The unofficial web page of the greater Cuenca expat community

I am putting everyone on notice in Cuenca that from the looks of the signage, there will be a new Mexican restaurant opening up across from the SuperMaxi El Vergel.   Lets hope they have a proper combination platter.

posted on wrong thread.

It isn't bad,  and what is not bad to me may be high praise for others. Worth trying.

In the competition for top steak house, it came down to  Anubis and Amañan, the only two steak houses I know of, on my side of town.  While they both are good, I think Amañan is a better value, so they win. Plus they have beef stew on their menu while Anubis doesn't.   I also like the fact there are fewer choices on the menu for Amañan  which is important for those of us who have difficulty making decisions on what to order.

Here is a photo of their sign taken at night:



Here is the steak dinner I ordered when my friend was buying:



Here is the stew I ordered on another occasion when I was buying:



I almost always see other gringos there when I go. Here is an expat I suspect by the suspenders is a retired banker:

Your Everything Guide for Riding the Bus from terminal terrestre in Cuenca Ecuador to the Centro de Atención Ciuadana located in the city of  Azogues, in the province of Cañar.

Over a year ago the offices of the Ministerio de exteriores which processed residency visas  was moved to Azogues.  Soon after,  Wendy Jane Carrel, M.A. wrote an article for Cuencahighlife recommending that you make your trip there an adventure.   She stated that

you can go by taxi for $15 to $20 "

or

"find your way to the central bus station on the east side of Cuenca near the airport and locate one of two companies that send buses almost every half-hour during the day. It’s about a 40-minute $2 ride. The main bus station of Azogues is on the west side of town at the bottom of a hill. With some effort, you can walk to town uphill, or go by taxi (5-7 minutes).

Further, a few weeks ago Cuencahighlife reported that the rest of the services for foreigners were moving to Azogues, so even those folks applying for tourist visa extensions will need to travel to Azogues, also known as the "Obrera del Sur".

Having recently spent a lot of time riding buses to Azogues correcting a problem with my investors visa, I decided to expand on the topic of riding the bus there, in this authoratative tome.

First let us take a look at your departure point: Terminal Terrestre on avenida España near the airport.



Now you are responsible for finding your way to the terminal.   Of course you could take a taxi there, but that would be cheating. So I recommend you find a city bus line that wil take you there.  To find which bus to take to the terminal, I recommend you use the Moovit bus application. Or you can check out Cuenca Bus Sherpa as an alternative.

Once at the terminal you want to find the gate for Azogues.  There are big signs hanging from the ceiling at each gate indicating the different destination cities. The Azogues gate is like the second to the last gate heading east in the terminal.  You will need to buy a ticket for 10 cents from the ATM-looking machine to get you through the turnstyle.  You don't buy a ticket to get on the bus! They will either pass through the cabin to collect or more likely you will pay as you are getting off the bus at your destination.

Here is what the buses look like for going to Azogues and back:



Okay after about a 40 minute or so bus ride including some stops you arrive to the terminal terrestre in Azogues that will remind you of the terminal in Cuenca. From there you could take a taxi for a  $1.50 to the Centro de Atención Ciuadana (CAC) building, but that would be cheating.  Instead you can take the following Centinela bus for 30 cents and it will take you to the CAC.  These buses are out back by the help desk, and NOT out front where there is a bus stop.  There is no buzzer to inform the driver to stop, so you need to work your way to the front of the bus to tell him to stop in case he forgets. I used the GPS on my phone to inform me as we were approaching my stop for the CAC.



You know you have it made it to your destination if the building looks like the following photo:

Just got the document that officially declares me of Ecuadorian nationality by way of naturalization.  So I guess that means I am an Ecuadorian citizen.

In a few weeks I will need to go to Registro Civil and get a new cedula reflecting my new status.   Then, in a month or two I will be called to appear in a swearing-in ceremony where I will have sing the national anthem.

To celebrate, maybe I will go to the Dennys of Cuenca and have pigs in a blanket tomorrow.

