The unofficial web page of the greater Cuenca expat community

There was a one time set up fee of $ 80.00, then my monthly is  $ 89.90.
So far, so good !!

ZenSPIKE wrote:

so far so good !!

Vikings won, gonna watch GB lose to Seattle tonight?

ZenSPIKE wrote:

gonna watch GB lose to Seattle tonight

Sure hope you didn't put real money on that outcome!

DorothyPeck wrote:

ZenSPIKE wrote:

gonna watch GB lose to Seattle tonight

Sure hope you didn't put real money on that outcome!

Just wishful thinking, not betting against GB at home.

Ummmm, Dorothy?
great quote, but attributed to the wrong person. The " quote " was directed to me by another member.
Just sayin'

Unfortunately,  even a banged up Packers team is a  pretty formidable force. And at home, super hard to beat. I feel the same way about Rodgers as I did about Favre. Dislike them both, but outstanding Q.B.'s.
I started to kinda  like Favre when he wore purple. < grin >

Sorry about the misattributed quote, ZenSPIKE. I realized my error when mugtech responded. Am I going to be the lone Packer-backer when I land in Cuenca?  LOL!!

DorothyPeck wrote:

Sorry about the misattributed quote, ZenSPIKE. I realized my error when mugtech responded. Am I going to be the lone Packer-backer when I land in Cuenca?  LOL!!

Hopefully

No, you won't be alone. There are other Packer Backers here.

Just a little tidbit about yams:

Sometime ago there was a posting asking about where one could find Yams in Ecuador. I have had difficulty finding them but finally found them at the mercado (here in Cuenca) just south of Avenida Diez de Augusto near Solano.

The lady that sold them to me called them "Papas Dulce". My girlfriend whom is Ecuadorian and another Ecuadorian friend called them "Comote". They are exactly what I used to buy in Canada which we called "Yams". They have a reddish brown soft mostly smooth skin and an orange-ish colored interior and tastes sweet.

I noticed on another website where they are also called "Sweet Potatoes or Domestic Yams" and are prehistoric in nature. They also listed something that had a rough-ish textured brown skin with a white interior and are not sweet. The website also called these "Yams". But the difference was that the "Yams" I am used to were called "Domestic Yams" as opposed to just "Yams".

MikeGB wrote:

Just a little tidbit about yams:

Sometime ago there was a posting asking about where one could find Yams in Ecuador. I have had difficulty finding them but finally found them at the mercado (here in Cuenca) just south of Avenida Diez de Augusto near Solano.

The lady that sold them to me called them "Papas Dulce". My girlfriend whom is Ecuadorian and another Ecuadorian friend called them "Comote". They are exactly what I used to buy in Canada which we called "Yams". They have a reddish brown soft mostly smooth skin and an orange-ish colored interior and tastes sweet.

I noticed on another website where they are also called "Sweet Potatoes or Domestic Yams" and are prehistoric in nature. They also listed something that had a rough-ish textured brown skin with a white interior and are not sweet. The website also called these "Yams". But the difference was that the "Yams" I am used to were called "Domestic Yams" as opposed to just "Yams".

Sweet potatoes in the Philippines are also called camotes, good eatin'.

An interesting page from a company called Cartiegu, which has production centers in several South American countries and exports to Europe.  This page has info about camotes amarillos y morados, and a clickable list of other fruits and vegetables on the left.  The information bars can be clicked on to get characteristics, nutritional value, how to store and use, and you can click on the English flag to run it through Google translate:

http://www.cartiegu.com/index.php?optio … Itemid=877

There is a certain amount of romantacism assigned by expats to the experience of riding city buses in Cuenca.  This romantacism is often driven by the pundit class who often feel obligated to spin things in a positive way.

As an example, a colleague of international living´s Edd Said--Bill Rirodan--was profiled in a recent article of El Tiempo titled "Bill Riordan, un extranjero enamorado de Cuenca" (Bill Riordan, a foreigner in love with Cuenca).

In that article,  he says:

Además, le fascina viajar en bus, porque tiene la posibilidad de conversar con la gente y observar nuevos sitios que serán captados con su lente..

Translation: In addition,  he is fascinated by riding the bus, because he has the possibility to talk people and observe new places that can be captured with his camera. 

Now, I ride the city buses because I have to.  It is an economical form of going from point A to point B.  If I had my druthers, I would take a taxi everwhere in the city or walk to where I need to go.  Riding the buses can often be quite unpleasant if they are crowded and can cause you bodily injury since they are often in motion when you board or depart the bus, and they are often slamming on the brakes when you trying to make your way to a seat of the exit.

