Our golden years in Cuenca: A doctor and a nurse find simple bliss abroad
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By Paula Z.
As retirement became a reality in our lives, we started looking for that special reward after a long life of hard work.
Originally form Indonesia, my husband, a physician, and I, a registered surgical nurse for open heart surgical patients, started the journey of finding that special place to live the last stretch of life. We emigrated to the USA, lived there for about 45 years including 20 years in Hawaii; that other paradise on earth.
Having lived and worked on different continents, cities, and towns, we wanted to go back to easy/simple living, and old values like faith and respect for family and country. After a few years of traversing the world, and not finding what we wanted, we realized that South America has never been on our vacation schedule. My husband liked the idea of Ecuador, I had no idea why. We visited an old friend who lived in Quito, who recommended that we should visit Cuenca.
In Cuenca we were presented with a young Cuencano, who became a dear friend and guide for many years to follow. He spent one week with us and showed us all of Cuenca; all of it. Mountains and lowlands, high end super modern penthouses, and simple homes in the countryside, restaurants with exquisite menus, and little one room, everyday food along the street places, run by moms and pops. How delightful it was! While we found little objections in dozens of continents, countries, and cities where we looked, Cuenca gave us a feeling that this was IT. We bought a beautiful home, out in the country.
Cuenca has lived up to all our hopes and dreams for a simple retirement, with modern amenities, music, art, traditions abound, and quiet/simple living to everybody’s heart’s desires. 13 years of sharing this beautiful country’s land, her people and traditions, we have not looked back or looked in any other direction.
