Posts:
While the government maintains that the time it will take airline passengers to get back and forth between downtown and the new Quito airport at Tababela will be about an hour, taxi drivers and private bus operators say is will be closer to one and a half to two...
Although Cuenca is known for its historic district boutique hotels, four large, modern hotels are either under construction or in the planning stages outside of the district. A 50-room, six floor hotel is nearing the half-way point in construction on Avenida del...
By Julia Heinrichmann Ecuador's plan to refrain from drilling for oil in its rainforests in return for international financial support, remains controversial. Critics have questioned the tangible benefits of the project for the forest and its residents. In 2007,...
What does crossing the street in Cuenca teach us about the expat lifestyle? How can attitudes about “gringo prices” predict success or failure at adjusting to the Ecuador culture? Why is it so hard to get an accurate weather forecast for Cuenca? Who might...
Sometimes the biggest is also the best and in the case of museums in Cuenca, Museo Pumapungo del Ministerio de Cultura proves the rule. From portraits to ponchos, from 50,000-sucre bills to shrunken heads, Cuenca’s most extensive and impressive artistic,...
Officials of Quito’s new international airport are taking a wait-and-see attitude about the possible negative impact on in-country flights when the new facility at Tababela opens February 20. President of the airport commission, Marco Subía, says it is...
By Sarah Zielinski Chef and culinary historian Maricel Presilla owns two restaurants and has written many cookbooks. But her new book, Gran Cocina Latina: The Food of Latin America, is her attempt to give fans a heaping helping of the many cultures she blends into her...
By Anna Marie De La Fuente The past few years have seen a boom in local films in Ecuador. Whereas a mere five pictures were made in the entire decade of the 1990s, this tiny Andean nation of 14 million is now churning out an average of four to five films a year. And...
Ecuador and Cuenca continue to strengthen their respective reputations as top destinations for international tourists and expatriates. Lonely Planet, publisher of the world’s best selling travel guide, has named Ecuador number four in its 2013 “Best in...
Editor's note: The following is from the forthcoming book, Expats in Ecuador: Life in Cuenca, by David Morrill and Deke Castleman. Although Rafael Correa has been a controversial figure in his six years as president of Ecuador, most of the country’s...
By David Suzuki In some of the poorest countries of Latin America, one can find a refreshing (and radical) departure from the conventional economic thinking entrenched in Canada and around the world. It’s not often that people look to countries such as Ecuador...
According to Cuenca planning officials, 1,694 new building permits were issued from January to October of 2012, representing 845,000 square meters, or 9,137,500 square feet of new construction. Although the numbers are down slightly from the October 2011 level,...
Ecuador's presidential election campaign kicked off on Friday with rallies for all eight presidential candidates, with incumbent Rafael Correa enjoying a comfortable lead in polls ahead of the February 17 vote. Although Correa has been dogged by a recent scandal...
Cuenca’s holiday festivities continue Sunday with the Dia de los Inocentes parade on Av. Huanya Cápac. City officials expect about a thousand to participate in the parade with another 25,000 waching along the route. Like many of Cuenca’s...
By Susan Beverley For Americans living and working abroad and those planning to retire overseas, Medicare can be an expensive annoyance as well as a non-solution to your medical problems. Although there are those who are campaigning for significant changes to make...
Cuenca will see the beginning of two major infrastructure projects in 2013 while two others will be completed. After the Cuenca city council gave final funding approval to the new light rail system, Travia de los Cuatro Rios, national transportation minister...
President Rafael Correa, has described as "nonsense" a proposal by an opposition presidential candidate to reinstall visa requirements for foreigners entering the country. Based on the constitution adopted in 2008, Ecuador allows almost all travelers to...
President Rafael Correa announced Saturday a 8.8 percent increase in the minimum wage for private-sector workers for 2013, during his weekly television and radio broadcast. Correa, who has won strong popular support for a range of measures including expanding access...
By William K. Black Editor's note: William Black is an Associate Professor at the University of Missouri, Kansas City. A regulator during the U.S. Savings and Loan collapse in the 1980s and 1990s, he recently presented a series of lectures contrasting the economic...
The world's happiest people aren't in Qatar, the richest country by most measures. They aren't in Japan, the nation with the highest life expectancy. Canada, with its chart-topping percentage of college graduates, doesn't make the top 10. A poll...