I regularly read articles in the the local papers about senior citizens being taken to the hospital for injuries suffered from riding the bus.  In this article:

Los pasajeros se quejaron por los continuos maltratos que son víctimas en las unidades de transporte público. Dijeron que en muchas ocasiones los conductores no tienen la paciencia de esperar hasta bajarse y arrancan cuando aún hay personas en los estribos.

Transalation:  The passengers complain for the continuous mistreatment they receive on the buses.   They said on many occassions the drivers don't have the patience to wait until they have stepped down from the bus, and take off when there are people still on the steps.

In another recent article, a 77 year oldwas taken to the hospital after a bus slammed on its brakes.

According to the passengers:

Según testigos, el bus circulaba en exceso de velocidad. Debido al accidente, el conductor huyó del lugar.

Translation:  According to witnesses, the bus was driving at an excess of velocity. Due to the accident, the driver fled the scene.

Nards Barley wrote:

Translation:  According to witnesses, the bus was driving at an excess of velocity. Due to the accident, the driver fled the scene.

I have read several stories about bus accidents in Ecuador, seems often that the driver flees the scene.  How can this keep happening?  Does the driver know he will be losing his job and has nothing to lose?  What, if anything,  are the consequences for the driver?

mugtech wrote:

Nards Barley wrote:

Translation:  According to witnesses, the bus was driving at an excess of velocity. Due to the accident, the driver fled the scene.

I have read several stories about bus accidents in Ecuador, seems often that the driver flees the scene.  How can this keep happening?  Does the driver know he will be losing his job and has nothing to lose?  What, if anything,  are the consequences for the driver?

Yeah, it makes me wonder if the bus owners instruct their drivers to flee the scene.  It wouldn´t surprise me if they show up to work the next day.

The second issue of Cuenca Expats Magazine is now available in all of your favorite Cuenca expat haunts. And none other than Lee Dubbs has an article titled "The Expat Majority".  Here is an excerpt:

Narrowing the question to just gringo immigrants, what can we say has changed as they moved into the Cuenca area over the past seven years? Several articles have been written about the "unpleasant" foreigners who have come. Terms such as Obnoxious Gringos and Ugly Americans have been used to describe a small minority of immigrants who are unhappy and who often complain in public. Enough has been written about them.

This article deals with the "pleasant" gringos, the less visible ones who are, indeed, content with their lives and who often make overt contributions.

After having read Dubbs for a number of years, I find the term that describes him best is "pretentious".  While he claims this article was about the "pleasant" gringos, it is really to call out the perceived bad ones.   Of course, I don´t know anyone who goes into his sorry-ass shop after their first few months here, so I don´t know how he is able to make so many judgements about the expats who are lving here.

Nards Barley wrote:

The second issue of [url=http://www.cuencaexpatsmag.com/]...Of course, I don´t know anyone who goes into his sorry-ass shop after their first few months here, so I don´t know how he is able to make so many judgements about the expats who are living here.

Everybody has a hobby.  Some seem to be practicing for a part in the new biblical drama "Lord, I thank you that I am not like the rest of foreigners...this unpleasant gringo..."

Best put on permanent ignore

mugtech wrote:

about bus accidents in Ecuador, seems often that the driver flees the scene.  How can this keep happening?  Does the driver know he will be losing his job and has nothing to lose?  What, if anything,  are the consequences for the driver?

The national driving laws theoretically send an automobile driver to jail for three days for excessive speeding, even if no one is injured.

So this bus driver -- who apparently caused an elder to go to the hospital -- clearly had no interest in personally finding out how long a jail term a judge might impose on him. 

He likely figured he did have "something to lose."

cccmedia in Quito

Brother Archer wrote:

An interesting page from a company called Cartiegu, ...  This page has info about camotes amarillos y morados, and a clickable list of other fruits and vegetables on the left.  The information bars can be clicked on to get characteristics, nutritional value, how to store and use, and you can click on the English flag to run it through Google translate:

Goodness is that a great website! Thank you, OsageArcher! I had seen some of those fruits in the markets but wasn't aware of their uses. I especially liked the listing of "medicinal usages" for a few of the items. I also found many other sites with good photos by typing "Fruits in Ecuador" into a search engine. Some of them even give the Quechuan names. Some of the sites have recipes using the items.