By the way, with my new found status, I am thinking the pecking order diagram no longer is adequate in describing the social hierarchy of the Cuenca https://www.expat.community.  I hope to have a new illustration within the next few weeks.

Congrats to the social climber.  Read about it just now my tablet is connected  to FlyFi on a JetBlue flight from San Juan, PR to Newark NJ.  Spent two weeks in the Caribbean, heard a lot of French and Spanish.   Hoping to get to Ecuador in 2017, will let you know

Nards Barley wrote:

Just got the document that officially declares me of Ecuadorian nationality by way of naturalization.  So I guess that means I am an Ecuadorian citizen.

Congratulations and well done Nards!

Congratulations and well done indeed, Nards. Can you share with us which Question banks you posted were most beneficial. Banco 2 for example has some questions that seem irrelevant, like which country was Napoleon emperor of or other questions that pertain to Homo sapiens 

And you can get a passport also....

Thanks guys.  Yes, In addition to figuring out how to apply for a passport, I need to figure out how to take back control of the money I used for my investor's visa.

Mugs, we will be sure to roll the red carpet out to you as an honorary resident expat.

Vsimple,

The flashcards I posted on cram.com filtered out all the world history stuff.  I would say that 40-50 percent of the questions were related to geography such as knowing the provinces and capitals as well as knowing what provinces make up the Sierra, Amazon or Coast.   

There were a couple on alternative names for cities and provinces, a few on important presidents in the past, a couple on cultural things, national forests.   Any questions that I had problem with and I remembered I would have added to the flashcards.  Study the flashcards and you will do fine.

Congratulations, Nards.

I am pleased to learn that you now know important things such as the capital of Sucumbios province -- Nueva Loja, aka Lago Agrio (bitter lake).

cccmedia in Quito

Last time I got tested for parasites I went to the lab right next door to Santa Ines hospital. I paid $30-35 I think. 

This time I looked for somewhere cheaper and I found it. The Red Cross on General Borrero y Presidente Cordova charges $2.50  I think there test is more limited than that at Santa Ines, cause I think they asked me if I wanted to be tested for amoebas as well at an additional cost.

Saluting Nards Barley and the greater Cuenca Expat community on four years of posts and art on the Unofficial Web Page....

-- From Your Friends in Quito



img align=c]https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/

Just saw today that back in April James Woodward was murdered in Brazil.  He was very active on that forum, he had visited Ecuador expat forum, usually to engage in arguments, but we had not heard much from him this past year, as many chose to ignore him.  Those of you on this forum for 2 years or more know what I am saying.  He was a 66 year old Canadian.

mugtech wrote:

Just saw today that back in April James Woodward was murdered in Brazil.  He was very active on that forum, he had visited Ecuador expat forum, usually to engage in arguments, but we had not heard much from him this past year, as many chose to ignore him.  Those of you on this forum for 2 years or more know what I am saying.  He was a 66 year old Canadian.

This is horrible, and yes I remember some of his posts.

Nards, having an Ecuador passport will allow you to travel all of South America without a visa.  The cost for a USA single entry visa to Brazil costs $175.  Same price for a USA visa to China, while a visa for China from Ecuador is only $35.  The only disadvantage I have discovered for being a dual citizen is that it may curtail your opportunities with the CIA.  I'm sure you took that into consideration before you sing that national anthem.

mugtech wrote:

Just saw today that back in April James Woodward was murdered in Brazil.  He was very active on that forum, he had visited Ecuador expat forum, usually to engage in arguments, but we had not heard much from him this past year, as many chose to ignore him.  Those of you on this forum for 2 years or more know what I am saying.  He was a 66 year old Canadian.

I talked to James a number of times, he was actually a really upstanding guy with a good grasp of south American legal systems, regulations, bureaucratic ramblings, idiosyncrasies, street dangers, and culture. His dual language abilities were first rate.

These forums have never been the same since he's been gone.

gardener1 wrote:

mugtech wrote:

Just saw today that back in April James Woodward was murdered in Brazil.  He was very active on that forum, he had visited Ecuador expat forum, usually to engage in arguments, but we had not heard much from him this past year, as many chose to ignore him.  Those of you on this forum for 2 years or more know what I am saying.  He was a 66 year old Canadian.

