Blogs from 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

It's been a relatively hectic two months, mostly because I've been teaching a lot. Two afternoons a week I teach English classes in my dining room (nine students in their 20's and 30's), Two more afternoons are the Spanish conversation class (a group of expats who have lived in Ecuador anywhere between one and twelve years, ages 32 - 75). Scroll to all the way to the end to see pics of these two groups of learners. I've been teaching more steadily during the past six months. Aside from some much-needed income, it also provides some rhythm to my otherwise leisurely existence. Although I prefer teaching in person, I still have two online students on Sunday mornings! I still schedule half- to full-day Scrabble dates with Shana two or three times a week. I enjoy preparing ... read more

We left early for Tuesday’s adventure. Esteban got permission to let us visit where he works. Where he works it is very difficult to get in so we felt very special. He has a Bachelor degree in agriculture and a masters in business. He started this job 3 months ago. Previously he worked for farms that only grew roses. In his new position he is in charge of innovation and finding and testing new varieties of flowers. His specialization is in collection and testing of the new varieties. The farm we are visiting today is the largest flower farm in Ecuador and is 97 hectors. There are 400 employees at this farm and they grow a variety of flowers like calla lilies, rice flowers, eringyum, lisianthus, and much more. This farm has around 200 greenhouses and ... read more

Sunday’s adventure was to Mariposas de Mindo. It is a park where they grow and release butterflies that are native to the area. The drive is through curvy mountainous roads with dramatic scenery (these are tall mountains with steep inclines). Esteban was our driver and Ellen, Simone, Susan and I were the passengers. Esteban was an excellent driver. Even though we drive the mountains, we could not have driven like him. The vegetation and scenery changed during our drive. As we left Quito, we got into an area that was very arid and gets very little rain and you could see little vegetation. As we got closer to the middle of the world (more about that tomorrow), we saw more vegetation but this area contained a lot of ashfall from a nearby volcano. You could see ... read more

Thursday night Esteban brought home some flowers that the company he works for grows. We will tell you more about his job when hopefully we get to visit next week. The flowers are small and delicate and are only grown like this in Ecuador. They would lovely in a bouquet. Friday morning started out with shoe shopping. Before covid, Ellen used to have a shoe store in another part of her house. We found this new room when we went out on one of the terraces. She sold shoes by appointment only and served coffee and juices in a relaxed atmosphere. Clients could bring their kids and relax. During covid, she shut the business down. She still had some inventory so Susan and I went shoe shopping. Luckily, we have bigger feet than Ecuadorians so there ... read more