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In Cuenca, some ATMs are bilingual. Some aren’t. For example, several of the ATMs that surround Parque Calderón aren’t, while the ones at Banco Pichincha at the big intersection of 12 de Abril and Avenida Solano are. If you just want to siphon some money off your credit or debit card and you find yourself...
Three members of President Rafael Correa´s Pais party have resigned in opposition to his plan to hold a voter referendum aimed at reforming the justice system. Several other members of the president´s party have indicated that they may not support the referendum. The defections, along with the resignation of two minor cabinet ministers over the...
Outside the modest two-story adobe house, a flag of Ecuador flutters alongside a large sign that reads "Ikat: weaving demonstrations and sales." Hanks of yarn and colourful fabrics hang from the handrail running around the edge of the courtyard and balcony, and weaving looms can be seen inside. This is the home of José Jiménez,...
The famous indigenous market in Otavalo, a two-hour drive north of Quito, is the best place to buy Andean art, crafts, textiles, jewelry, and more. But if you’re visiting Ecuador and your trip is limited to Cuenca and environs, you’ll find plenty of places to partake in retail therapy and souvenir hunting.
A great...
By Edd Staton I took the time to read through some of the online forums dedicated to Ecuador this weekend and noticed something interesting. On the one hand, there were folks totally gung-ho about making the “big move;” others were quite timid and unsure, asking questions like, “Was there a lot of anguish in your...
Appealing directly to Ecuador´s citizens, President Rafael Correa is complaining that his call for a national referendum on issues he says are critical to Ecuador´s future is being opposed by political opponents he calls “the old guard.” Twice in the last week Correa took to the airwaves to push a list of 10 questions that...
Reportedly, Cuenca´s historic district has 53 churches, one for every week of the year. You can see the oldest, the largest, and the most ornate within three blocks of the central plaza. Another two mark the east and west boundaries of colonial El Centro. Catedral El Sagrario, also known as Catedral Antiguo, on the east side of...
[Editor’s Note: This post, by Shirlee Severs, is about a day trip she took from Cuenca to El Cajas National Park.] A couple days before we were scheduled to depart for home, I woke up to what, here in Nevada, we call a “blue-bird day”: a picture-perfect sky without a cloud in it. And since...
La Vina, serving good hearty Italian for a decade at the corner of Luis Cordero and Juan Jaramillo, is a favorite of gringos. Shirlee and I were there on a Friday night when four parties at the five tables in the front room were Americans. La Vina’s menu is monolingual, though it’s more in Italian...
In our month in Cuenca, Shirlee and I made it a point to visit the four gringo-owned hangouts, along with two locally owned restaurants, one a tradition and the other a hit with gringos. The first haunt is also the restaurant you should try on your first day in Cuenca. Remember this name: Raymipampa. Raymipampa faces...
We didn’t sample either of the two American fast-food operations in Cuenca: Kentucky Fried Chicken and Domino’s. (Nope: no McDonald’s or Burger King, Taco Bell, or even Starbucks.) I’m not prejudiced; I’ll try both when I go back (Lee at Carolina Bookstore claims Domino’s Ecuador is surprisingly different than stateside and decent), but we had...
Editor´s note: Edd Staton is a Cuenca resident, writer and community activist. He is author of the Edd Said blog, www.eddsaid.blogspot.com, and writes a column for Cuenca´s afternoon newspaper, La Tarde. My wife and I returned home from the United States Tuesday, and we felt Ecuador with us all the way. In the airport restaurant...
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