Dave Ward

This morning I got up early and was picked up by our friend Don to go and help out at the Place of Hope.  This is a volunteer organization that helps feed the poorest of the poor in Cotacachi.  Each…

We ventured out from Cotacachi today to look for the bank that, according to the CIBC website, we could use to set up an account and direct transfer money from CIBC in Canada to Ecuador without fees.  Our lack of…

Today, Giselle and I went for a long walk around many of the streets in Cotacachi in search of murals and beautifully painted doors.  This is a bit of what we found. There was an artist who went around and…

After a delicious breakfast at Subs Station, Cotacachi, we were picked up by our friend Don and headed out towards Otavalo for a drive up the mountainside to friend Jeanine’s small farm. The road up to the farm is paved,…

Way back in December of 2020, a local expat (Urku Deborah May) who is intimately involved with the local Indigenous community, posted a request to help a young boy with getting his first ‘Zamorros’ – a celebratory pair of chaps –…

Once we got settled in to our apartment, we needed to go to the market for some groceries.  There are two basic grocery stores that we know of here in Cotacachi – TIA Supermarket, and Monica’s Supermercado.  Both are located…

Day one of our trip consisted of our friend and great driver, Guillermo Buitron, picking us up at the Hotel Alpachaca.  He arrived precisely at 10:00, as arranged.  Guillermo comes with very high recommendations from the locals in Cotacachi.  He…

Well, here we are, back in our favourite little town in paradise!  It feels so good to come back, renew old friendships, check out what has changed, what is new, what is gone…. Here is what we had to do…