I talked to James a number of times, he was actually a really upstanding guy with a good grasp of south American legal systems, regulations, bureaucratic ramblings, idiosyncrasies, street dangers, and culture. His dual language abilities were first rate.

These forums have never been the same since he's been gone.

I agree he was very knowledgeable in many areas, got tired of his bashing of the USA and USA expats.  It has been calmer on here since he departed.

According to the following classified ad posted on Cuencahighlife by Expat Member Louisb333, who was interviewed by https://www.expat.com  last year in this article and lives in Cuenca,  he may be going to jail for libel.


https://www.cuencahighlife.com/classifi … ing-libel/

I saw this advertisement on Cuencahighlife today.



Once I clicked on it I was taken this page where you have testimony by a Cuenca resident about the effectiveness of the Synergy learning method.   Once you click on any of the buttons you are immediately taken to the Synergy Spanish web page.

It appears to me the person who published this ad on cuencahighlife is a reseller of the Synergy Spanish learning method.

Anway, I just thought this is sort of an interesting way to try and make some extra money without too much effort other than creating a personal testimony web page and then  publishing an ad on Cuencahighlife.

Of course my opinion is that you are probably too old to learn Spanish (well).

Expats who have spent a lifetime challenging their minds are typically never too old to learn español well.

IMO, age alone is an inadequate excuse.

cccmedia

Spanish is difficult, but we're here, it's not like we're learning it in an English speaking country. It's all around us.

It's a beautiful language.

And I agree age is not an excuse.

cccmedia wrote:

Expats who have spent a lifetime challenging their minds are typically never too old to learn español well.

IMO, age alone is an inadequate excuse.

cccmedia

But CCMEDIA, didn't you just tell me on another thread that you don't own a smartphone because you didn't grow up learning to type on a smartphone and that you are effectively too old to learn?

To me, there is no greater indication of who is a lifetime learner than those who adapt to new and useful technologies as they become affordable.  And without a doubt, the true lifetime learner with a   smartphone, avails himself of the innumerable learning  apps available through the Google or Apple stores.  Surely learning to type on a smartphone requires less effort than mastering Spanish as you believe you are capable of doing.

P.S.

I think the following refrain still holds;

You can't teach an old dog new tricks

vsimple wrote:

Spanish is difficult, but we're here, it's not like we're learning it in an English speaking country. It's all around us.

It's a beautiful language.

And I agree age is not an excuse.

Hey man, congratulations on your promotion.

Thanks Nards

How about starting a new thread about how expats are learning Spanish in Ecuador. I think it will be interesting to share perspectives.

vsimple wrote:

Thanks Nards

How about starting a new thread about how expats are learning Spanish in Ecuador. I think it will be interesting to share perspectives.

Way back in the early days I had created such a thread.  However,  it had no traction since I think very few expats in Cuenca are trying to learn Spanish (or maybe because few expats visit this forum).

Then, I eventually gave up learning Spanish( too old) and stopped posting on the thread.  But like you said, it is all around us here in Ecuador, so I am still learning it although it is not a conscious effort.

https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=184068

Nards Barley wrote:

CCCMEDIA, didn't you just tell me on another thread that you don't own a smartphone because you didn't grow up learning to type on a smartphone and that you are effectively too old to learn?

To me, there is no greater indication of who is a lifetime learner than those who adapt to new and useful technologies as they become affordable.  And without a doubt, the true lifetime learner with a smartphone, avails himself of the innumerable learning  apps available through the Google or Apple stores.  Surely learning to type on a smartphone requires less effort than mastering Spanish as you believe you are capable of doing.

The above rationale attributed to me (which I have highlighted in bold type) is a Trumpism -- contains a tiny nugget of true fact smothered in marmalade. 

In other words, I am not "too old" to learn to use a smart phone.  I choose not to own one for other reasons.

Nevertheless, I respect Nards’s right to choose the life he wants to create in Ecuador, regardless of how much smart phoning or how little spoken Spanish.