Like I said, there is nothing romantic about riding the city buses:

I was in a terrible accident Wednesday and suffered a major head injury and a concussion. I was on a speeding bus that made a sharp turn sending me through the back door, over the street and onto the sidewalk. I was rushed to the emergency room, by ambulance, and spent ten hours being observed and having my head stitched up

http://hlw3.blogspot.com/2015/09/i-had-accident.html

Nards Barley wrote:

Like I said, there is nothing romantic about riding the city buses:

I was in a terrible accident Wednesday and suffered a major head injury and a concussion. I was on a speeding bus that made a sharp turn sending me through the back door, over the street and onto the sidewalk. I was rushed to the emergency room, by ambulance, and spent ten hours being observed and having my head stitched up

http://hlw3.blogspot.com/2015/09/i-had-accident.html

At least the bus driver paid the medical bills.  Evidently he did NOT flee the scene.

Hey Nards,

So the victim was on a "speeding bus that made a sharp turn sending me through the back door, over the street and onto the sidewalk...." Spends time in the Hospital and the there were mo charges against the driver?  Seems to me that the lesson is to always offer to pay the hospital bill. 

He should have been charged with speeding, reckless driving and depraved Indifference and had his license revoked.  And he's set free to keep doing the same by paying some cash?  Not sure what lesson  is being taught here...

Mugtech,

I thought you would appreciate this IL anecdote.

I was having lunch at Sunrise Cafe with some people I know recently who told me that had been to an International Living Conference in Quito, maybe a year ago.  They said they were treated like 2nd class citizens because they were not part of the "upsales" group.  I asked what the upsales group was and apparently those are the people who IL want to selll additional things and services to.   They told me that they had expressed their dissatisfaction to the guy who was in charge of upsales and he had been rude to them.

I also asked them if someone named SAID had done a presentation at that conference and they said "yes" and that he had done a good job and that they like his writing on blogs.   They said they had run into him at a restaurant in Cuenca and felt he was a little aloof and blew them off.  They said he may not be comfortable with his celebrity status.

P.S.
Said, if you want to invite me over for some of that good cheese and wine you blogged about, I will be happy offer you some tips on polishing your public image.

Nards Barley wrote:

Mugtech,

I thought you would appreciate this IL anecdote.

I was having lunch at Sunrise Cafe with some people I know recently who told me that had been to an International Living Conference in Quito, maybe a year ago.  They said they were treated like 2nd class citizens because they were not part of the "upsales" group.  I asked what the upsales group was and apparently those are the people who IL want to selll additional things and services to.   They told me that they had expressed their dissatisfaction to the guy who was in charge of upsales and he had been rude to them.

Thanks Nards, helps break the tension of the Monday Night Eagles/Giants showdown.  Always suspected that is what IL is all about, always thought Edd was better than IL.

Nards Barley wrote:

I also asked them if someone named SAID had done a presentation at that conference and they said "yes" and that he had done a good job and that they like his writing on blogs.   They said they had run into him at a restaurant in Cuenca and felt he was a little aloof and blew them off.  They said he may not be comfortable with his celebrity status.

P.S.
Said, if you want to invite me over for some of that good cheese and wine you blogged about, I will be happy offer you some tips on polishing your public image.

Good luck in your new venture, but I am doubting he would actually admit to any shortcomings,  he doesn't strike me as a 12 step kinda guy.

Lacking anything better to talk about, I have decided to document for peep nation my progress towards Ecuadorian citizenship which will serve a variety purposes.  I will have been in Ecuador 3 years in December which is required time period for eligibility.  I have obtained AGAIN an apostilled birth certficate from VitalCheck and now have my FBI report which I mailed off to the state department to be apostilled.  I hold off getting most of these other documentsfor now.

Here is my censored FBI Report which I obtained using a FBI Channeler named National Background Check: As you can see, I have a clean record. At least using my current identity.

That will be an accomplishment! Good luck with the Red tape.

Nards Barley wrote:

Lacking anything better to talk about, I have decided to document for peep nation my progress towards Ecuadorian citizenship which will serve a variety purposes.  I will have been in Ecuador 3 years in December which is required time period for eligibility.  I have obtained AGAIN an apostilled birth certficate from VitalCheck and now have my FBI report which I mailed off to the state department to be apostilled.  I hold off getting most of these other documentsfor now.

Here is my censored FBI Report which I obtained using a FBI Channeler named National Background Check: As you can see, I have a clean record. At least using my current identity.

