Posts:
There are moments in Cuenca when you discover something that feels like a secret. A simple household discovery that makes you wonder why the rest of the world has not caught on. My latest discovery is cacao. The real stuff. The kind that comes in rough blocks or bags...
By César Rodríguez-Garavito and Robert Macfarlane High in the Ecuadorean Andes is a cloud forest that is home to hundreds of endangered, extraordinary creatures, many of which seem to have wandered straight out of the paintings of Hieronymus Bosch — among them the...
If the IESS (public) system is a story of frustrating compromises, the private healthcare system is the "good news" article. This is the system that expats are actually talking about when they praise Ecuadorian healthcare. For those seeking "consistently higher...
Hungry? - (de El Mercurio del domingo, 16/11) El nuevo epicentro gastronómico en Cuenca (The new gastronomic epicenter in Cuenca) - New food businesses in the El Vado sector have succeeded in conquering the palates of diners. Aji Dulce is located on Calle de la Cruz y...
By Anahad O’Connor Your body is made of protein. It’s a fundamental building block of your bones, skin and muscles. If you exercise regularly, especially if you lift weights, you’re going to need extra protein in your diet to help you build and maintain muscle. Eating...
If you sit long enough in a café near Parque Calderón, you can watch an entire story unfold about expat life in Cuenca. One table hums with newcomers comparing apartment rents and favorite bakeries. Another hosts the veterans, trading tales of how things “used to be.”...
The search for affordable dental implants is a global one. When a single implant in the United States can cost between $3,000 and $5,000 , it's understandable why patients are looking abroad for a solution. If the only factor is the absolute lowest price, a few...
Ecuadorian voters rejected all four of President Daniel Noboa’s referendum questions in Sunday’s election. As of midnight, the “no" vote was winning by broad margins on three questions to amend the current constitution and on a fourth question that would convene a...
By Steven Barrie-Anthony For the vast majority of my psychotherapy patients, the gravitational pull of phones and social media alters the most important aspects of who they are, their relationships with others and how they move through the world. This is true for most...
The Americans have finally done it. After more than two centuries, the last US penny is rolling off the line, and the mint workers in Philadelphia are putting away the stamping machines for good. Perhaps they will reappear on E-bay and eventually be exported to China...
The U.S. announced Friday it is exempting foods like bananas, beef and coffee from its sweeping country-by-country tariffs, as the government grapples with cost-of-living frustrations and quickly rising prices for imported agricultural products. The new exemption...
By Simon Romero One day in mid-September, Alejandro Carranza, a Colombian fisherman who, his family said, had long plied the Caribbean in search of marlin and tuna, called his teenage daughter. He told her he was going fishing, she said, and would return in a few...
By Mikkael A. Sekeres, MD As an oncologist, I see patients who report both common and uncommon symptoms. The symptoms most commonly linked to a cancer diagnosis, not surprisingly, reflect the incidence rates of the world’s most prevalent cancers. These include feeling...
On paper, the Instituto Ecuatoriano de Seguridad Social (IESS) sounds like a healthcare dream, especially for a North American retiree. For a monthly "buy-in" premium of less than $95 for a couple, resident expats gain access to a system that promises 100% coverage, a...
Ecuador’s election protocols went into effect at midnight Thursday with the prohibition on campaigning ahead of Sunday’s referendum election. The dry law, prohibiting the sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages, begins at noon Friday and remains in effect until...
Referendum - (jueves, 13/11) Ecuador analiza si va por la Constitución 21 - If more than half of the 13.4 million Ecuadorians eligible to vote are in favor of installing an Asamblea Constituyente (Constitutional Assembly), Ecuador will start the 21st process to...
Everyone in the world wants to know the same thing about Cuenca, but few can answer it clearly: what is the standard of living really like? Not the tourist version, not the realtor’s pitch, but the daily reality for ordinary people and how it feels to buy groceries,...
The U.S. Mint on Wednesday ended production of the penny after 232 years, a change made to save money and because the 1-cent coin that could once buy a snack or a piece of candy had become increasingly irrelevant. The last pennies were struck at the mint in...
You've seen the advertisements online: a full, permanent new smile with All-on-4 implants for $4,000, $5,000, or even less. When US dentists are quoting you $20,000 or more for the same procedure , that international offer isn't just tempting—it feels like a lifeline....
Some security experts, including former prison directors, say the transfer of 300 inmates to the new high-security prison in Santa Elena Province is part of a government public relations campaign. “This is a publicity stunt and is clearly intended to influence voters...
