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Editor's note: This is first in continuing series of interviews with Cuenca expats. By Susan Schenck SS: TC, My tarot card reading with you was amazing. You told me things that were happening in my life and about who I am that couldn’t have come from the community gossip. And you had these “yes/no” cards...
According to a former official of Ecuador’s Banco Central, last week’s run on a large financial cooperative in Cuenca should serve as a cautionary tale for those who deposit money with the country’s financial cooperatives. Based, apparently, on a rumor that it had declared bankruptcy, thousands of customers crowded the branch offices of Juventud Ecuatoriana...
By Susan Schenck When my husband and I came to Cuenca a couple of years ago, though we did not know it at the time, we met one of Southern Ecuador´s most intriguing residents. Humberto Chica, along with his wife, owns and operates Cabañas Yanuncay, a hostal that is as unique and charming as Humberto...
Cuenca airport and business officials are worried about the affect Quito´s new international airport, scheduled to open in October, will have on local air service. The new airport, located 20 kilometers east of downtown Quito, near Tababela, will be one of the most modern in South America, offering expanded passenger and freight capacity as well...
Life just got easier for Cuenca's English-speaking foreigners. According to its director, Ana Lucía Serrano, Cuenca's new immigration office means that foreigners will no longer need to travel to Quito to conduct their visa business. It also means shorter application turn-around times and that applicants can navigate the process on their own, working with English-speaking...
Ecuador customs officials announced Saturday that they would delay enforcing new rules for the importation of cell phones until details of the new plan have been worked out. The new restrictions, adopted June 15, impose import limits and new taxes on dozens of imports, including cell phones, cars and liquor. One provision of the new...
Relocating school-age children to a new country, especially one with a different language, is the biggest challenge confronting most expat parents. "It's a huge decision and one that any parent needs to think hard about," says John O'Neil, father of two young boys who moved to Cuenca from Boston last July. "My wife and I...
New government taxes and restrictions on imports will mean higher prices on some items at the check-out counter and leaders of Ecuador´s major business organizations are cyring foul. The measures announced June 15 by the government´s Committee of Foreign Trade (COMEX), mean that prices of imported cars, cell phones, appliances, liquor, electronic equipment and dozens...
According to local builders and real estate agents, more Cuencanos are buying apartments than ever before. Cuenca Chamber of Construction president, Diego Monsalve, says the trend is an indication that people are eager to simplify their lives by avoiding the upkeep and expense of maintaining houses. He also says that it is an indication of...
Sacagawea, make room for the U.S. Presidents and Susan B. Anthony. Thanks to the United States mint, Ecuadoreans will soon be using dollar coins bearing the likenesses of 20 U.S. Presidents as well as civil rights pioneer Susan B. Anthony. Distribution of the new coins bagan last week by Ecuador´s Banco Central and the new...
By Ellen Creager This is one rain forest the world may have saved. After donors around the globe pledged $116 million by the December 2011 deadline to prevent oil drilling in the biologically fragile Yasuni National Park, the Ecuadorian government agreed to leave it alone, at least for now. There will be no roads, drilling...
By Sylvan Hardy Ecuador at Your Service is on the air. The radio program, aimed at English-speaking residents and prospective residents of Ecuador, debuted earlier this year on the Overseas Radio Network. The program, which airs Tuesday from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., is hosted by Cuenca residents Ashley Rogers and Michel Blanchard. The show...
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