The unofficial web page of the greater Cuenca expat community

If I couldn't live without it. I think I would of investigate its availability before the move.

There was this exchange in the comment secion over on Cuencahighlife

Joan Vaughan  2 days ago
Walter, I'd like to use a couple of your parade pictures to send home to my family. I will, of course, give you credit. Is that acceptable?
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Jonathan Hymn Mogrovejo Mod  Joan Vaughan  a day ago
Yes Joan, you may use the images with the credit and link to this article. Thank you for asking.

I left the following comment in reply to Joan which never made it past the moderators:

The Fair use doctrine has been waved by the editors. Use content at will.

Demonstrating I think that I am equally comfortable in the rural parroquias of Cuenca as I am in the urban parroquias, I was recently in El Valle as an invited guest of a Rabbit and Cuy breeder for almuerzo.

The now departed (back to Canada) Gringos Abroad bloggers have this nugget on El Valle:

El Valle: beautiful area located south of Cuenca. Many years ago, this area began to flood after the landslide and resulting dam of the river heading into Paute. We were told that an unknown person planted dynamite and blew up the landslide, thus removing the dam and saving the expensive homes of El Valle.:

A rabbit and 2 cuys were cooked.

Here was the rabbit before being roasted.



And now the cuys.



I decided to eat only rabbit since I didn't remember ever trying it, plus I don't care for cuy although I can eat it if necessary.  As you know,  all unfamiliar meats are normally compared to chicken. After eating my rabbit leg, I must say I consider it to taste more like chicken than cuy.   The skin is much thinner than cuy, and reminds me of chicken skin.

Lee Dubbs has a new article out on Cuencahiglife.  Here is my comment awaiting approval.

I am an unrepentant economic refugee and first generation immigrant who has built a micro environment around me that shields me from impact of the surrounding foreign culture. Most expats do, although many pretend otherwise..

While I will defer to the author on topics of Spanish verb conjugation and how to appreciate Spanish literature, I will not defer to him on how expacts should behave, since if my mommy didn't instill in me common sense and good behavior, why would this bookstore owner think he can?

A lot of his points are valid. Being kind, humble and sensitive to the culture of the country you are in is always a good plan.....it works in Everyday life as well. A smile never hurt either. Learning the language as best as you can will open many doors and help show an appreciation for the culture and country. People always appreciate being appreciated especially when it comes to their country of origin.

For the Carnival holiday,  I went on a road trip to different towns.  The holiday is celebrated by constantly throwing water and spraying foam at one an other.  Since the car I was in didn't have air conditioning, I was constantly rolling up my window to avoid getting buckets of water thrown in the car.

On the way back we stopped at a little town called El Cabo, which is between Paute and Cuenca.   Its claim to fame is the fact they have many outdoor stands selling  "tortillas" made from either corn flour or Choclo. They are about the size and thickness of pancakes.   I much prefer the tortillas made with refined corn  flour rather than those made with Choclo.   I actually think these tortillas could be used as a substitute for hot cakes, if you were to add butter and maple syrup to them.

I recently went on a 3 day, night trip to Macas, which is on the edge of the Amazon jungle.   It wasn't more than a 5 hour trip by car to get there.   While some expats like to go deep into the amazon and stay at one of those ecological lodges for a week, I don't like to be away from internet, television, flushing toilets and other comforts for more than any 12 hour period.  Therefore, visiting Macas is good compromise since you can stay in the city and then head into the jungle for day trips.

I liked the town of Macas, although it doesn't have the architectural beauty of Cuenca.   It has some restaurants that would agree with the palette of most gringos.  Like all towns of Ecuador, I liked the fact it has lots of small stores selling Doritos, Coke,  cookies, small sucking candies and other snack items that we associate with civilized society.

Here is an excerpt from Wikipedia.

From Wikipedia.