It’s possible Nards has been downplaying how much Spanish he has learned in the last four years.  He learned enough to gain Ecuadorian citizenship   .. no small feat.

cccmedia

Nards obtaining Ecuadorean citizenship is definitely a great feat, and I thought about that too. So I thought, “what is this guy talking about he’s too old to learn Spanish.” Then he posted a link to a thread he made a few years ago about how expats in Cuenca learn Spanish. And I read that excellent thread, and realized that Nard’s criteria of speaking well is equivalent to understanding a Spanish TV show completely. That’s fluency or close to it, and it’s a high bar to achieve.

Nards Barley wrote:

I saw this advertisement on Cuencahighlife today.

https://www.cuencahighlife.com/wp-conte … 1701112057

Once I clicked on it I was taken this page where you have testimony by a Cuenca resident about the effectiveness of the Synergy learning method.   Once you click on any of the buttons you are immediately taken to the Synergy Spanish web page.

It appears to me the person who published this ad on cuencahighlife is a reseller of the Synergy Spanish learning method.
.
Anway, I just thought this is sort of an interesting way to try and make some extra money without too much effort other than creating a personal testimony web page and then  publishing an ad on Cuencahighlife.

Of course my opinion is that you are probably too old to learn Spanish (well).

Age is certainly a factor in anyone's ability to learn anything.  I am 67 and my short term memory is not as good as it was when I was 60.  I have been clean and sober for 27 years, so there is no recent mind/mood altering substances involved, I even drink decaf.  At retirement there are lots of things I enjoy, including pleasure reading of the newspaper, novels, history etc.  Learning a language would cut into my pleasure reading time, plus would be more difficult to understand, remember and build on.  I expect that my mental abilities will decrease even more over time, so taking on a new language would be a big struggle.  My 62 year old sister, an A student in college, is taking a class in Italian in California, claims it is difficult to learn and 2/3 of the class quit within a few weeks.   Many spend a few years in Ecuador and then leave, I gotta think the language certainly makes a difference.  Your mileage may vary.

Learning language as a "mature" citizen is a process......certainly more difficult then when young, it is possible and most most definitely contributes to enjoying life here and allowing us freedom here.
Vaya con Dios

cccmedia wrote:

It’s possible Nards has been downplaying how much Spanish he has learned in the last four years.  He learned enough to gain Ecuadorian citizenship   .. no small feat.

cccmedia

Back in December I attended a holiday party at a house filled with expats. I met a gringo who I would say was 75 years old who told me he had started the citizenship process a year ago.  He said his reasoning for trying to  become a citizen at the time was because he was a dependent on his wife's visa and he was worried that if she passes away before him he would lose his right to be in Ecuador. ( although that was his reasoning a year ago, he has heard that immigration has eased its rules in these cases so he doesn't really care at this point whether he gets citizenship.)  He says he doesn't really understand why nothing has happened with his application and that already two different women who he had dealt with at immigration had come and gone.

He also told me that he had a facilitator help him with the process and that he doesn't speak a lick of Spanish.   I said that he must read a little Spanish otherwise he wouldn't have been able to pass the exam.  He said no, his facilitator provided him the complete set of questions and answers that could be on one of the various exams and that he missed a couple questions just to make it look good.

I have also read comments on some other sites by expats who say they become citizens without knowing a lick of Spanish.

62-year-old Dean Allen Yancey is in a North Carolina jail .. following two years on the lam from attempted-murder-by-gun charges, part of which time he lived in Cuenca, Ecuador.  A photo of the alleged shooter Yancey is currently on the welcome page of www.cuencahighlife.com ...

He was extradited from Ecuador, although it is unclear how law enforcement knew he was in Cuenca.

Yancey fled North Carolina before a trial in which he would have faced charges in connection with shots fired into his brother and sister-in-law’s North Carolina home.  Apparently, the shots barely missed hitting the couple.

Yancey did some volunteer work in Cuenca and was known to be friendly and a sharp poker player, according to a Cuenca acquaintance who knew him as “Chucky.”

Yancey’s hometown is listed as Connelly Springs, N.C.

