Seán Keenan

Recently, I took a trip along the coast between Manta and Salinas. The object of the trip wasn’t to focus my attention on the big cities—but to take a good look at what lies between them.

Mark, 62, and Bonnie, 60, recently filled their outdoor pool and Jacuzzi for the first time, and although there are still a few small touches to be made to the paving and planting, it’s already a luxurious place to lounge away an afternoon in the Ecuadorian sunshine.

Renovation and renewal are words that often come up when writing about Ecuador—the country seems to have that effect on expats—but in the case of Dona and Larry Dees, it’s a definite theme. First, their adopted hometown of Ballenita on the ocean-scoured sands of the Pacific has recently put the finishing touches on an ambitious redesign and renovation project.