[NOTE: This post was written before the bombing at the Istanbul airport. The contents here still applies though. Such mass attacks have occurred in Belgium, Paris, London, and… Orlando. The world seems to be rapidly going crazy. Anytime you choose to leave your home, you at risk of an attack… or simply being hit by […]
Niño Viajero 2015, Part 1
Christmas Eve has a massive parade in Cuenca every year. You can see our blog and photos from prior years here — 2012, 2013, and 2014. In past years, we have photographed the preparations of the floats and participants. This year we decided to instead go to where the baby Jesus statue was being kept, […]
Lost In The Jungle (Sucúa)
Last week we spent a few days in the Amazon, called the Oriente by Ecuadorians. We had wanted a little time in warmer weather (Cuenca has been pretty cold all of August), so when a local tour operator said he wanted to do an exploratory trip and was looking for two people to join him, […]
National Strike — Cuenca Style
Ecuadorian president Correa has had an unprecedented 84% approval rating in his country until recently. He has improved education on many fronts, reduced crime in every category, improved infrastructure, and generally been a very positive, and thus popular, president. With his political party having an overwhelming majority in Congress, he can push through almost any […]
Ambato Carnaval Parade
The numerous floats looked like they came out of the Rose Bowl Parade, created almost entirely of fresh flowers and fruits We are spending the week in Ambato, Ecuador to see a different kind of Carnaval than we have had in Cuenca for the past couple years (where the week is a snoozefest punctuated by […]
Cuenca Almost Became Part of Peru
Today marks the twenty year anniversary of the start of the most recent war between Ecuador and Peru in 1995. Last weekend we drove to Girón to see the countryside, accompanied by six friends that were all visiting Ecuador. We had originally expected a trip to the waterfall in Girón to be the highlight, but instead we were treated […]
The Riot That Never Was
Walking home in Cuenca today I came across a group of protesters and an veritable army of police, many dressed in full riot gear with shields, helmets and tear gas canisters. The were two demonstrations going on, about three blocks from each other. One was at a plaza filled with anti-government protesters, while the other […]
Police Car Celebration
I have mentioned several times that Ecuadorians find any excuse to celebrate, and that I always carry a camera with me because I never know when I will stumble upon another parade or party. Well, how about celebrating the police getting some new cars? Yep, that’s enough reason for a celebration around here! Evelyn and […]