Macas is the capital of Morona Santiago province in southeastern Ecuador. The city is also the seat of the county Morona. Known as the "Emerald of the East" due to its location east of the Andes mountains, Macas lies in the Upano Valley overlooking the Upano river. The city has a population of 14,054 inhabitants and along with Tena and Puyo served under Spanish rule as one of Ecuador's main staging points for the colonization of the Amazon and the subjugation of its indigenous peoples. Beginning in the 1960s indigenous people have organized political federations and movements, and often locate the seats of their organizations in such cities and use them as central places for regional congresses. Macas has also been promoting tourism.[1]

The city is an important agricultural and livestock raising center as well as a transportation hub for small jungle communities to the east. Types of agricultural products found here include yuca, sugarcane, papaya, coffee, and bananas.[2] In recent years, Macas also developed a small tourism industry based on jungle trekking, trips to indigenous communities, and extreme sports like rafting. Macas is linked by road to Puyo in the north and Riobamba to the west.

The day trip into the jungle consisted of a 30 minute ride by van to a Shuar village and then a 30 minute hike into the jungle wearing rubber boots that the guide provided.  We were taken to a area by a river where there are bamboo huts.   No one actually lives there but they made us lunch and then took us on a little hike telling us about the foilage and such.   

Then we went fishing in this canoe. Here is the Shuar guide paddling out the water from the canoe.



Here is a close-up of the bucket used to paddle out the water.



Here are the gringos with their fishing poles Not catching anything:



Here is the Shuar guide and his son using a piece of fishing line and his "mariposa" lure which he uses to catch four fish.



Do not go fishing in that  river with this type of lure:

Finally, a shot from central park:

Great post and art, Nards... 

It's that kind of information about lack of comforts of civilization that doesn't usually make it into Wikipedia entries, but makes a difference if a Gringo is considering a hike in boots into the Amazon jungles.  Not every retiree is into the requisite schvitzing for such an adventure.

cccmedia

While I initially thought that anything I was ordering on Ebay via ChinaPost had a tracking number, some of the recent purchases I have made did not have one.  So clearly it is at the seller's discretion.



P.S. I meant to post this on the thread Club Correos is a goner.

I popped onto another expat forum that I won't link to in deference to the home office.  There was a thread titiled "assimilation" that had a cogent comment:

I think the process for gringos who stay here in Ecuador is much the same as a similar foreigner in the USA.

Most, if they arrive in the US old, do not learn English. Most of the old folks socialize with one another. They buy from from a barrio market if they can because its more than just a grocery store, its a touch of the familiar, the language, the food.

A twenty year old will assimilate. That's what twenty year old's do.....they come from being teens, a different culture than adults are part of. So adapting to Ecuador would become part of the normal process they go thru. Assimilating/maturing. Might be two names for the same process.

For us old folks, not easy...but helpful in keeping the brain functioning.

If you have never lived in another culture and are armchair travelers let me tell you.... calling it another reality vs another culture better expresses the gap. It really seems like that sometimes.

Better that than a place that was boring (aburrido) for my declining year

P.S.
Be aware of Cuenca expats that claim to have integrated/assimilated, and that their Spanish is good or better. Chances are they are FOC!!!

After 2 years of planning, I have finally arrived in Cuenca to begin my new adventure. I hope to find out in a few days if all my paperwork is in order for the Pensioners' Visa. Next step will be finding a place to live for at least a year while I explore my options. If there are any groups which do regular walks, I'd be interested in learning about them and joining in. Feel free to PM me if you have such information. Thank you all for the posts on this forum. I've learned much.

DorothyPeck wrote:

After 2 years of planning, I have finally arrived in Cuenca to begin my new adventure. I hope to find out in a few days if all my paperwork is in order for the Pensioners' Visa. Next step will be finding a place to live for at least a year while I explore my options. If there are any groups which do regular walks, I'd be interested in learning about them and joining in. Feel free to PM me if you have such information. Thank you all for the posts on this forum. I've learned much.

Welcome to Cuenca Dorothy.  I have not heard of a walking group per se, although there are groups that do hiking trips to Las Cajas and other places.

Welcome, Dorothy.

As you think about walking Cuenca, I'm sure you'll enjoy the fabulous photo-essay titled “Cuenca, Ecuador:  A Wanderer's Dream” provided by Daisy the Wanderer at the Simplicity Relished website.

Go to www.simplicityrelished.com and type Cuenca into the search box.

cccmedia

It appears I have outlasted another expat.  I have heard from a reliable source that the Golden Girl has returned to the United States to live and probably won't be back to Cuenca.  Best of luck to her.

She has gone to Europe to be with family and will return to Cuenca.

