Country Archive
Ecuador's sleepy Pacific coast-come here to honeymoon, write a novel, or die happy
Date: 02/28/2007
"Agua, aguita! Helados, heladitos!" cry the food vendors on the bus. "Papas, papitas!"
Ecuadorians love diminutives. However, there's nothing diminutive about our bus driver and his assistant. They are big boys and they drive the ancient bus over the potholed road at top speed. We are now watching them eat meat stew at a dusty road-side canteen, where they've taken an unannounced break. Across the road, I spy the local government house of Manabí, in a building not unlike a disused railway station. Next to it is a beauty school, "Always Happy."
Read OnLife in a 17th-century Hacienda
Date: 01/22/2007My favorite place to stay in Ecuador is Hacienda Cusín.
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$50,000 Apartments on Embassy Row
Date: 12/27/2006Quito Tenis is an upscale neighborhood in Quito. But although you’ll be neighbors with the Japanese and Cuban ambassadors, real estate prices here are typically Ecuadorian (i.e. cheap).
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Fiestas de Quito
Date: 11/30/2006Tuesday kicked off the Fiestas de Quito, an annual celebration of the founding of the city by the Spanish, with nine days of bullfights, flamenco performances, and general partying.
Read OnNew Presidents
Date: 11/29/2006Ecuador has a newly elected president: Rafael Correa. Some of you have written to me, asking what I think of Señor Correa, and whether his ideas may be bad for my retirement
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The Mañana Complex
Date: 11/07/2006First I should point out by way of full disclosure that I love Ecuador. I chose this country after taking a hard look at a dozen others and, after two-and-a-half years, have no regrets.
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Pregnant on the road in Ecuador, toddler and grandparents in tow
Date: 10/31/2006
While Ecuador may sound exotic to some, I have found it surprisingly approachable since moving to Quito, the nation's capital, two years ago. My husband, Luca, had been working for the United Nations Development Program in New York, and this was our first overseas posting. We both felt right at home. In fact, I was comfortable enough in our new quarters that, seven months pregnant, I embarked on a road trip through the mountain highlands, with my 2-year-old son, Matteo, and my 56-year-old parents, Harold and Georganne. My growing belly hadn't shrunk my spirit for adventure, and my parents' visit seemed like the last chance for a while to explore. I planned a 10-day trip, and Luca would join us on the weekends.
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Great Locations, Cheap Prices
Date: 10/24/2006Although real estate prices are moving up in Ecuador, particularly on the coast, prices remain far below those in the hot spots of Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean.
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