’s often been taken apart for parts.

Region –

Comunidades de Azogues reciben insumos agrícolas (Communities in Azogues receive agricultural supplies) – People in 6 communities in the Taday parish, Azogues canton, received seeds and fertilizers to plant pastures in a project to strengthen milk production. The communities prepared the soil and placed the organic material. The project also included training about cultivation and pasture management techniques. <Must be more to it than just throwing seeds around and watching the weeds grow. If anyone has a cow, I have a backyard with knee high grass. I also want to make it clear that it’s just a joke – I don’t want your cow traipsing through the house to get to the grass.> This pasturage has high nutritional value which will improve the quality and quantity of milk. <Will milk tastings be the next thing? Milk from cows fed with kikuyu, tall fescue, mitchell, or Kentucky bluegrass – grown on the preferred western slopes of the Tarqui valley?>

And that’s all for today so hasta ? –

Jeanne