Travel

Editor’s note: Ever wonder what Cuenca was like a 110 years ago? The following is an excerpt from “Vagabonding Down the Andes” by Harry A. Franck. Published in 1917, the book is a travelogue of the author’s 1912-1913 journey, mostly by foot, from Panama to Buenos Aires. The following describes Franck’s visit to Cuenca in...
By Neil Geraghty When you’re a sea lion living in the Galapagos Islands, it’s important to keep cool during the heat of the day. I’m snorkeling along the cliffs of North Seymour Island, a low-lying lava outcrop that teams with colorful wildlife, but the fierce Equatorial sun is proving too much for the sea lions....
By Harrsion Pierce Peru is famous for many things, but two stand out – adventure and food. Peru is famously home to one of the New Seven Wonders of the World, Machu Picchu. And it’s not all nature and history; in the 2023 edition of The World’s 50 Best Restaurants, Peru holds four spots (including...
By Monica Pitrelli A new report has an ominous warning for air travelers. “No matter what you do on a plane, you’re probably annoying another passenger,” it states. The report, published by the data intelligence company Morning Consult, examined 12 types of behavior on flights, finding that most travelers (>50%) were bothered by all but one....
By Ronan O’Connell On October 19, the U.S. Department of State issued a rare advisory that Americans overseas “exercise increased caution” due to heightened tensions and chances of terrorism around the world, spurred by the Israel-Hamas war. It’s part of a system of travel warnings that’s been around in some form since 1978, designed to help citizens assess...
By Steven Casals After 20 years in the U.S. military, James Cummiskey was divorced and looking for a change. Relenting to his buddy’s request, he flew to Medellín, Colombia, for a visit. He looked, he saw, and, by dinner time, he decided to stay. Permanently. “After four to five hours, I was immediately captured by...
By Bani Amor “What time are we headed to Playas tomorrow?” I asked my mom at her cousin’s house in Guayaquil. “Seven in the morning,” she replied. “So eight, Ecuador Time,” I quipped back. She looked up at me for a moment from the mountain of luggage she was attempting to unpack — clothing for...
By David Morrill With the notable exception of the Otavalan craftspeople and merchants, no other indigenous Ecuadorian community has maintained its ethnic identity like the Saraguros. Centered around the town of Saraguro, 75 miles south of Cuenca, the Saraguro nation, which numbers between 30,000 and 40,000, has maintained an enduring presence in the rural areas...
By Mauricio Olmedo-Perez When I was mugged by a gang of teenagers in Panama City it was a surprisingly civil transaction, and it was all over in less than a minute. I was a tour guide and had worked throughout Latin America for a number of years, traveling to some places renowned for their crime...
By Lance Brashear When the Spanish came looking for gold in a small town in what today is southern Ecuador, they saw a geographic similarity to Portobelo, Panama, another gold-mining town so they christened it with the same name. Portovelo, Ecuador — the locals opted for a “v’ instead of the “b” — sits just...
By David Morrill and Deke Castleman Most foreign visitors start their first tour of Cuenca at Parque Calderón and many expats pass through the park on a daily basis. Despite the recent restrictions imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic, the park remains full of people, the heart and soul of the city. Parque Calderón has an...
By Roger Theodos As I sit here in Buenos Aires, exiled by a travel ban from my home in Ecuador, I am comforted by the words of the travel writer Paul Theroux: “The most enlightening trips I’ve taken have been the riskiest, the most crisis-ridden, in countries gripped by turmoil, enlarging my vision, offering glimpses...

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The Cuenca Dispatch

Week of March 24

“They are pressuring me to resign so they can remove me from office,” denounced Verónica Abad, Vice President of the Republic.

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Ecuador Navigates Economic Challenges with IMF Agreement Looming.

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“Since when does thinking differently mean being a traitor?” Pierina Correa questions in reference to the Tourism Law.

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