Posts:
One of the things Cuenca does especially well is variety. Cafés here are not interchangeable. Each one attracts a slightly different mix of people, activities, and expectations, often without anyone saying a word. Knowing which café fits your rhythm makes all the...
Wall Street Journal economist Judy Shelton suggests that Latin American countries adopt the US dollar. She weighs in on the pros and cons of dollarization as a regional phenomenon. Ms. Shelton argues that “Greater financial stability and rapid development in...
The Defense Ministry announced Thursday that an additional 10,000 military personnel are being sent to Guayas, Los Ríos and Manabí Provinces. The deployment will increase the number of troops in the three provinces to almost 30,000 assigned to support the National...
You can learn a lot about modern geopolitics by reading the news with a cup of coffee and the same suspicion you reserve for used-car salesmen. It began, as these things often do, with President Trump “inviting” Greenland to become the 51st state of the United States....
By Kate Dwyer On the first Tuesday of the year, the author and political activist Don Winslow tweeted a photograph of an avid reader’s dream library. Bathed in the buttery glow of three table lamps, almost every surface of the room is covered with books. There are...
By Peter Grattan Venezuela holds the world's largest proven oil reserves — 303 billion barrels, about 17% of the global total and more than Saudi Arabia's 267 billion. Yet Venezuela produces fewer than 1 million barrels per day, less than 1% of global output. That's...
Cuenca has received another “best in class” distinction, being named the "Best City in South America" by the World Travel Index. The city’s new number one ranking follows earlier designations as the safest city in Latin America and best for quality of life by the...
By Pierre-Charles Pradier The cocaine market exploded between 2014 and 2023. Production in Colombia increased more than sevenfold to nearly 2,700 tons, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). Behind the scenes, drug traffickers find equally...
More than a year after Ecuador’s Constitutional Court ruling recognising slave-like conditions at the company Furukawa Plantaciones C.A. in Ecuador, victims of contemporary forms of slavery continue to live in extremely precarious conditions, United Nations officials*...
After months of navigating the online noise—the conflicting forum posts, the sensational YouTube videos, and the "I left Ecuador" blogs—it’s easy to feel more confused than ever. We’ve spent this entire series cutting through that noise. We have analyzed the hard...
Mining company owners and representatives are objecting to a new regulation requiring mines to provide electricity to power their operations. They claim the requirement was not included in original mining concessions and is an indication of the government’s failure to...
Bored? - (De El Mercurio del miércoles, 14/1) Florecimiento de guayacanes (Flowering of guayacan trees) - The City of Zapotillo announced that the flowering of the guayacanes will start el 17/1 thanks to the recent rains <no hour given, you'll just have to drive...
Several readers have asked Charlie to comment further on imported packages and the pros and cons of various sources, so I have been peering again into the mysterious world of cross-border shopping from my desk here at Larga Towers in Cuenca. As many of you will...
By Julia Buckley Traveling from country to country without restrictions. Shorter lines at the border. The right to live and work in your dream destination, or to reconnect with family roots. All that, and more, is the dream of those who seek dual citizenship. And that...
A $20,000 to $50,000 price tag in the US makes "Is All-on-4 worth the money?" the most important question a patient can ask. To answer this, we can't just look at the upfront cost. We must compare the investment in All-on-4 to the long-term expense of the most common...
According to two university studies, foreign tourists visiting Cuenca are younger and more European than they were ten years ago. One of the studies found that newer expats also reflect the demographic trend. By far the biggest change in the city's tourism market,...
By Pam Belluck A recently recognized form of dementia is changing the understanding of cognitive decline, improving the ability to diagnose patients and underscoring the need for a wider array of treatments. Patients are increasingly being diagnosed with the...
Where are you from? I’m never quite sure how to answer this question. In my experience, North Americans tend to move around more than others, but rarely is anyone asking for my life’s story when they ask where I’m from. Do I respond with where I was born, where I grew...
By Roger McShane “That our people should live in their own homes is a sentiment deep in the heart of our race and of American life,” said President Herbert Hoover, perhaps the most important advocate of mass homeownership in the country’s history, in 1931. “They never...
Cuenca is a city that charms you into a state of comfort. With its cobblestone streets, tranquil rivers, and the gentle pace of local life, it’s easy to feel like you’ve stepped into a protected mountain utopia. Because the city is so refreshingly and genuinely safe...
