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Sardines on a bus Last week I bordered the bus from Loja to Vilcabamba during peak hours. It was crowded with weary commuters and students munching chattara. The aisle was free but the seats were jammed. I had a fifty minute ride ahead of me and was nursing a knee...
By Rob Gray OK, OK, I admit it. I'm a snob, a food snob, more specifically, a food ingredient snob. I'm not sure how it happened, but I blame my mother. You see, she grew up on a farm in an age before the use of chemicals, container transportation and warehouses, and...
By Rob Gray The secret to wellness and weight control can be said in just two words that you already know. It is what and how humans have eaten for their entire history save for the last 100 years or so. Like all other animals, the human body evolved to eat the foods...
By Scott Fugit Photos by Dee Fugit The year was 2006, when a landmark event occurred in my life as a coffee drinker. Surrounded by the plush lobby of the DuPont Circle Hilton in Washington, DC, I patiently stood among ambassadors in suits, diplomats carrying...
I decided to return to my new West Side home from El Centro by a different route the other day. Gran Colombia is under construction for the new Tranvía, but there are sidewalks and dirt paths all the way to Las Americas. From two blocks away, I heard the voices of...
By Benjamin Berger When I arrived in Ecuador in 2013, I had no intention of starting a business. In fact, I had no intention of staying here for more than a few months. But life is full of surprises, and now, two years later, I find myself married, living in Cuenca,...
By Sandy Felker What I love about Cuenca is how deceiving buildings are from the street. You can pass by a doorway dozens of times and never pay the slightest attention, and then one day you’re invited inside and it’s like passing through the looking glass — from the...
By Rob Gray It was many years ago, but I can vividly remember when my younger son was going to have ear-tube replacement surgery for the second time. Would he be OK? Would his hearing be impacted? Would there be any ill effects from the anesthesia? And, why did this...
“In Stride”: A Study in Red I'm occasionally asked if I miss photojournalism. Yes and no! I miss the variety of assignments from different magazines that always kept me surprised and challenged. But I don't miss the pressure, the adrenaline if you will. And at one...
People witnessing traumatic events from a distance, Cuenca, in the case of the recent earthquake, are susceptible to varying forms of post traumatic stress disorder and may need the help of those close to them. Most of us have heard of post traumatic stress disorder...
You know the advice about putting on your oxygen mask or your life jacket first before you help others. It is true because you are better able to help others when you are not reacting from your own trauma. In light of the terrible earthquake on Ecuador's coast, I...
Another celebration has come and gone. It is seen as the founding of Cuenca but in reality it was the renaming of this city by the Spanish on April 12, 1557. The city had been around in various forms for more than 3,000 years being in an ideal location in a bowl with...
Editor's note: Rob Gray's life-long passion for gardening led him from California, to Costa Rica and finally to Ecuador's fertile Yunguilla Valley, where he established Gran Roca farm. This is the first in a series of articles by Rob about his quest to produce the...
[Editor's Note: This is Chapter 5, excerpted from The Viagra Monologues.] So there you are, standing across the counter from a pharmacist’s assistant, usually an Ecuadorian woman, or even the pharmacist him or herself. She’s wearing the official white- jacket uniform...
By Susan Burke March Are you sick of rain? Want some warmer weather? Looking for lush green mountains, great food, friendly people or just some TLC? Only a few driving hours south of Cuenca — an hour south of Loja — is the lovely Madre Tierra Eco-Resort, a...
Thomas Ives is an American-born photographer who has worked for international news and feature magazines for over 38 years. His photo essays and images have appeared in National Geographic, Time, Geo, Stern, Newsweek, Life, Smithsonian, and many others publications....
By Scott Fugit Photos by Dee Fugit At first glance, I just knew the poor critter was dead. Laying in the street against the curb, three feet from speeding traffic, the curled up perro had seen its last sunrise. Longish red fur and a sizeable head indicated a possible...
By Natasha Verkley Year after year, Cuenca receives accolades as one of the best destinations to retire in the world. It is easy to see why. Overall the city is beautiful, clean, affordable and safe. Once here, expats are welcomed into the community, providing a...
American-born photographer Thomas Ives has worked for international news and feature magazines for over 38 years. His photo essays and images have appeared in National Geographic, Time, Geo, Stern, Newsweek, Life, Smithsonian, and many others publications. He...
I went to the Galapagos for three weeks and didn't set foot on a cruise ship. Three weeks? No cruise? Don't you have to go on a cruise when you go to the Galapagos? With all the advertising for cruises, it’s easy to overlook the fact that it’s possible to explore the...
