Posts:
One of the more interesting discoveries about life in Cuenca is that almost nothing is ever called what you think it ought to be called. Take garbage collection. A few days ago my landlady telephoned to announce, with the accusatory tone usually reserved for tax fraud...
By Carlos Calderón A couple of years ago, a recently arrived expat who I had only met a few days earlier asked if I could arrange a meeting for him with then-President Guillermo Lasso. He knew that I had been a consultant to the government on an archaeological project...
AÂ curious thing happens after you have lived in Ecuador for a few years. You gradually stop lusting after the latest digital technology and begin evaluating it the way Ecuadorians often evaluate refrigerators, rice cookers, and umbrellas: Does it work, will it...
There was a time when many people described moving abroad in simple terms. Cuenca was beautiful. The cost of living was lower. The climate was comfortable. The pace felt easier. For many retirees and expats, that was enough to explain the move. But expat life in...
In Cuenca, most expats have figured out one way or another of watching English-language TV or videos, usually via fiber optic cable and a reasonably reliable internet connection. One quickly discovers, however, that the modern world rests on a fragile assumption: that...
There are few activities more satisfying than preparing dinner with music playing in the background, a glass of wine close at hand, and the satisfying aroma of the finishing product. We are challenged to consume in order to live — but we are graced with the gift of...
In an age when much of television is disposable, forgettable, or so relentlessly superficial that even its creators probably struggle to recall it six months later, ITV's Up series is a towering achievement. It may well be one of the most important television...
There are certain dishes that arrive not as recipes, but as recollections, and Sauerbraten is one of them, because I did not so much learn it as absorb it, at the age of fifteen, in a part of Germany where the forests were black, the food was serious, and the map had...
After spending enough time around relationships abroad, you may begin to notice something else. Not just how relationships form. Not just what people exchange within them. But why some connections gradually become more genuine over time. This is not always obvious in...
There are certain subjects that one learns to handle the way one handles antique porcelain in a showroom: with care, and with the full awareness that dropping it may lead to an unbudgeted purchase. Immigration, often just called migration, as if people were birds, is...
I enjoy walking around El Centro on Sunday mornings to surround myself in beauty while meandering quiet neighborhood streets. I often see whole families dressed for church, reminding me of when I was little, kicking my way through autumn leaves so deep it caused a...
By Ashley Rogers There’s something about living abroad that changes the way you experience certain days — and Mother’s Day is one of them. It’s not that the meaning disappears. In many ways, it deepens. But instead of a shared meal or a familiar embrace, the day often...
By Jeremiah Reardon In preparation for the arrival from New Mexico of Belinda’s brother Arnold Owens and his wife Deborah Van Buren to Cuenca, my wife and I had painted our outdoor patio. With the help of our mechanic Julio, and using Sherwin-Williams paint, the...
By Tim Brinkhof One night, while backpacking in Guatemala, I was woken up by a pain in my leg. Nearly bumping my head against the upper bunk of the hostel bed, I pulled away the blanket only to find nothing. Confused, I tried going back to sleep, but couldn’t. The...
If you spend enough time observing relationships abroad, you may begin to notice something that is not always visible at first. Some relationships are easy to enter. They feel natural. They develop without much friction. They fit the moment people are in. However,...
I had been living in Cuenca for four months when I submitted my first story to CuencaHighLife. That was 10 years ago; the best 10 years of my life. The fascinating culture of celebrations requiring both prayer and parades still thrills me. I was captivated by the...
By Liam Higgins When expats dream of retiring in Cuenca, the vision usually includes strolling along the cobblestone paths of the Tomebamba River, enjoying the spring-like weather, exploring the historic center, and stretching their retirement dollars in a beautiful...
Sherlock Holmes is almost certainly the most famous detective who never existed. He has been portrayed on screen more times than any other fictional character, which is a remarkable distinction for a man who lives only in print, but the version that fixed itself in...
If you have lived in Cuenca for any length of time, you have almost certainly had at least one close encounter with its sidewalks, pavings, steps, or street furniture, and if you have not, you are either very new here or unusually nimble, and the odds on the second...
By Mark A. Mahoney, Ph.D., R.D.N. The necessity of understanding how to maintain good hydration is an important one for maintaining good health and needs to be reiterated due to the importance of adequate hydration for our well-being and health. A lot of misleading...