I received the following email today. 

Dear readers,

Welcome to the brand-new New York Times en Español. On this mobile--­optimized website you will find a great selection of New York Times articles translated into Spanish, as well as original journalism. We aim to bring you some of the best news, opinion, analysis and features in the world.

Our daily selection of articles will include important news stories from around the Spanish-speaking world, like this one by Mexico bureau chief Azam Ahmed chronicling the struggle of Central American migrants attempting the long, perilous journey to enter the United States. But we'll also be including stories that help you understand the global economy, like this one by our economics columnist, Eduardo Porter, on what the rising value of the dollar means for people around the world. We promise to be your faithful guide to the maddening mess that is the U.S. presidential election, with pieces like this explanation of what the Iowa caucuses are all about.

We have assembled a terrific team of journalists from across the Spanish-speaking world who will bring you great stories, every day. Please sign up for our newsletter, Boletín, and follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

We hope you enjoy our site, and look forward to hearing your feedback. Write to us at [email protected] with questions, comments or concerns.

Sincerely,

Lydia Polgreen
Deputy International Editor

As an Expat in Ecuador, I'm quite pleased with my online subscription to The New York Times.

I get the original web/tablet version of the paper, not the Spanish-language version they emailed about to Nards.

They offer a 99-cents-a-week trial period of four weeks, after which the current rate is $3.75 weekly.

The Trump coverage alone is worth the price of admission, IMO.

Reference: nytimes.com

cccmedia

In other news, Ed Said that although Ecuador is 95% Catholic, the real religion is soccer, as evidenced by everyone watching the national team on tv, nothing getting done.  It was the same in Cyprus, no one doing anything but watching on tv in Nicosia.  I could tell the local team had scored 2 goals, as the windows were open and twice there was thunderous noise from everywhere, could not hear CNN International.

mugtech wrote:

In other news, Ed Said that although Ecuador is 95% Catholic, the real religion is soccer, as evidenced by everyone watching the national team on tv, nothing getting done.  It was the same in Cyprus, no one doing anything but watching on tv in Nicosia.  I could tell the local team had scored 2 goals, as the windows were open and twice there was thunderous noise from everywhere, could not hear CNN International.

Since Gringo Tree (or Tribelr)  basically shut down (or severely reduced its operations),  our buddy Said has had more free time to post.   Not only on his own blog, but he wrote his first article for CuencaHighlife a couple weeks ago--a restaurant review.

Senor Nard's, how is your citizenship coming along?

AMDG wrote:

Senor Nard's, how is your citizenship coming along?

Glad you asked AMDG, since it has been on my todo list.

Back in December, after having gathered what I thought were all the necessary documents, and meeting all the requirements, I decided to plan a trip to Guayaquil to present my application.   I wanted to reserve a hotel that was in close proximity to the immigration office.  That same day, our buddy domenick buonamici sent out an email with a promotion for one night stay at one of his hotels in either Quito or Guayaquil and a selection of his advise guides that included the "cheat sheet" for the written citizenship exam at the cost of $50.  Turns out his hotel is a very short cab ride to the immigration office. Let me say my room was a classy mini suite with a well stocked refridgerator containing Pilsenser beer at a reasonable price of $1.50 per bottle. 

So, after spending the night in the hotel, I went to the immigration office around 8:30 a.m.   Out of the hundreds of people waiting, I was re-directed upstairs to a waiting area where a young woman comes out to greet me. I explained to her why I was there,  that I was currently on an investors visa  and she immediately began to ask questions about my ability to support myself financially.   I told her that I had brought the title to my house I owned along with the certificate of deposit I used to get my investor's visa.  She told me I couldn't use my certificate of deposit as proof since it was associated with my visa and that owning my own house wasn't sufficient proof for establishing the fact I could support myself.   So, after 10 minutes of that,  I was back in a taxi on my way to the bus terminal.

To be continued..........

Nards Barley wrote:

AMDG wrote:

Senor Nard's, how is your citizenship coming along?

Glad you asked AMDG, since it has been on my todo list.

