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--Sponsored post -- By Cathy McKay As we come into our "latter years," we have lots of big decisions to make. One of the biggest is where we want to spend those years? It could be abroad. Well, the time is drawing near. After working hard for what—30 or 40 years—we...
History clearly documents that hysterical diatribe and Frankenstein mobs hoisting flag-draped pitchforks are not essential elements for improving society. It does, however, recount the litany of tragedies triggered by frenzied scrum intent on violent change. Consider...
By Jan Dynes Four years ago, December 2016, I was in Urfa, Turkey. 112 miles from Aleppo, Syria to give aid, volunteering in the Syrian refugee camp. It was my first war zone. I cannot unsee what I saw there, it rocked me to my core, showed me that my tough times were...
Authors note: I wrote this piece about five years ago after having arrived in Ecuador only a few weeks earlier. I’ve learned a lot about the folks here since then and a quite a bit more Spanish also! The shop is still there and the same artisan is still tapping that...
By LP Wirth Getting a Panama driver's license as an Expat differs from that of a Panamanian citizen. Anyone who has driven in NYC, Paris, Berlin, or Madrid will manage to drive in Panama. Bring patience, alertness, though, and a valid driver's license. If you are in...
I’ve spun so many yarns about Cuenca to friends over the years that the tales are now woven together like an old sweater fitted by repetition and patches of lint like woolly lichen. Considering all of the changes we have been through of late, it seemed like a good...
Editor's note: This is the second on a series of articles on craft beer micro and nanobreweries of Cuenca. To read the first one about the Hop Factory, click here. By Stephen Vargha It was not that long ago that Cuenca was a desert for lovers of craft beer. That has...
By Tamara Hardingham-Gill Backpacking trips have been something of a rite of passage for young people for almost 70 years. Whether you're setting off around the world, or exploring a particular region, country, or city, taking off with a few belongings and moving from...
By Joshua Zitser In a bid to avoid Covid-19 restrictions back home, a considerable number of Americans have traveled to Mexico for a vacation or -- in some instances -- to settle down there. "A lot of people are either coming down here and visiting to test it out or...
By Cathy McKay Some expats choose to stay in one place. Other want the freedom to travel around the world. But no decision is necessarily irreversible. Having lived in Cuenca for over a year now, I have had the opportunity to meet and befriend many expats. They have...
A friend of mine got a tattoo the other day. The last few months have been wearying and she needed a talisman to give her strength, an indelible guide leading her out of the cruel cyclone that has caused so many to lose their way and become disoriented. She was...
By Jeremiah Reardon Its mind made up, the four-inch wide insect plopped onto the street and stepped gingerly across the concrete. For a few minutes I stood over it, fascinated by its steady gait toward the other side. If traffic remained light, its chances looked...
Two and a half miles due south of the New Cathedral, offering much needed adornment to an otherwise unsightly and commercially developed hilltop, sits Iglesia de Turi. If it didn’t enjoy its commanding location, offering beautiful panoramic views of the city, it would...
By Richard W. Soudriette and Cynthia Gilley For many, the American Dream includes retiring to a warmer climate. But after a steep drop in the stock market a decade ago and the coronvirus pandemic today, many older North Americans are forced to rethink and postpone...
By Gwen Hyatt If you are considering becoming an expat, San Miguel de Allende in Mexico might be a great fit for you. Art, food, architecture--it has it all and more. There is a reason 300,000 readers of Condé Nast Traveler rated San Miguel de Allende, Mexico as their...
We live to taste life twice, in the moment and in retrospection. --Anaїs Nin. Let this book as it ends remember the hand that wrote it. the eyes that slowly learned its alphabet, the thumb that peeled back its pages. The days were marked beforehand: phases of the...
Editor's note: Long-time Cuenca expat Martha Mays died last week of pancreatic cancer at the age of 61. She returned briefly to the U.S. for treatments but, when they failed, decided to return to Cuenca to spend her final days. Her son Daniel Palimeri and expat friend...
By Deke Castleman and Sylvan Hardy We’re all Gary’s children. Gringos lived and worked in Ecuador long before Gary and Merri Scott showed up in 1995, but the Scotts, almost single-handedly, put Ecuador on the radar screens of thousands of pilgrims to the Middle of the...
By Cathy McKay Now that you are an expat who has landed in your host country, you need to think about how to create a support system like you had back home. After spending months or even years planning and putting your move into place to get to your destination...
It is difficult for me to describe the moment: it was like being drenched by a hard rain or feeling the chill of dread when you realize the novel you are reading may not have a happy ending. I met a friend in a local cafe last week. I invited her to come down and tell...
