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By Garry Vatcher There is a lake just outside Twinza, at the edge of the Amazon, Laguna de Ayauch. Its peaceful, mirror-like waters are a breathtaking sight. Everything that stands on its shore is perfectly reflected in the lagoon — the trees, the sky, the stillness....
Ecuador's government is about to shrink. Presidential press officer Carolina Jaramillo announced Thursday night that ministries will be reduced from 20 to 14 and that secretariats will drop from 9 to 3. The restructuring also means the dismissal of about 5,000 public...
This short article is part of “Facelift Ecuador: Share Your Positive Story!“, an initiative to publish positive articles from CuencaHighLife readers to counter international media that often focuses on the negative and sometimes exaggerates it. If you would like to...
Sixty-five members of the Los Lobos criminal gang were arrested and millions of dollars of drugs, stolen goods and other property were seized in police raids Wednesday night and Thursday morning. The raids were carried out in Guayas, Manabí, Imbabura, Napo,...
I walked into an cell phone store with an impressive window display in Cuenca a few weeks ago and asked if they had any phones that supported eSIM. The man behind the counter blinked slowly, as if I’d just asked whether they had unicorns in stock. After a moment, he...
By Maxwell Radwin Ecuador recently passed a landmark protected areas law aimed at restoring security in the country’s national parks and reserves. The law establishes new government agencies and funding mechanisms, and tries to close legal loopholes that used to leave...
In a new survey by the global database service Numbeo, Cuenca has been rated the safest city in South America with populations of 500,000 and higher. The honor follows the city’s April designation for having the best quality of life. The survey considered 14...
By Deke Castleman and Sylvan Hardy “Los precios gringos” or gringo pricing, also known as the “gringo gouge” and “gringo tax,” is a hot topic in virtually all Latin American expat communities. Even in the times of the coronavirus, the subject can raise a stir. The...
By Louise Perry In June, lawmakers in my native country, Britain, approved plans to legalize assisted suicide. If the bill becomes law, England and Wales will join more than a dozen countries and 11 U.S. states in permitting medically assisted dying. Within the past...
The long and winding story of Adolfo Macías, also known as Fito, is far from over, according to two legal experts. “Macías is about to begin negotiating for a lighter sentence in New York and don’t be surprised if he names some important people as accomplices,” says...
National Assemblywoman Cecilia Baltazar is asking new Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities (Conaie) President Marlon Vargas to reverse the expulsion of six Pachakutik members ordered last week by the Conaie Governing Council. “The vote was taken by the outgoing...
By Liam Higgins Between April 2015 and April 2025, Ecuador not only failed to generate enough formal employment to keep pace with its growing working-age population — it actually lost jobs. According to experts both in and out of government, the employment decline is...
By Karla Freeman I wrote Creating Magic in Midlife:101 questions and answers to navigate the terrain of finding and exploring new directions. Scary? Of course. But why not try? Dream, examine patterns, be open to magic. Using the easy to read two-page chapters in my...
We love Cuenca! Our Ecuador journey began six years ago this month, when our research compelled us to visit Cuenca to see if it was a good fit for our lifestyle migration for retirement.
In what is being called a “shocking outcome,” Marlon Vargas was elected president of Congress of the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities (Conaie), defeating incumbent Leonidas Iza. Vargas, with strong support from the Amazon region delegates, received 617 votes...
Ecuador’s most notorious gang leader has been extradited to the United States, a month after he was recaptured following a prison escape that sparked a wave of violence across the country. Jose Adolfo Macias, better known as “Fito,” was transferred Sunday from a...
More than 2,000 soldiers have arrived in Manabí Province following a rash of deadly shootings that took 15 lives in 12 hours and 22 in three days. According to the Interior Ministry, the killings were the result of a power struggle between Los Choneros and Los Lobos,...
By Jordan Cooper In a world where sharing every coffee, outfit, and opinion online has become the norm, there’s something quietly powerful about people who choose not to participate. They don’t post selfies. They’re not curating a highlight reel. In fact, they often...
A Queens high school student has been reunited with his family in New York after being detained by federal immigration officials since June. Derlis Chusin spent more than a month in ICE detention and was reunited with his family Friday when he arrived back in New York...
"Danza en Pareja" - The 2nd Edition of Dance in Couples will be Saturday, July 19 at 19:00 in the Teatro de la Casa de la Cultura. The event is part of the Festival Internacional Tradiciones y Culturas del Mundo. There will be groups from México, Colombia, Costa Rica,...