Back in December, after having gathered what I thought were all the necessary documents, and meeting all the requirements, I decided to plan a trip to Guayaquil to present my application.   I wanted to reserve a hotel that was in close proximity to the immigration office.  That same day, our buddy domenick buonamici sent out an email with a promotion for one night stay at one of his hotels in either Quito or Guayaquil and a selection of his advise guides that included the "cheat sheet" for the written citizenship exam at the cost of $50.  Turns out his hotel is a very short cab ride to the immigration office. Let me say my room was a classy mini suite with a well stocked refridgerator containing Pilsenser beer at a reasonable price of $1.50 per bottle. 

So, after spending the night in the hotel, I went to the immigration office around 8:30 a.m.   Out of the hundreds of people waiting, I was re-directed upstairs to a waiting area where a young woman comes out to greet me. I explained to her why I was there,  that I was currently on an investors visa  and she immediately began to ask questions about my ability to support myself financially.   I told her that I had brought the title to my house I owned along with the certificate of deposit I used to get my investor's visa.  She told me I couldn't use my certificate of deposit as proof since it was associated with my visa and that owning my own house wasn't sufficient proof for establishing the fact I could support myself.   So, after 10 minutes of that,  I was back in a taxi on my way to the bus terminal.

To be continued..........

Valuable info, thanks for sharing. When you get more info please share with us what they deem constitutes "proof" of one's ability to support themselves financially.

I'm guessing a document showing a sizable bank or brokerage account .. or some type of monthly income that Expats have used to get a pensioner visa.

Nards' post is helpful in showing what the Big G office is requiring these days for citizenship aps.

cccmedia

Senor Nards, we look forward to your finishing the story.
When did they start to require a written test in Guayaquil for citizenship?

Hey Nards, you must living on some kind of income. Your house wouldn't provide that. So did they not like the source of your monthly income?

The reason I ask is that I will be attempting to make application in Mar 2017 and I will base my income on my current monthly income which I comfortably live on now. That income comes from a pension and some payments from investments I have. I hope this proves to be enough. Otherwise, I might have a problem to deal with.

MikeGB wrote:

Hey Nards, you must living on some kind of income. Your house wouldn't provide that. So did they not like the source of your monthly income?

The reason I ask is that I will be attempting to make application in Mar 2017 and I will base my income on my current monthly income which I comfortably live on now. That income comes from a pension and some payments from investments I have. I hope this proves to be enough. Otherwise, I might have a problem to deal with.

I have basically an investment retirement account from which I periodically transfer funds.   Strangely enough, Although I asked her if I could provide an account statement from the investment company, but she seemed to want proof that the funds came from legitimate sources , and asked for things like apostilled past employment contracts.  I just rolled my eyes.....

One thing she did say to me of interest, after I asked her whether I could try this process at another office is that each office makes its own criteria with respect to this process.   That I assumed since what she was telling me was in contradiction to what others had been saying including our buddy Domenick.

I will tell you what happened next in a couple days. (Hint:  I may be an illegal alien)

P.S. MikeGB, I think with a fixed pension you won't have any problems........

Nards Barley wrote:

she seemed to want proof that the funds came from legitimate sources....

One thing she did say to me (is) that each office makes its own criteria with respect to this process.

(Hint:  I may be an illegal alien.)

Legitimate sources !  Each office makes its own rules !  Illegal alien !

At this point, I'd blow off Guayaquil and shift focus to the Quito office.  You might email an immigration attorney in Quito for guidance before making the next trip.

The two principals at GC Abogados -- Andres Cordova and Sebastian Cordero -- both know the system backwards and forwards.  Not saying Nards necessarily needs to bring one of them with him to the citizenship office, but when I brought Sebastian with me to Agencia, he promptly got us to the Jefa de Licencias and I eventually got the result I wanted -- a drivers license.  That was $75 well spent.  

Resource:  scordero(at)gcabogados.com

Given the concern about possible illegal-alien status, it might be time to consider bringing one of these heavy hitters into the game.

cccmedia

MikeGB wrote:

I will base my income on my current monthly income .. from a pension and some payments from investments I have. I hope this proves to be enough.

If the pension alone is under $800, your likelihood of success may depend on the nature of your investments.

An annuity with contractually guaranteed payouts would qualify.  Quarterly stock dividends, if not guaranteed, might be insufficient.

cccmedia

I was hoping the above restaurant was going to be the find of the year in Cuenca, and conjure up memories of Taco Bell, Dell Taco or  even better, one the many  Mexican taco trucks in the city of Los Angeles in California.

