CuencaHighLife

Free university education in Ecuador aims at ending social inequity, but does it really work?

September 18th, 2011

Ecuador has become the latest testing ground for the attempt to use higher education to reverse decades of racial and social inequality through the country's prohibition, following a new constitution […]

RAW IN CUENCAQuinoa was considered a superfood by the Incas

September 16th, 2011

by Susan Schenck I neither eat nor recommend eating grains. They're not our natural foods, they're acidic, we didn’t evolve eating them, and most wreak havoc on our health. They're promoted […]

ECUADOR DIGESTPolice shut down inter-city passenger van services

September 10th, 2011

The National Transportation Agency and national police arrested a dozen drivers of 7- and 8-passenger vans on Friday, claiming they were operating without proper licensing and unfairly competing with bus […]

Health care in Cuenca compared to health care in the U.S.: it comes with a personal touch, it´s cheap and it works

September 7th, 2011

By Edd Staton Last Saturday, I visited my dermatologist to have a few troublesome spots frozen on my head. Such is the downside of my grooming choice. If you've never […]

Ecuador tops International Living retirement index again; cost of living and real estate are major considerations

September 6th, 2011

The rock-bottom cost of living in Ecuador, where retirees can live comfortably on less than the average U.S. Social Security payment, has seen the country remain firmly at the top […]

RAW IN CUENCANew book extols the health benefits of a post-vegan diet

September 1st, 2011

by Susan Schenck Before moving to Ecuador, I had been a very strict raw vegan for six years — until I started getting deficiencies. My brain didn’t function without DHA […]

GringoTree Tours, in cooperation with two Cuenca tour operators, will be aimed at foreign residents

August 31st, 2011

GringoTree and two of Cuenca´s top tour agencies are teaming up to offer a series of tours of the Cuenca area and beyond. The first tour, “Two Worlds of Yunguilla,” […]

ACCESS CUENCACuenca’s compact El Centro is perfect for exploring on foot

August 26th, 2011

As Calvin Trillin wrote in the November 2010 Condé Nast Traveler, the central colonial section of Cuenca “doesn't look like a sixteenth-century city that has been preserved; it looks like […]

RAW IN CUENCAThe Vipassana silent meditation retreat scaled the heights and plumbed the depths

August 22nd, 2011

By Susan Schenck Ten days of no talking, no dinner, no reading or writing, no TV, radio or internet, no meat, no caffeine, no contact with the opposite sex, 12 […]

RAW IN CUENCA”Belly” dancing works out the whole body and more

August 17th, 2011

by Susan Schenck I’ve been fascinated with belly dancing for 30 years. I took classes in San Diego and even performed a couple of times. Then I was invited to […]

China has replaced the IMF and U.S. as Ecuador´s largest creditor; some worry about the extent of the debt

August 11th, 2011

Ecuador sees the loans it has agreed to with China as "good news" because they are long term, and all that is required in return is "oil, and not the […]

RAW IN CUENCAWhere you can find the best nuts in the southern Andes

August 9th, 2011

by Susan Schenck “Cadelaes, Casa del las especias” is a great little store in Cuenca that has top-quality items, as well as some obscure items unavailable elsewhere. For one thing, […]