Posts:
By Louis Bourgeois Beyond the unexpected blessing of the arrival of my daughter Amelie, my immersion into the Cuenca culture has provided clear benefits. My lifelong dream has been to live in an international community, close to the earth and aligned with basic...
A good friend wrote to tell me she was concerned because she’d read that older adults need to eat more protein to avoid losing muscle mass. “I think it’s very difficult to get 100 grams of protein a day! Especially for vegetarians. What do you think?” Do Older Adults...
By Cathryn Jakobson Ramin For patient after patient seeking to cure chronic back pain, the experience is years of frustration. Whether they strive to treat their aching muscles, bones and ligaments through physical therapy, massage or rounds of surgery, relief is...
By Jean McCord I had my gun but could I use it? There I was, alone, waiting for the killer to appear. Could I really judge whether to shoot — or not? The route to this life-changing moment started tamely, about twenty-five years ago. I had written the first draft of a...
Can they actually prove that chocolate is good for you? Well, it’s mighty hard to do! I just ‘Googled’ “chocolate health” and see a myriad of reports suggesting that chocoholics enjoy better heart health, lower blood sugar, lower blood pressure. The headlines also...
In my previous column, I discussed the truth about how alcohol is metabolized (no, it doesn’t “turn into sugar”) and how to fix a hangover (prevention is a reliable strategy, “cures” not so much). Today’s column reviews some recent research about alcohol’s health...
Hiking alone high in the Andean páramo amidst the knob and kettle formations of the Andes offers a unique sense of wildness. I don’t see footprints of domestic animals or the signs of the hand of man in many of the places I seek out. I always feel as if I could...
By Louis Bourgeois With two tries Catty became pregnant in May 2015. The reality and excitement of having our first baby, at 38 and 63, respectively, was intensified with the first ultrasound. We would be having a little girl. Catty and I explored names, first using...
By Jonathan Look In 2011, at 50, I took early retirement from my job as an air traffic controller, left Texas and began traveling the world. Since then, with the exception of a few short visits back to see family, I’ve been hopping from bases as diverse as the Chiapas...
By Ray Horsley I'd like to share some Cuenca highlights, especially after my first post which was kind of negative about phone and internet problems. Others have written on the subject, but there are so many joys about this place for new arrivals I can't help being...
My eye and I are ready for the surgery to remove the oil so I can once again have vision in both eyes. However, without mentioning it earlier, my doctor has decided to take a long overseas trip and if he does the surgery now, he won't be available for the follow-up...
Reporting on nutritional news is fraught with misinterpretation. One recent example was coffee. Headlines pronounced that drinking coffee prevents heart disease and stroke. Happily for those who dislike coffee, the study never suggested that people who don’t drink...
Editor's note: This article is co-authored by Dr. Rosa María Aguilar, a Mexican researcher, teacher, and expert on diabetes, and Ana Fernanda Sánchez, diabetes educator and clinical psychologist, and founder of the Los Fresnos Foundation, a non-profit social...
By Robert Bradley These photos were taken from 3:30 p.m. to 3:50 p.m. in Parque Calderon on Wednesday, August 16. "Every picture tells a story, don't it." --Rod Stewart [URIS id=53361]
By Lief Simon A recent attendee at a Live and Invest Overseas conference wanted to know where in Panama City he could rent an apartment for $500 a month or less. He’d decided he wanted to retire to Panama City and had set his housing budget at what he currently pays...
Editor’s note: This is the eighth of an eight-part series by writer / photographer Brian Buckner about hiking in the Cuenca area. To read the earlier installments, see the links at the bottom of the article. For me, it’s about a myriad of things. You can entertain...
By Louis Bourgeois My new life in my country home in San Jose de Balzay began in October of 2014. When I arrived I had but two weeks to move out of my rented apartment in Cuenca and begin to furnish the house. As things would have it, my new landlord hadn't completed...
Bananas are some of the world’s most convenient health food. They come in their own little snug jacket, protected from the elements, ready-to-eat whenever you are. When they’re just ripe, they’re firm and mellow, but let them age a bit and they turn sweet and...
Late afternoon light is warm and kind to most scenes. I enjoy using it to illuminate human faces and creating a particular mood since it softens the hues of the natural color palette. You can see it in this photograph of two boys playing soccer. Even the concrete and...
Editor’s note: This is the seventh of an eight-part series by writer / photographer Brian Buckner about hiking in the Cuenca area. To read the earlier installments, see the links at the bottom of the article. By Brian Buckner I’m going to make this one pretty easy,...