The hole-in-the-wall is located on Miguel Velez 581 and Gran Columbia.  Like a heat-seeking missile,  I went there the other day after receiving a tip from another gringo.  When I saw the signage,  I was a little disappointed to see that it wasn't exclusively a Mexican food restaurant, but excited about some of the American items on the menu including Onion Rings and chicken wings. On this particular day, I was there to only try the Mexican food.

Here is the menu:



I decided to order the burrito plate for $3.  Take a look:



Now, I was disappointed to see white rice instead of a [url= [img align=http://p-fst2.pixstatic.com/52cdbe8b697ab008ae000146._w.540_s.fit_.jpg]]proper Mexican Rice[/url]. I was also pissed that there were no refried beans, or tortilla chips for my salsa and guacamole. Nonethessless, the burrito was good (enough) and liked it better than probably most almuerzos I could have had throughout the city for $3 or under.

Since I was feeling a bit gluttonous, I then ordered the taco place which came with 3 softshell tacos with ground beef as the ONLY filling.  A proper mexican taco needs at least a sprinkling of cilantro and fresh oninons on top, and preferably with diced flank steak instead of ground beef.

In summary, while this place wasn't what I hoped it would be, I will go back since its a decent value and it is better than any other Mexican food I have tried in El Centro.

They told me is a decent Mexican Restaurant named La Frijolada in front of  ECU911 building on Francisco Moscoso and Rafael Torrres, close to 10 de Agosto ave.

Few weeks ago went a really good one but expensive close to Mercado 9 de Octubre but it looks like is not there anymore.

Then, there is another small place on Padre Aguirre and Sucre, just behind the Cathedral, is good but a dollar for taco or flauta is expensive and the sauce is not hot enough. 

Vinny

Great Nards!
Just finally stumbled on this 'thread'(?) this morning.
Like your attitude.
We all appreciate a man w/ 'cajones'!

Cajones are drawers.

The word for “balls” is cojones.

Singular forms:  cajón ... cojón.

cccmedia wrote:

Cajones are drawers.

The word for “balls” is cojones.

Singular forms:  cajón ... cojón.

Nothing wrong with liking a man who has drawers

I stand corrected!
Cojones it is !

La Frijolada is good but it is still not like what you would get in Mexico and it is expensive for what you get. And it is not like Taco Bell.

MikeGB wrote:

La Frijolada is good but it is still not like what you would get in Mexico and it is expensive for what you get. And it is not like Taco Bell.

When they were farily new, I went there and posted about it somewhere on this forum.  It was too expensive for me, and there were no sloppy combination platters.   If they were in El Centro I might have gone back....

Conde Nast, according to what Edd said, is urging people not to change their plans to tour Ecuador as the damage has been limited to a few coastal establishments, everything is fine in Cuenca and Quito.  Of course nothing is mentioned about the destruction in Manta, the only port receiving mainline cruise ships such as Holland America Lines.  Looks like Manta has 6 months to get up to speed, next cruise by HAL is scheduled in October.

mugtech wrote:

Conde Nast, according to what Edd said, is urging people not to change their plans to tour Ecuador as the damage has been limited to a few coastal establishments, everything is fine in Cuenca and Quito.  Of course nothing is mentioned about the destruction in Manta, the only port receiving mainline cruise ships such as Holland America Lines.  Looks like Manta has 6 months to get up to speed, next cruise by HAL is scheduled in October.

I am glad to see Said doing some damage control on his blog, particulary so soon after an International Living Conference.  It would be a shame for those fresh recruits to have a change of heart and go to Columbia instead of Ecuador.

P.S.
The grand re-opening of Gringo Tree  could not come at a better time. Nothing sells new recruits more on coming to Cuenca than the vast gringo sub-culture that it has to offer.

Yesterday, I was talking to a friend and asked her about  a Canadian couple that had moved to Bahia de Caraquez from Cuenca because they thought Cuenca was too busy.  She said they were doing fine. I asked if they were planning to stay in Bahia and she said  "no , they are moving to Mexico."  I said "so, the earthquake scared them off ?" She said "no, they are moving because they think the exchange rate sucks!"