By Jim Morrisey Latin America is not taking the new global agreement to limit mercury emissions seriously say a number of environmental advocates. After the European Union banned exports of mercury in 2011 and the United States did in 2013, trade in the deadly metal shot up in Central and South...
By David Morrill and Deke Castleman A statue of Garaicoa Abdón Calderón marks the heart of Parque Calderón, which marks the heart of El Centro, which, in turn, marks the heart of Cuenca. To get your bearings in Cuenca, this is where you start. Abdón Calderón was born in Cuenca in 1804 and at the...
By Jim Wyss The historian carefully leafs through pages of a 400-year-old, leather-bound book until she finds the shaky signature. It’s a faint scrawl that has consumed Tamara Estupiñan for more than 30 years, led her to find forgotten Inca ruins and sparked an academic firestorm. The signature,...
By Lee Harrison Recently, I had a good lesson in what it's like when your country is a target and experienced one of the biggest benefits of being part of another culture. A few days ago I found myself walking along a quiet, tree-lined street in Pocitos, Montevideo, one of the city's nicest...
By Liam Higgins Almost every expat arriving in Ecuador has heard the pitch: You can hire a maid, gardener, or cook in Ecuador for a fraction of what you would pay in North America or Europe. This is true, although the cost has gone up considerably in recent years. What you don’t hear, however, is...
Editor’s note: Originally from California, Rick Ingle describes himself as a “student of expatriation.” Rick has lived overseas since 1984 in the Philippines, Singapore, Spain, Panama, and now Ecuador. He has lived in Cuenca since 2011. He's currently interviewing English-speaking expats in seven...
By Liam Higgins A little before three in the afternoon on December 9, 1995, a screaming came across the sky that was heard by almost all the residents of Cuenca. In the Cajas Mountains, just west of city, the shrill sound was described as “una mujer en el terror,” or a woman in terror, by a farmer...
Some of the poor fishermen in Manabí and Esmeraldas Provinces are not poor any more. Although most residents in the fishing towns on Ecuador’s north coast won’t talk about it, the few who do say they are noticing more expensive cars and new, state-of-the-art boats in the local harbors. “There...
By Lance Brashear Visitors arriving in Ecuador are often amazed at the country's wild and exotic fruit. Both strange and delicious, many varieties bear little resemblance to what they know and love back home. An example is the granadilla, cousin of the passion fruit. To eat it, one is required to...
By Lief Simon Living or doing business in another country, how should you handle requests for a little something on the side to help grease the wheels? A friend, a businessman in Ecuador, told me about a survey carried out in that country a few years ago. That survey found that something close to...
