Blogs from South, Ecuador, South America

(Author’s Note: I visited Cuenca and surrounding areas in Azuay Province during the second and third weeks of January 2024. During this time, the Ecuadorian government had established a state of emergency to combat the drug gangs in the country. Except for a few pockets of violence in and around the city of Guayaquil on the Pacific coast, the country was as tranquil and safe as normal. This trip marked my fifth time to Ecuador, and the experience was as peaceful and enjoyable as the previous four.) The cold wind whipped down the rocky slopes of the mountains into the depression where glaciers had carved out a lake. The altitude was 13,000 feet above sea level. The air was thin. I breathed heavily as my guide led the way on a portion of an Inca trail ... read more

I am certainly not going to buy a Panama Hat while in Cuenca, the home of the famous and wrongly attributed headgear. They are indeed lovely and we have been to the Panama Hat museum as well as the famous Hortega y Hijos shop where the best quality hats are sold for $5000 which isn't worth translating into pounds, it's just A LOT. Apparently, the hats were worn by the workers who were constructing the Panama Canal and the hat was then christened Panama Hat when actually it should be called a MonteChristi hat which is a small town near Cuenca. It takes one person 2 years to weave one of the top quality ones so it certainly does not need to be squashed into my rucksack for a month and we are told that it ... read more

This entry is just a list of snapshots of Cuenca, one of the most comfortable spots in South America. Except for the traffic. And I mean that it's comfortable if you're a tourist and not one of the many Venezuelan refugees flashing their useless Venezuelan currency, which is actually a pretty effective way to evoke sympathy. They have money but it's useless. We spent nearly a week there, which gave us plenty of time to walk around and witness some interesting scenes. *A weekday evening and Peggy and I stroll toward Parque San Sebastián. The faint melody of 'Barbie Girl' crescendos as we turn the corner to find dozens of locals aerobic dancing, led by instructors atop the church steps. We sit outside at the adjacent Jodoco Belgian Brew to watch. *Through the showcase window of ... read more

Our final stop in Ecuador. We were joined by fellow travellers and friends Marg and Ted for a week in the very charming small city of Cuenca. It was a pleasant change from the hustle of Quito. We walked everywhere we wanted to go and now seem to be acclimatized to the altitude. Cuenca has lots of ex-pats. 10 000 former US residents and plenty of Canadians. Those we met seem very happy here with the slow pace of life, very affordable cost of living and the mild year-round climate. Next stop, Lima Peru.... read more

One whole year in Tortuga...it hardly seems possible! Admittedly we have only travelled through 4 countries during this whole year, and one of those was the US, but that's beside the point. Moving so slowly has allowed us to get to know certain places really well, and evaluate their livability potential, instead of having to rush through them to stay on a faster and more distance-covering schedule. When we left Colorado last November we really didn't know what to expect. Would we survive Mexico, despite all the disconcerting security warnings? (well we're still alive!) How would it feel driving a relatively large vehicle through a bunch of developing countries? (ask Ken!) Would we really go through the hassle and expense of shipping Tortuga all the way down to South America? (yes!) And, most importantly, would we ... read more