Source:  Cuenca Highlife website.

Nards Barley wrote:

cccmedia wrote:

It’s possible Nards has been downplaying how much Spanish he has learned in the last four years.  He learned enough to gain Ecuadorian citizenship   .. no small feat.

cccmedia

I met a gringo who I would say was 75 years old who told me he had started the citizenship process a year ago.  He said his reasoning for trying to  become a citizen at the time was because he was a dependent on his wife's visa and he was worried that if she passes away before him he would lose his right to be in Ecuador. ( although that was his reasoning a year ago, he has heard that immigration has eased its rules in these cases so he doesn't really care at this point whether he gets citizenship.)

I love this story.  It's a classic Nards Barley anecdote.  So another thumbs up.

The septuagenarian Expat apparently needs ongoing residency, not necessarily citizenship.  Residency, of course, does not require knowledge of Spanish .. although a good facilitator or visa-attorney may be necessary.

In the event he lost his wife:  Ecuador is not in the business of tracking down and deporting elderly widowers who have the financial means to support themselves and have been law-abiding citizens for years married to an Ecuatoriana.

At some point, he may need an experienced attorney to ensure his continued ability to stay in Ecuador legally.

Thank you, Nards, for bringing this to our attention.

cccmedia

Explosive new allegations from a key ex-minister are threatening to de-stabilize the presidential race in Ecuador.

The election is in two weeks, on February 19, 2017.

Expat.com is not a site to discuss politics, so I will not attempt to summarize the article reporting on this development .. and I am not encouraging posters to weigh in with political commentary on expat.com ...

Nevertheless, this ‘February surprise’ is surely of interest to EC Expats and new arrivals.

The report is currently posted atop the welcome page of www.cuencahighlife.com

cccmedia

I observed something very odd today.  CuencaHighlife acknowledging at the bottom of this article that they had obtained permission to republish an article.  This may not be the first article where they have done this but then it is something recent. They normally just link to the article which always was an indication to me that they did not obtain authorization to reprint it, which may have been perfectly legal in Ecuador as far as I know.

Here is the exact quote:

This article originally appeared on Resource Generation and is republished here with permission.

So what gives? Why the change?

It's probably a copyright issue as some sources of news/media explicitly state that no part of their work may be republished without permission.

Getting an Ecuadorian passporte hasn't been a high priority since obtaining citizenship in late 2016 and still isn't, since I never go anywhere.

But at least I know where to go now if I need one: Registro Civil.

http://www.eltiempo.com.ec/noticias/cue … ina-matriz

While right now I can only go their office in El Centro, they will be expanding passport services to the new Registro Civil en la en las Avs. México y de las Américas.

Here is your new Registro Civil.

Tomorrow is Tax Day in the U.S.

Like a lot of expats in Cuenca,  I am too poor to pay income taxes, so who cares that it is tax day. I won't even bother to file a tax return.

The only reason I am thinking about it is because I file a FBAR report to report my investment account with Bank Pichincha each year and I had read on Gringo Post a couple months ago that it was now due on April 15th instead of June something.  Since the 15th fell on a Saturday, I figured I could file it today and still be on time.

So today I went to their websiteand read this:

to implement the statute with minimal burden to the public and FinCEN, FinCEN will grant filers failing to meet the FBAR annual due date of April 15 an automatic extension to October 15 each year. Accordingly, specific requests for this extension are not required.

Based on that, I can continue to procrastinate on submitting that form.  Assuming the form hasn't changed from last year,  I can just update last year's pdf file and submit it. It usually takes me less than 5 minutes.

This comment I left yesterday here I predict will be a gamebreaker for Cuenca expats.

It was posted after much research, the most important being this excerpt from Wikipedia.

Tomato purée is a thick liquid made by cooking and straining tomatoes.[1] The difference between tomato paste, tomato purée, and tomato sauce is consistency; tomato puree has a thicker consistency and a deeper flavour than sauce

Now, apparently they sell imported Hunts tomato sauce at the SuperMarket near Gringolandia,  but undoubtedly it costs an arm and a leg.