Don’t go to the library today, there are too many words already. Pick up an instrument instead. -- Rumi __________________ American-born photographer Thomas Ives has worked for international news and feature magazines for over 38 years. His photo essays and...
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....
There I was up in Cuenca on official business with the Ministerio de Franz Kafka. It hadn't been pretty …. I had to return to GO and not collect $200. Later, near sundown, I was in a sullen mood walking the streets: looking for cans to kick or those silly baseball...
Thank you, all. It has been a grand ride for me these last nearly five years, writing a weekly love letter to Cuenca, and the people who live here - an honor, really. I posted over 200 stories; some have been simple tales of wonder and beauty, others were stoked with...
By Stewart McCorvey Becoming an expat shapes your personality as it takes you through a journey of life struggles and challenges. Every expat goes through very particular circumstances, but there are certain things that almost all of them will have experienced. I have...
The United States Embassy has resumed its visa process for both immigrant and non-immigrant applications in Ecuador. Both the embassy in Quito and the consulate in Guayaquil announced Tuesday that interviews and file reviews have restarted after an 18-month suspension...
A close friend of mine recently remarried after being single for over 12 years. I was not surprised. She maintains a healthy diet and likes to be out and about, taking art classes, volunteering once a week for a good cause and having lunch dates with friends in any...
Buying a property in Ecuador, if you are in love or smitten with one, can be a WONDERFUL idea, so long as you are aware of the possible pitfalls that might dare to rear their ugly head(s). This is because, firstly, unlike in places such as the US, Canada, Europe and...
For any new (or possibly not so new) expat who has moved to Ecuador, the question that often arises is what to do with one’s time. Unless one plans to devote their energy, time and investment towards a preexisting organization (i.e. a charity or other not for profit...
By Sara Chaca To borrow a page from the great American poet, Robert Frost, and his possibly most famous poem known as “The Road Not Taken”, when moving to Ecuador, virtually all Expats are plagued with the very necessary decision of, WHICH RESIDENCY VISA PATH SHALL I...
By Kathleen Peddicord Planning for a retirement that includes spending some or even all your time in another country is an increasingly appealing idea with enormous potential upside. As a result, it’s easier than ever to find help making a plan to retire overseas....
His Spanish is pretty good except for those pesky irregular verbs. He's clever enough to mumble them hoping the tense remains clear through context. He carries a well-thumbed mini-English/Espanol dictionary, so we know he's sincere about broadening his vocabulary. He...
By Simone Cannon de Bastardo Although the Galapagos Islands, Atacama and Torres del Paine National Parks are well known among travelers from North America, most people don’t know that there are more than 300 other beautiful national parks, protected sanctuaries and...
News from Paute Summer visited Paute last week. The days were clear and warm, the nights clear and cool. A full moon added to the joy; it was as luminescent as ice. It is festival season in Paute and we got just what we were longing for: the Pase del Niño Parade … and...
By Sylvan Hardy If Friday’s Pase del Niño didn’t measure up to previous parades in size, it made up for it in piety and fun. Instead of a seven- or eight-hour procession, it lasted a little over an hour. Instead of 100 floats, there were 23. Instead of 24,000...
By Martin Simmons The young man who recently moved to Cuenca from California described how thieves stole his cell phone and $100 in cash the first month he was in town. Hearing his story, a middle-aged woman from New Jersey, standing next to him at a party I attended...
By Becky Sorrensen Does moving abroad really make you happier and healthier? The answer is yes, according to several studies by international expats. The studies also show that the many of those who have lived overseas but returned to their native countries, regretted...
Every now and then we are rewarded with a new dining venue that transcends the parameters of the typical restaurant by offering food and drink that not only surpass expectations but provide a vibrant new meeting place to those who have called Cuenca home for years as...
By Sandee LaMotte Synthetic chemicals called phthalates, found in hundreds of consumer products such as food storage containers, shampoo, makeup, perfume and children's toys, may contribute to some 91,000 to 107,000 premature deaths a year among people ages 55 to 64...
By Jeremiah Reardon Fishbon del Sur, a collaborative theater community established in El Centro, closed its doors due to the Covid pandemic. The source of many satisfying moments of entertainment and friendship for my wife Belinda and me, how our lives have changed...
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