Blog
The least expensive “space” we examined in Cuenca was at the Hostal El Hogar Cuencano on Hermano Miguel just north of Calle Larga across from the Escalinata: $6 with shared bath in a dorm room with three twins. Private rooms are $8 per person, and among the neatest matrimonials in Cuenca are the back rooms...
A plane from Ecuador lands in Europe. Those carrying European passports go quickly through migration, while the queue of Ecuadorians does not move. They are questioned at length, as their luggage is scanned. Eventually their passports are taken away, and they are all moved to a waiting room without any explanation. This is the beginning...
In a newspaper story translated by and posted on this website, the Ecuadorian Minister of Tourism claimed that Cuenca receives approximately 100,000 out-of-town visitors annually. If this is accurate, that averages out to a little less than 300 per night. Naturally, this doesn’t account for high times: Christmas, New Year’s, the week of All Saints...
One of the hemisphere’s fiercest sibling rivalries might get played out on a national stage. Fabricio Correa — the older brother of Ecuadoran President Rafael Correa — said he would challenge him at the ballot box in 2012 unless a more viable opposition candidate came along. Fabricio first suggested the possibility of a presidental run last summer...
By Ashley Armstrong A few months ago there was an article in CuencaHighLife about what Cuencanos think of the gringos living here. If I remember correctly, it was about a grad school project by a University of Cuenca student. A lot of the comments were positive. The locals said that the foreigners brought higher standards...
The mid-day repast in Cuenca, typical of Latin America, is a big meal and a big deal. It’s long, starting as early as 11:00 and continuing till as late as 4:00, and many shops, stores, offices, and museums close between 1:00 and 3:00 for the leisurely lunch. And you can dine out in a range of restaurants, from no-name...
A survey by Cuenca´s Vehicular Technology Review committee reports what most Cuencanos already know: that most of the city´s air pollution is the result of bus, car and truck exhaust. The survey found that 85% to 90% of pollution is caused by the city´s 80,000 vehicles. According to Rolando Arpi, director of the survey, Cuenca...
[Editor's Note: This is the debut restaurant review from Deke Castleman, who spent a month in Cuenca recently and delved deeply into the dining environment. Deke'll be the new food dude at CuencaHighLife, but we encourage anyone and everyone with a dining tip, restaurant review, market story — any Cuenca or Ecuador food experience worth recounting —...
[Editor’s Note: The following starts a new series of posts from veteran travel writer Deke Castleman and photographer Shirlee Severs. The blog of Deke and Shirlee’s first two weeks in Ecuador ran on this website in April. This series covers the month they spent in Cuenca last October.] In February 2010, Shirlee and I took...
[Editor´s note: The following was submitted by Linn Vermilion Smith, a Cuenca expat working with a project to assist two rural schools and the children attending them.] This is a call for help to the Gringo community in Cuenca and beyond. In November, Edd and Cynthia Staton and Will and Val Lacy visited two rural schools,...
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. I am back in the U.S. with my wife for the first time in seven months. We plan to spend five weeks visiting family and...
Rosa Vintimilla, president of Roviza, S.A., one of Cuenca´s largest and oldest insurance agencies, says that misunderstandings among both foreign residents and citizens keep many Ecuadorians uninsured. “One thing I hear is that good, reliable insurance is not available and this is simply not true,” she says. "There are many companies, including companies from the U.S. and Europe, offering...
Dani News
Hogar Esperanza – News
