Posts:
By Ernie Millard When traveling to Ecuador tourists are usually satisfied with their superficial experiences with the people and their destinations. However, when relocating, and becoming a resident here, the discrepancy between the exquisite scenery and landscapes,...
People are people no matter where you go. Even though some customs, languages, skin colors, dress and religions are different, we are the same. We enter and leave this world in the same manner. We have the same kind of emotions across the world; some are sad, some...
By Deke Castleman Quick: Who’s buried in Grant’s Tomb? How long was the Hundred Years War? The Canary Islands are named after what animal? And what country do Panama hats come from? If you answered General Ulysses S. and his wife Julia, 116 years, the dog, and...
By Magdalena Herreshoff My husband Daniel and I are artists. He is a jazz and blues piano player and I am a poet. We met Johnny Jara Jaramillo in the first year of retirement to Ecuador in 2011. A friend of ours had a love affair with him and she introduced him to us...
By Sylvan Hardy Though the four rivers of Cuenca are what impressed the Spanish settlers in the 16th century when they formally named the city, “Santa Ana de los Cuatros Rios de Cuenca,” the indigenous Cañari tribe identified it in a different way: "Guapondelig" or...
In Cuenca, there are a lot of shine men. Some guys just have a cardboard box with their supplies inside. You’ll have to put your foot up on the curb or elsewhere for there to be sufficient elevation for the work to be accomplished. Other guys wheel their shine stand...
Text and photos by John Keeble Cuenca is building on its rich heritage as a beautiful and sophisticated city to become known, first nationally and then internationally, as a destination for conferences and seminars. City tourism officials working with organisers...
She was in a dilapidated wheelchair rounding the corner on General Torres by San Francisco Plaza, pushed by a man who might have been her son. He was ancient himself but he didn’t have the years that she did. The wrinkled faces of the elderly; there’re stories there....
Ecuador may be a small country in terms of physical size, but it’s a giant in terms of fun things to do. Explorers of all ages and backgrounds will find a wealth of activities to suit their personal interests in this country that’s no bigger than the size of Colorado....
Perhaps, maybe, quizas, I am back to normal. After a two-week bout of flu over Christmas, I am feeling great!! My legs are better as I am able, much of the time, to walk up the escalinatas without having to stop to catch my breath or rest my legs. Saying that my brain...
This is the third in a three-part series about Cuenca's expat writers. To read parts one and two, click here and here. Text and photos by John Keeble Cuenca is a great place for writers who want to create anything from poetry and memoirs to a bestselling novel. This...
Editor's note: This is the first of a three-part series about the Cuenca expat writing scene. The author, John Keeble, is an international photo-journalist living in Cuenca. He ‘retired’ after 25 years with The Guardian in London and has spent the past 11 years giving...
By Mark & Debi Cheslik Debi and I spent four months preparing our travel plans to Ecuador. Not an easy task when you consider we had to condense a house-full of "stuff" down to 10 suit cases. I attempted to leave no stone unturned in developing the perfect plan...
By Bill Scott Years ago when I made the decision to become a professional musician, my father gave me some words of wisdom that I have never forgotten. He said: Just remember there are all different types of musicians in the world. All great players are not...
Clowns are cool; or, are they really just creepy? There are all kinds of clowns and, just like people, they each have their own look and personality. There are circus clowns and rodeo clowns, and the list continues. Some have strange colored wigs and big, long shoes....
As we completed introductions and I turned to go to our room, the ornate crystal chandelier caught me just above the left eyebrow. Both my hat and luggage hit the floor as I struggled to steady the shaking light fixture. Our host looked on with a smiling, shocked...
North of Cuenca, lie a few small, sparsely populated villages and hamlets. Out past there, the Andes rise quickly from the tendrils of their ghostly mist, partially shrouded by late afternoon sheets of rain. A small hole opens in the sky allowing several beams of...
By Lee Dubs When Carol and I sold the Carolina Bookstore a few weeks ago after spending eleven years building it from a tiny shop with a few shelves and a handful of books in English into a large store with about 12,000 volumes in a dozen languages, a frequently asked...
When I worked on the staff of my university daily — ah, those many years ago — I was editor of a feature called the “Bitch Box.” There was an actual box in the newspaper office where students could drop their hand-written (how quaint) complaints about anything that...
By Rut Román While growing up in the United States in the 60's, my first encounter with a Library Bus defined my choices in life. At age 57, a tenured Latin American literature professor recently returned to Ecuador, I found myself in the center of the catastrophic...
Week of August 23
Ecuador’s economy grew 2% during the first half of 2026 compared with the same period a year earlier, according to new Banco Central del Ecuador data.
Cuenca gets a prime view of next week’s deep partial lunar eclipse.
Ecuador’s economy grows 2% in the first half of 2026.
