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A dozen coins tumbled away from the shoes of the elderly white-haired man who was standing on a corner in Cuenca, Ecuador. Cuenca is a beautiful city in the southern part of the country that is now a magnet for expatriates looking for a place to retire outside the...
by Susan Schenck Sometimes, just once in a while, I miss some things I could easily find in California, land of health products. One of the products I couldn't find for the longest time was coconut oil/butter—a very healthful food. As I write in my...
by Mark Raderstorf Thanksgiving 2011 in Cuenca began with a beautiful sunny day -- the perfect weather for the Turkey Trot scheduled for 9 a.m. We met at the starting point, Otorongo Plaza, along the Rio Tomebamba. More than 50 people showed for this inaugural event,...
For nearly two decades, if you wanted Mexican food in Cuenca, you had only one choice: El Pedregal Azteca (“The Rocky Aztec”), where María and Juan Manuel Ramoshave been serving authentic northern Mexican cuisine since 1989. Located in the heart of...
An innovative Ecuadorean plan to leave more than 900 million barrels of crude oil untapped and beneath a pristine nature reserve, in exchange for international donations, has survived its first deadline, Ivonne Baki, the project coordinator told The Miami Herald. The...
by Susan Schenck Cuenca has a new restaurant serving raw gourmet dishes! Nectar, which opened on October 28, is a vegetarian tea house and gallery located on Benigno Malo 10-42 between Gran Columbia and Mariscal Lamar (on the second floor) and is open from noon to 6...
As announced on Gringo Tree, the big fundraising event of the holiday season is the Christmas Gold for Children Gringo Team Challenge. Each $5 donation, delivered in person to DiBacco Restaurante (Tarqui between Simon Bolivar and Gran Colombia), will purchase a...
By Anne Carr Thanks to the late and formidable Steve Jobs, again…it’s possible to use your iphone or ipad and get immediate helpful hints on how to have a little understanding and consequently some strategies to negotiate not just the language but also a...
by Susan Schenck One of the things that makes Ecuador stand out as a favorite place for expats is the variety of ways in which one can obtain residency (pension, investment, property) and visas (tourist, student, work, professional, volunteer, and a few others)....
by Susan Schenck One of the American traditions we often cut back on when we move to Cuenca is that of shopping marathons. In San Diego, I sometimes shopped for an hour and a half just to unwind from the long week’s workload. I had to get my daily walking in...
Get ready to rumble! The artisans are coming! For seven days, beginning Mon., Oct. 31, Cuenca will become Ecuador’s party central as the city celebrates the 191st anniverary of its independence from Spain. Although the nightly concerts and fireworks shows...
Seven of the 14 most violent countries in the world are in Latin America, according to the second edition of the Global Burden of Armed Violence, a book released last week by the Geneva Declaration on Armed Violence and Development. The Geneva group, launched in...
by Susan Schenck The Foundation for the Service of the Illness of Cancer (FASEC), the Cancer Foundation here in Cuenca, is funded and operated primarily by volunteers. Since 1983, FASEC has housed 13,546 patients who couldn’t afford to stay in the hospital while...
Ecuador was the unexpected recipient of U.S. trade preferences last week when Congress approved free trade agreements for Colombia, Panama and South Korea. Ecuador´s trade preference was granted through July 2013, in a rider to the legislation, based on the...
By Deke Castleman Though he says, “Everyone thinks I’m an extrovert, but I’m not really,” Lee Dubs can often be found chatting with customers at Carolina Bookstore, which he co-owns with his wife Carol. He’s not only one of the friendliest and most visible gringos in...
The Coopera, an organic-agriculture, financial-services, and social-support cooperative based in San Joaquin, a village on the western outskirts of Cuenca, was established in January 2004 by eight founding members with a total investment of less than $50 (each...
by Susan Schenk It seems like yesterday. The close friend of a friend of mine was dying of AIDS and he related to me the agony of being on his deathbed. “At that point, I think I would just call for Dr. Kevorkian,” I remarked. “No,...
by Susan Schenck From Cuenca, one of the most astounding day trips is to Giron. Take a bus from Terminal Terreste at 9 a.m. and about every 15 to 30 minutes after that. It costs one hour and one dollar. Once there, you can visit the museum in town. For five...
It's the sort of thing most people fantasize about while stuck in yet-another rush-hour back-up: chucking it all and moving to a tropical country. For Barb and John Porter, it's more than fantasy -- come October, the Burnaby couple will be in their new home in...
Ecuador has become the latest testing ground for the attempt to use higher education to reverse decades of racial and social inequality through the country's prohibition, following a new constitution in 2008, of fees for all public education (including public...
