Hola! We're Deke Castleman and Shirlee Severs here in Reno, Nevada. Shirlee is a former teacher and long-time photographer, and I've been a travel editor and writer since 1981.
Over the course of my career, I’ve written for hippie-gypsy-backpacker types, adventurous Boomers on the loose, and potential expatriates and retirees abroad.
In my quest to find the right country for Shirlee and me, I’ve visited Argentina, Belize, the British Virgin Islands, France, Guatemala, Jamaica, Mexico, Monaco, Panama, the Philippines, and Uruguay.
And Ecuador. Within 30 minutes of arriving in the country for the first time in February 2010, I knew it was the place for me. It took Shirlee a little longer to recognize it, but I caught the vibe immediately. It’s a one-of-a-kind siren song and if you’re lucky enough in this life to hear it, you have no choice. You simply have to answer its call.
If you think Ecuador might be for you too, you've come to the right website. Click here First Two Weeks for our impressions of Ecuador on our initial exploratory trip. Then come along for our in-depth month-long follow-up investigation of Cuenca.
The plan is to move to Cuenca in February 2011, exactly a year after arriving there for the first time, when we'll start building out AccessEcuador in earnest, turning it into a prose and photo showcase for this one-of-a-kind destination.