There was a restaurant in El Centro that we enjoyed, called Magica Cuchara, or “The Magic Spoon.” It was owned by a very talented local magician, Juan Estrella, who is a member of the exclusive Magic Circle of international magicians. Juan also performs around the world, and in many places in the United States. When you dined […]
Turkey 14 – A Dervish Delight
Today we watched a Whirling Dervish performance in Istanbul. The dervish were a Muslim sect that originated in Konya, but were outlawed by the first Turkish president, Mustafa Kemel Atatürk, in 1923. The whirling was part of a religious ceremony, in which the person was supposed to lose his ego to the wider universe. The […]
Iglesia La Merced Symphony
As we have noted before, the Cuenca symphony is free. They play at a few different venues around town. Tonight is the first time they have played at the Iglesia La Merced that we can remember. This church is only a block from our apartment, and we had never been in it, so it seemed […]
Salta Landscapes
We have now completed our tour of the Salta area of Argentina, spending six days driving through both the “Northern loop” and “Southern loop.” This is a large area, where we often feel we are driving through the Painted Desert of Arizona. Though we are high in the Andes, often topping 10,000 ft, this entire […]
Walking and Tango in Buenos Aires
We were joined in Buenos Aires yesterday by Evelyn’s sister, Pauline and her friend, Amy (upper left image above). We spent much of their first day on a Free City Walk tour of the Recoleta neighborhood of Buenos Aires, starting at Teatro Colón and ending at the well known Recoleta Cemetery. We learned fun and […]
Wrapping Up New York Again
Our time in New York City is coming to a close. Today we walked more of downtown, came across a kid’s skating rink, a small park devoted to gay & lesbian couples, and went to the Mecca of Apple Users everywhere — the 5th Ave Apple store. We were glad we didn’t actually have anything […]
Murder He Wrote!
The body of prominent Reaper Junction resident, Grimsby Graves, was found early this morning at the bottom of a newly dug grave in the Reaper Cemetery. The eerie find was made by sheriff’s deputies after they received a call from a local resident. Graves, whose ancestors helped found the town in 1770, owned the large […]
Magic in Cuenca
Tomorrow marks our one year anniversary since we officially moved to Ecuador. In that time, we have become a bit jaded. With so much to do every week (and most nights), we often hear or read about an event, then ask each other “so you want to go?” The answer is often becoming “it looks like […]
Comedy and Magic
As we have noted several times, there is always something going on in Cuenca. You would have to be a hermit not to find something to do every week. We started this morning with a going away party for some friends that have decided to return to the States after several years in Cuenca. […]
Hugh Done It
We are finding an increasing number of talented artists, musicians, actors, and others moving to Cuenca and developing ways of expressing their creativity. Last Saturday, we were treated to a murder mystery dinner show created by a witty and talented group of actors called The Cuenca Characters. Set on a cruise ship, the audience was […]