Cuenca’s Intercultural Festival started today. The kickoff event was at the Broken Bridge, featuring Arepas which is a typical dish of Venezuela, Colombia and Panama.
September 10, 2016
by Paul Acee
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August 14, 2016
by Paul Acee
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The Cuenca Almuerzo
The Cuenca almuerzo, or lunch, is the big meal of the day here and has been for generations. It’s generally observed between 1 P.M. and 3 P.M.
July 29, 2016
by Paul Acee
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Free Ecuador Internet Tools
I’m calling this post free Ecuador Internet tools but they’ll work anywhere in the world. These are some freebies that I use. Continue Reading →
July 15, 2016
by Paul Acee
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Ecuagenera – Gualaceo, Ecuador
I took a day trip to Ecuagenera – Qualaceo, Ecuador today from Cuenca. What an incredible place. Ecuagenera in Qualaceo, Ecuador has the largest collection of orchid species and orchid hybrids in the world.
When I got off the bus from Cuenca I walked into the gift shop which has orchids for sale and several books also.
July 2, 2016
by Paul Acee
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Ecuador’s Frogs
It looks like some of Ecuador’s frogs will be getting a new home. Three habitats are being constructed along the Rio Yanuncay in south Cuenca between Avenida Loja and Tres Puentes.
One of them is very visible from Primero de Mayo on the south side of the river next to the river trail.
June 21, 2016
by Paul Acee
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Living in Ecuador
One of the many benefits of living in Ecuador is the low cost of fruits and vegetables. In Cuenca if you go to super mercados like Coral or Supermaxi I think the prices are comparable to what you would pay in North America.
The savings here comes when you go to Feria Libre (free market) or the mercados in el centro. Another good source are urban farmers that sell their produce on the sidewalk like the one pictured here.
June 1, 2016
by Paul Acee
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Cuenca’s San Blas Plaza
Cuenca’s San Blas Plaza sits at the far eastern end of the historical district. It’s directly in front of San Blas church which sits at the end of Simon Bolivar.
May 19, 2016
by Paul Acee
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Cuenca Pedestrian Trick
This is a little Cuenca pedestrian trick I discovered a couple of months ago. I do a lot of walking in the historical district which is very often very crowded.
It’s not unusual at all to have a crowd of people coming in your direction that take up the entire sidewalk, very often this is school kids. Or it might just be a couple walking shoulder to shoulder on a sidewalk that’s only wide enough for two people coming your way.
So what do you do? For months I’d just step off the curb on to the street and walk around them. In the historical district this can be extremely dangerous with buses and cars flying by and very close to the sidewalk also.
One day on Calle Larga which is a very busy street my eyes became riveted on a trashcan. This one actually.
May 12, 2016
by Paul Acee
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Opening an Ecuador Bank Account
This is my experience with opening an Ecuador bank account as well as opening an account with a cooperative.
Last Friday I had a friend of mine meet me at Mall del Rio in Cuenca to translate for me. He’s from the states and has a university degree in Spanish. He also teaches Spanish part time in Cuenca. His English and Spanish are both flawless, written and oral. He’s a good guy and I’ve known him for about six months. Mall del Rio has a financial wing and I think every financial institution in the country has a branch there. I went to the mall on a mission to open two bank accounts.
There are only two banks in Ecuador that are authorized to accept direct deposit from the U.S. Treasury, Banco Quayaquil and Produbanco. If you’re interested in getting Social Security payments that way those are your two choices in Ecuador.
April 20, 2016
by Paul Acee
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Cuenca’s Earthquake Response
Cuenca’s earthquake response has been phenomenal. Almost immediately after the earthquake Saturday night Cuenca put a plan in place to help with the disaster.
Mayor Cabrera dispatched about 87 firefighters to Manabi Province to provide rescue and recovery assistance. About 50 medical professionals, nurses and doctors from Cuenca went to Manabi Province by bus to treat the injured. Also a number of security personal were sent.
Thousands of residents in Cuenca have been flocking to the super mercados and filling up shopping carts with bottled water, non perishable food, toiletries, etc. From there they are taken to drop off locations throughout the city. The need in the impacted areas was immediate and this is the fastest way to get supplies there.
Here are a couple shots of one of the drop off locations at Parque Calderon.
April 9, 2016
by Paul Acee
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12 de Abril
12 de Abril is Cuenca’s annul birthday celebration. Cuenca is 459 years old this year.
The Spanish settlement of Cuenca was founded on April 12, 1557 by the explorer Gil Ramirez Davalos. Andres Hurtado de Mendoza, then Viceroy of Peru had commissioned the founding. He ordered the city named after his home town of Cuenca, Spain.
Here in Cuenca it’s a five day celebration leading up to April 12th. There’s a parade on the Saturday before through the historical district.
April 1, 2016
by Paul Acee
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The Ruins at Todos Santos
The Ruins at Todos Santos are in Cuenca, Ecuador. The location is about 150 yards west of the Pumapungo Archeological Park, on Calle Larga in the Todos Santos neighborhood. It’s a small site that sits on about one half hectare of land (about 1 1/4 acres).
In the early 1970’s the site owners whose surname was Star began excavation work on it intending to put a foundation in place to construct a residence. It quickly became apparent that there were ruins underneath the soil. Continue Reading →
March 27, 2016
by Paul Acee
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La Tricolor
La Tricolor (the Tricolor), is the nickname for Ecuador’s national football team. Most people here just call it La Tri for short. The tricoler refers to their uniforms which are yellow, blue and red and are also the colors of Ecuador’s flag. The home games are played in Quito. The association is the Federación Ecuatoriana de Fútbol (FEF). This is their emblem.
March 24, 2016
by Paul Acee
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Hola Gente Festival
The Hola Gente Festival in Cuenca is today at the “El Antiguo Seminario”, located right next to the New Cathedral. It started at 10 A.M. and closes tonight at 10 P.M. Hola gente in English means hello people. The annual Orchid Show was held here last November also.
March 6, 2016
by Paul Acee
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Deportivo Cuenca
Club Deportivo Cuenca is our local top tier professional soccer team. Deportivo in English means sports. So in English that would translate to Cuenca Sports Club.
It was founded on March 4th, 1971 and to mark it’s 45th anniversary some local artists decorated the steps leading up to the historical district across the Tomebamba from Parque de la Madre yesterday.
February 21, 2016
by Paul Acee
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Cuenca’s International Food Show
Cuenca’s International Food Show is one of two annual events here that I keep an eye out for. The other one being the Orchid Show.
Like last year, this years show was on a Sunday at the Mall del Rio Convention Center, started at twelve thirty and admission was a dollar. The proceeds go to support the local cancer hospital. This is a very popular annul event and it was packed.
