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It's fitting that Chris and Jenny Bluefields named their business Kookaburra Cafe. As they reflect on why a couple from Queensland with almost no hospitality experience would set up an eatery in southern Ecuador, Jenny's cackle demonstrates the comedy of it all. "I waited tables at my parents' cafe in Brisbane in the late 1970s,...
Editor’s note: This is the ninth installment of a multi-part series chronicling the adventures of Shel and Frank Drake on their first visit to Ecuador. Frank is a travel writer and Shel is a professional travel photographer. We took our leave from breakfast and off we went to the fresh-food Mercado 9 de Octubre, which...
Editor’s note: Curves Gym is one of Cuenca’s growing number of expat-owned businesses. Owner Jon Wright, a three-year Cuenca resident and former personal trainer, explains his approach to achieving positive exercise results – and why a program like Curves can help women live healthier lives. According to former personal trainer and owner of Cuenca’s Curves...
Editor’s note: This is the eighth installment of a multi-part series chronicling the adventures of Shel and Frank Drake on their first visit to Ecuador. Frank is a travel writer and Shel is a professional travel photographer.  In 2008 Stern, Germany’s version of Newsweek magazine, rated Cuenca the best place to live in Latin American...
Ecuador’s National Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology, (INAMHI) says that May in Cuenca may be wetter than usual. INAMHI makes the prediction based on water temperatures in the Pacific that are slightly higher than normal but says more rain is needed to overcome the deficit from last fall’s drought. Historically, May is second only to...
Editor’s note: This is the seventh installment of a multi-part series chronicling the adventures of Shel and Frank Drake on their first visit to Ecuador. Frank is a travel writer and Shel is a professional travel photographer. The plane touched down at Cuenca’s Mariscal Lamar, the cutest little airport you ever saw, especially for a city of...
Cuenca is making plans to reopen one of city’s oldest and most historic streets. Actually an alley way, Calle Santa Ana, which runs between the cathedral and Raymipampa restaurant on Calle Benigno Malo, has been bricked shut for decades.  City, church and civic leaders envision Santa Ana as an artisans’ market but also accessway to...
Almost a month after the $1.3 million robbery of a government run pawn service at Cuenca’s Social Security office, small crowds continue to gather to protest repayment terms for lost jewelry.  The heist, which remains unsolved, occurred over Easter Weekend but was not discovered until Monday morning, Apr. 5, when Social Security offices at the corner of Calles...
Editor’s note: This is the sixth installment of a multi-part series chronicling the adventures of Frank and Shel Drake on their first visit to Ecuador. Frank is a travel writer and Shel Drake is a professional travel photographer. We found Ibarra to be a heavy-duty Ecuadorian city, ninth largest in the country with a population...
Note: The following is a blog post by experienced trekker, RoundPicture. As he points out, hiking the Cajas can be strenuous and is often dangerous. Trails can be poorly marked and weather is unpredictable with temperatures falling well below freezing at night. Prepare well before hiking.   As I mentioned in my post about Cuenca,...
Editor’s note: This is the fifth installment of a multi-part series chronicling the adventures of Frank and Shel Drake on their first visit to Ecuador. Frank is a travel writer and Shel Drake is a professional travel photographer. I’d made reservations at Casa Sol in Quito for Casa Sol in Otavalo and it was a...
Editor’s note: This is the fourth installment of a multi-part series chronicling the adventures of Frank and Shel Drake on their first visit to Ecuador. Frank is a travel writer and Shel Drake is a professional travel photographer.  The International Living conference ended Saturday night. Sunday morning we walked to Budget to pick up our rental car....

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The Cuenca Dispatch

Week of September 01

More than 1,900 Forest Fires Recorded in Ecuador So Far in 2024.

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Energy Crisis: Harnessing Volcanic Heat for Power Generation Under Consideration.

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Marmoset Monkeys Call Each Other by Name, Just Like Humans.

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