Expat Life

Anyone who visits Parque de Calderon might have seen a young woman musician near the New Cathedral. There she stands, guitar in hand, her baby strapped to her back, a […]

By Wendy Jane Carrel While conducting research on continuing care and end-of-life options for older adults in Ecuador, I have witnessed the unexpected deaths of many North American expats. Here […]

Click here to get your tickets! At her home in Chicago, Liz Harrison always enjoyed having friends and family over for simple dinners to highlight holiday parties. She would cook […]

My left eye has become the center of my life. Nothing else has any importance. I tell myself that I am in a routine healing process but my left eye […]

Note: Brian Buckner is reading tonight at the Spoken Word writers’ workshop at Sunrise Cafe on Calle Larga. By Brian Buckner When I was a young fellow, at the threshold […]

By Ed Konderla Author’s disclaimer: Let me apologize up front to any friends and acquaintances I piss off by writing this article. My wife and I first came to Ecuador […]

Excitement. Adventure. Anticipation. Oh, yes, and a healthy dose of trepidation, too. Can you feel them? If the answer is yes, the idea of moving abroad has likely taken hold […]

Tranvía de Cuatro Rios worker’s hands Not for want of hard labor! — Thomas Ives Photo created August 16, 2016 in Cuenca; Copyright, Thomas H. Ives 2016, Contact: codexoceanus@gmail.com ________________ […]

By Brian Buckner I can’t imagine that there are too many people in the world who don’t like ice cream. It’s like the national dessert in Ecuador. Here, an indigenous […]

By Scott Fugit “Jaime is a very safe driver,” Bill assured me – or was it Bob – as he pulled the napkin out from under his fourth margarita and […]

By Brian Buckner In Ecuador, the siesta is generally observed between one and three in the afternoon. However, nobody seems to really be counting. Naps, cat or otherwise, are grabbed […]

Styling in the Parque Central, Vilcabamba — Thomas Ives Photo created in Vilcabamba, 2014, Copyright: Thomas H. Ives 2014, Contact: codexoceanus@gmail.com ________________ Thomas Ives is an American-born photographer who has worked […]

On July 18, I was fresh from cataract and lens replacement surgery on both eyes, very happy with not needing glasses any more, getting ready to leave for the States […]

If you are living in Cuenca and want to improve your Spanish language ability, there are a number of ways to do it. One no-cost way is to visit “Spanish […]

By Brian Buckner Unique architectural elements are something I thrive on. My interest began when I owned and operated a window manufacturing plant in the United States. We became quite […]

By David Fagerlie Moving to Cuenca was not a spur-of-the-moment decision for my wife and me. Our journey of coming here was born from what I learned from older people […]

‘Tis the gift to be simple, ’tis the gift to be free                           — From: Simple Gifts. (Traditional Shaker song) A summery country road, a farmer with his dog returning […]