Expat Life
Turmoil. On the phone today that’s about the best way I could describe South America to my friend who lives in Thailand. He’s seeing it there too; the King is tossing out and making moves that to many people there, look like he is taking a stronger autocratic position than his father did. As for...
By Jessica Brown Even though alcohol kills millions of people every year, humans have been imbibing for millennia. In the last few decades, wine, in particular, has gained a reputation for being good for our health. Red wine even has been linked with longevity and lower risk of heart disease. But could wine really be good for...
As a traveler in the “developing world” one is reminded almost daily of poverty. The tired face of hunger, the plight of refugees and the limited prospects for the disabled are impossible to ignore or wish away. Ironically, one can observe similar misery in the so-called “developed world” where addiction, gentrification, mental illness and lack...
Trek text and photos by John Keeble Four old geezers, looking like an international chapter of Last of the Summer Wine, trudge towards the immigration desk at Lima airport, Peru. We are an unusual ethnic mix and we have travelled from Cuenca, where we live when we are not on the hoof somewhere else. As...
By Mary Holland When the plate arrived, I wasn’t thrilled about its contents. On it was a deep-fried, puffed-up tortilla with a tiny, bright-red crab resting on top, its pincers jutting off the edge. I’d eaten soft-shell crab numerous times before, so there was no reason to be deterred from eating the entire body of...
My phone began to ring as I exited another building. I was empty handed and frustrated in my search for permission and access to an elevated vantage point to record the rising of the Super Luna that evening. I quickly answered and was thrilled to hear that another scout had obtained permission at a nearby...
I may have been too enthusiastic in English Rocks, my recent piece celebrating the glories of the world’s favorite language. Upon further reflection, I now think English, a mishmash of slang and exceptions, is just a big hodge-podge. How can anyone master the incomprehensible use of modifiers like “in, out, up, down around” and others....
By Susan Burke March The Journal of Wild Mushrooming is a fascinating resource for all things mushrooms. They say there are 10,000 described species in North American alone, but that may represent only a third to a fifth of what’s really out there! In percentages, 50% are inedible, 25% edible but tasteless, 20% will make...
The word “Cuenca” means “watershed” which is appropriate. A confluence of four rivers run through town on their way to the Amazon. In fact, the town’s full name, “Santa Ana de los Cuatro Ríos de Cuenca” pays tribute to the Tomebamba, Yanuncay, Tarqui and Machangara rivers. The Rio Tomebamba flows along the border between the historic...
By Mark Mahoney As societal pressures ramp on a daily basis, our states of mind and outlook on life are tempered by many factors. A new decades-long epidemiologic research study identifies a strong correlational (not causal) association between optimism and “exceptional longevity,” which is described as living to age 85 or older. It noted that...
Almost four years ago, I caught a bus for line #19 and rode it to its termination point west of Cuenca. It was a year before our truck, El Fantasma, would make his berth wherever Edie and I went. I entered the Yanuncay Valley on foot that day by way of Via Soldados, which was...
By Consumer Reports Just about everyone experiences digestive problems on occasion. They’re some of the most common complaints in doctors’ offices. But for more than 10 million people, gas, bloating, constipation, diarrhea or heartburn are a regular occurrence. When your doctor can’t find an underlying reason for the problem, it’s dubbed a “functional” gastrointestinal disorder,...
Dani News
Fund Grace News
Thai Lotus News
The Cuenca Dispatch
Week of April 14
Trial of Carlos Pólit: First Week of Revelations Sheds Light on Corruption in Correista Regime.
Insecurity affects tourism in Manabí as nine cruise ships canceled their arrival in Manta.
Ecuador Gains Ground with Palm Heart, Secures 75% of the Global Market.
Quinta Maria News
Gran Colombia Suites News