[img align=c]https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-rNiV2FfChD4/ViWJCV31TzI/AAAAAAAACJM/pwH_sLl6yZU/s800-Ic42/fbi%252520report%252520without.png[/url]

The usual report for those in WitSec

Nards Barley wrote:

Lacking anything better to talk about, I have decided to document for peep nation my progress towards Ecuadorian citizenship which will serve a variety purposes.  I will have been in Ecuador 3 years in December which is required time period for eligibility.

I received a message back a while from Dom Buonamici where he had heard from his lawyer friend that stated it is possible to start the application process after being here for 2.5 years. Maybe you can apply now. I would be curious if applying ahead is actually possible.

Since things can change quickly here, it would be wise to accomplish naturalization as soon as possible.

Inquiring minds want to know, if you have been in Ecuador for 3 years and have not been out of the country more than the limitations of your visa permit, what would be difference between the original FBI background check and one 3 years later? That is assuming you were not VERY naughty in the brief time you may have been out of Ecuador, that is.

Where did you go to get the necessary fingerprints for your FBI background?

DorothyPeck wrote:

Inquiring minds want to know, if you have been in Ecuador for 3 years and have not been out of the country more than the limitations of your visa permit, what would be difference between the original FBI background check and one 3 years later? That is assuming you were not VERY naughty in the brief time you may have been out of Ecuador, that is.

Where did you go to get the necessary fingerprints for your FBI background?

Good question. I haven´t been out of the country so one would think getting another police report from the U.S. would not be necessary.  However,  since it is on the list of required documents, I am getting it, especially since I will have to travel to Guayaquil or Quito to submit the application and want to be prepared.

I had obtained the fingerprints using an inkpad here in Cuenca at the police department about 3 years ago since I was thinking at the time I was going to have to repeat the process of getting a police report.

One thing I have read at the website of the FBI Channeler I used in the U.S. is that they now do digital fingerprinting at some locations using a scanner.  And that for a fee, they will store your fingerprints in case at some point in the future you need get another FBI report.

MikeGB wrote:

Nards Barley wrote:

Lacking anything better to talk about, I have decided to document for peep nation my progress towards Ecuadorian citizenship which will serve a variety purposes.  I will have been in Ecuador 3 years in December which is required time period for eligibility.

I received a message back a while from Dom Buonamici where he had heard from his lawyer friend that stated it is possible to start the application process after being here for 2.5 years. Maybe you can apply now. I would be curious if applying ahead is actually possible.

I assume to apply early I still need to submit all of the required documents. I will head to Guayaquil as soon as I have everything on that list which should be another month if everything goes well.

Senor Nards, smart move……we can understand why you are the alcalde de Cuenca………
In Guayaquil they will test your spanish when you submit your application…..it was not difficult.

Thank you for that information, Nards, especially the part about digital fingerprints. I was planning to have my birth certificate apostiled and translated/notarized in Cuenca. Even though I do not need it for the visa, I wanted to get it done with the rest of the paperwork. Are there date limitations (like any formal documents can't be more than x months old)?

Senorita Peck, when I submitted my birth certificate, it was over a year old……..certainly some documents are time limited, like police reports, but it seems the birth certificate and likely others, are not.

Hola Senor Nards!

With your distinguish position as Alcarde De Cuenca  I thought you might know the answer to this question?
I arrive as a new hopeful expat to Cuenca this Nov 7th -Dec 12th.  Can you tell me if there are any expat gatherings happening in Cuenca this November?  While I want to amerce my self in the Ecuadorian culture I would love to find some expats wile I am in Cuenca.
All so, I speak & wright  fluent Spanish.  If any one needs some FREE translations wile I am there I would love to assist.
I am grateful to all the expats that blog and have helped me so much with their info.  I would like to give back
what I can.  If I can help just private message me.  Thanks  Martha 

DorothyPeck wrote:

. I was planning to have my birth certificate apostiled and translated/notarized in Cuenca.

I hope you mean that you will have your birth certificate apostilled in the U.S. and then have it translated/notarized in Cuenca.  I am not up to date on time limits for documents so will refrain on giving an answer.

MGLuke wrote:

Can you tell me if there are any expat gatherings happening in Cuenca this November?  While I want to amerce my self in the Ecuadorian culture I would love to find some expats wile I am in Cuenca.

I am sure there will be gatherings although I have no idea when and where.   Just keep your eye on the classifieds at CuencaHighlife.com, and the postings at Gringo Post y Gringo Tree.

Nards Barley wrote:

I hope you mean that you will have your birth certificate apostilled in the U.S. and then have it translated/notarized in Cuenca

That is indeed what I meant.