living spaces
were retired, it would be a place to call
home when they weren’t traveling. They
were not exactly sure where they wanted
to locate it, but knew that Ecuador was
high on the potential list because the
official currency is the US Dollar. They
hired Carlos Machuca as their guide
and interpreter, and he drove them all
over
Ecuador,
including
Cotacatchi,
Otavalo, Quito and eventually arriving
in their ultimate target, Cuenca. A local
real estate agent showed them many
properties for sale over the next week,
but none of them resonated with Dorie.
On the very last day, when they were
scheduled to fly home, the real estate
agent called and said she had one more
listing that had just come on the market
the night before, and she wanted them
to see it before they left. It was a large
home that had fallen into ruin over time
and had been standing empty for the
past twenty years with no roof. Dorie
could see the potential, even through the
rubble.
The house was originally built for
Monsignor
Manuel
Serrano
Abad,
Bishop of Cuenca, as well as the city’s
first archbishop when the ecclesiastical
region gained the status of archdiocese
by his brother Dr. Belisario Serrano Abad,
who built his own residence next door.
La Casa de Monseñor
By Sherry Johnson
Photos By Ulises Narvaez
I
The 150-year-old house on Juan Jaramillo
is situated in El Centro, Cuenca’s historic
district. Only three blocks from the city’s
iconic cathedral and Parque Calderon,
the city’s central plaza, it is surrounded
love walking along the sidewalk in
Cuenca and passing a street door
that has been left open. Oftentimes,
I glimpse a beautiful courtyard or
We met Dorie & Bob in the Sunrise Café
by museums and restaurants. It is only
one day while having lunch. They heard
five blocks from the new light rail system
us talking about the magazine, and
currently under construction and due to
introduced themselves. When we heard
be completed in 2016.
garden hiding behind a plain ordinary
their story, we knew it would be the
“I loved the house the first time I saw it,”
door. You can walk by something every
perfect house to spotlight in one of the
said Dorie. They purchased the property
day and not even know it’s there. There
first issues of Cuenca Expats Magazine.
in April 2010.
are many hidden treasures in Cuenca
In 2009, Dorie Deal and Bob Hoerster
behind these street doors and our hope
They hired Carlos as their general
were in the market for a property that
contractor, and he managed the subs and
is to bring them to light in the pages of
they could turn into a boutique Bed &
interpreted for them with the architects
the magazine each month.
Wine with their children. Although they
and workers. Throughout the process of
page 16 | cuenca expats magazine