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Ecuador

February 6, 2020 | Stories From The Road

Evening of blues in South America

My wife, Char, and I were pleasantly surprised recently when we squeezed into the Inca Lounge & Bistro's tiny venue above Cuenca's Tomebamba River to listen to a couple of Canadian blues musicians. Canadians Peter Nolan (left) and Joe Brett entertained a tightly-packed crowd at the Inca Lounge & Bistro in Cuenca, Ecuador, with some blues. The two entertainers put on an impromptu show after meeting for the first ... Read More

Filed Under: Stories From The Road

January 27, 2020 | Happening Now

Ecuadorian Potpourri

A roasting pig is a common site in the villages of Ecuador. Oftentimes as we drive through a community, we will see several restaurants displaying their menu in this fashion. This particular restaurant was someplace between Cuenca and our destination, Cańar. Some of our group bought a snack. As I had eaten breakfast prior to leaving on our excursion, I had to pass this opportunity for some freshly roasted pork. On a ... Read More

Filed Under: Happening Now

January 14, 2020 | Stories From The Road

Gasping for air: The challenge of adapting to life in the Andes

CUENCA, Ecuador — By the time we had walked the half block to the corner from our building gate and up the slight grade of the next block, I could already feel my lungs calling for oxygen. "I can feel it already," I called back to my wife, Char, as we tread single file along the narrow, uneven, chipped-paver sidewalk of Hermano Miguel. "The altitude. I can feel it already." "So can I," Char called back. This long ... Read More

Filed Under: Stories From The Road

January 7, 2020 | Happening Now, Stories From The Road

We’re headed south for winter in the Andes

The Ñucallacta Café is a delightful, and popular, eating establishment in Cuenca. There are two restaurants, one more or less on either end of the El Centro (center) district, where we stay. This particular location is in the same building as our apartment, and we received a $10 courtesy voucher, which paid for the huevos rancheros and cappuccinos Char and I enjoyed on our first morning in the city. Ñucallacta also roasts ... Read More

Filed Under: Happening Now, Stories From The Road

January 27, 2019 | Happening Now

More observations from Cuenca

Cuenca is very conducive to exploring on foot, especially the historical central city. It's laid out in a grid, which makes it easy to find your way. It is a city of 400,000 people, with 700,000 inhabitants in the larger metropolitan area. The temperatures, on average, hang between 50° and 70° year round. The city is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site because of its many historical buildings. (Note: Char is ... Read More

Filed Under: Happening Now

January 21, 2019 | Happening Now

Starting to feel at home away from home

After our trip to the grocery store, Char cooked up a pot of lentil soup. This is part of our easy-meal-on-demand strategy. It keeps for days in the fridge and provides an easy answer to the most common question of all marriages: What's for dinner? The aroma of lentil soup fills the apartment this afternoon as it drifts toward the open window overlooking the courtyard. A trip to the grocery store refreshed our ... Read More

Filed Under: Happening Now

January 15, 2019 | Happening Now

Exploring El Centro

Two university students, Kevin (left) and Alexis, stopped us on the street for a class assignment. Kevin struggled to ask us questions in English while Alexis served as videographer. We took a walk this afternoon along the Tomebamba River on our way through the central city to the Panama Hat Museum (Museo Del Sombrero) and factory. Along the way, we provided an interview for a couple of university students who must ... Read More

Filed Under: Happening Now

January 13, 2019 | Happening Now

Moving in and getting settled

Traveling is a lot of work. Listening to stories of travelers often evokes a kind of glamour, but the truth is, the act of traveling can be rather tedious. The process of moving your body and your belongings thousands of miles requires quite some energy and is tiresome. As it turns out, our trip to Ecuador transpired about as smoothly as a journey can. We were en route for 22 hours from our house to our new digs in ... Read More

Filed Under: Happening Now

January 11, 2019 | Happening Now

Enroute to Ecuador

We have set off to Ecuador for the winter. Just now we are in Atlanta. So far, things have gone smoothly (that comment is probably the kiss of death). We left the house at 10 a.m. and by 10:40 we had checked in, checked our bags (all automated now--only a few Delta attendants hanging around to guide you through the process), and gone through TSA security, which today was as good as it has ever been (TSA employees did not ... Read More

Filed Under: Happening Now

About BoomerTrekker

When you travel, only one of two things can happen: something good or something bad; either way, you have a story to tell.

Boomertrekker.com is the cave wall on which I try to etch the stories and pictures of my travel experiences. You will find stories of setting out to go one place, but arriving at another; of finding, quite by accident, experiences that I could not have anticipated; of meeting and becoming friends with people whose language I cannot speak. Sometimes you will find me paralyzed and out of my comfort zone, as I was in Cambodia when I regretfully let pass my opportunity to eat a cricket. At other times, I hope you marvel, as I have, at the intelligence and ingenuity and inventiveness of ancient peoples everywhere. These are the stories I tell here. They are the stories of my travels to foreign lands in which I am the foreigner. Read More

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Recent Comments

  • Claudine on We’re headed south for winter in the Andes

    Glad you have arrived safely and are settled in. The Farmer's Market looks luscious. And the weath......

  • Andrea on We’re headed south for winter in the Andes

    I'm so happy for both of you.. continue enjoying Cuenca!! :) xoxo...

  • Jeanine Ryan on We’re headed south for winter in the Andes

    Thanks for taking me along! I look forward to reading more!...

  • Judy Horsnell on We’re headed south for winter in the Andes

    Joe, enjoy your escape to that beautiful area of the world; really, you are not missing anything bac......

  • Marsha on We’re headed south for winter in the Andes

    So happy you are able to get away from the cold and be in such a neat place. Looking forward to foll......

BoomerTrekker

Joseph Koppi is a freelance travel writer with over 40 years of writing and communications experience in both the media and corporate arenas. He currently treks around the world, writing about his adventures in foreign lands and with the amazing people he encounters. Read More

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