I woke up 'early' to cook breakfast and prepare for my trip to Cuenca. I Stayed out last night until 3am partying at a Algún karaoke dance bar close to my home with some friends. It was a fun night. Entrance fee on Saturdays was $20US, but it included ALL U CAN DRINK DRINKS. So after downing a few Cuba libres and a few beers for desert, I was feeling really goood. My friends really love to sing and just let loose. They deserve it after working 8-10 hour days!
Graciela, being the mom she is, gave me a balon de verde for my trip. Balon is a typical Ecuadorian dish made with green plantain (bananas), cheese, and meat (like pork) and fried until crispy. It's delicious!
To get to Cuenca or any other neighboring city, you have a few options. You can obviously rent a car but you can also take a bus (similar yo Greyhound buses in North America) or as I did you can take a shared taxi. The shared taxi is like a minivan on steroids and you can fit 14 or 15 passengers inside. This is considered the safer alternative to travel between cities because theft and robberies are rampant on buses. The cost for the private taxi was $12US and they leave every hour from 4 am until the evening (6 or 7pm think).
The ride to Cuenca was a short 3 hour and 20 minute ride. We passed some pretty old towns and I noticed we were gaining elevation into the mountains and forests as the rain started to come down heavily during a part of the trip. The outskirts of Cuenca was breathtaking as the blue skies welcomed us as the countryside glimmered with natural beauty. There is a famous national park called El Cajas National Park and I heard it is amazing to be able to see Cuenca in its natural beauty. I won't have time to go here unfortunately, but it was a highly recommended place to visit. Entering into Cuenca, I immediately noticed that many building were made of red brick. I later found out that this is the reason Cuenca is also know as the red city.
Cuenca
Cuenca is a small city with 1.1 million people and 500,00 residents living in the city. I had to take a taxi to my hostal which was about 10 minutes by car which cost me $2.50US. The city is old. I mean really old with heritage buildings that have lasted for hundreds of years. Downtown is unbelievable to see with cobblestone streets and its Spanish (and other European counties) influence. You cannot miss the churches.. some standing taller than other surrounding buildings.
My hostal was located right in the middle of downtown. As I checked in, I met some of the inhabitants. Mostly retired Americans having plans to get their visas and retire here. By the time i traded stories and settled in to my room, it was already 7 or 8pm, and I decided to walk around the city and find some food. Unfortunately, most of the restaurants were closed but I found a street vendor cooking and selling BBQ pork, beef, and chicken on skewering sticks. Ahh,reminds me of home (my Phils home that is). As I was walking and eating, I noticed a cute street dog following me so I gave him a bit of my food. He must have followed me around for more than 10 blocks which was funny.
The front door of the old cathedral.
The churches at night look amazing and I wondered what they would look like in the day. I also noticed that everyone was eating ice cream.This isn't necessarily odd but the weather in Cuenca at night drops as low as 9C and this night seemed to be pretty close to that. Tomorrow I will try some ice cream (or whatever it is). Good night, Cuenca!
No comments:
Post a Comment