We enjoyed our time in Cuenca, Ecuador and think that if we are ever back that way would like to spend some time there getting to know the city better.
We stayed here a couple of days, sandwiched between a 10 hour bus ride from Quito and a 5.5 hour ride to Loja. The gang looks in pretty good spirits, having a little breakfast before starting our day.
Breakfast in Cuenca Ecuador
The central part of Cuenca, where we spent the nights, is made of colonial architecture. There are some very beautiful buildings and many that are in need of repair. The hostel we stayed at was one of those buildings, and the owners took a run down place and completely refurbished.
Cuenca Architecture
This is a shot from the front door of our hostal looking down the street…pretty nice!
Streets of Cuenca, Ecuador
Here is a good shot of the girls posing for a picture in Cuenca, end of January 2009.
Gigi and Gina in Cuenca
One of our favorite finds was a very good Mexican Food restaurant in Cuenca. It had been a LONG time since we had any good mexican food, we tried a place in Otavalo one day and ended up taking a couple of bites of 3 meals and leaving the rest…it was awful.
The food in Ecuador is generally pretty bland and I would not characterize it as a country with a great culinary tradition. So, we were hopeful but a little apprehensive when we heard about this restaurant. Well it did not disappoint…
I would guess it is one of the top Mexican restaurants in Ecuador, and I would give it a 4/5 on a global scale. Might sound like a failure, but after not having any tasty food like this for 6 months…it was pretty darn good!
Cuenca, Ecuador Mexican Food Restaurant
Killing some time waiting for our food. We purchased a new, small, portable camera before we left Cotacachi so that we would not have to did out my D60 every time. Grandma’s, et al, will be able to see a few more pictures of Gina and the kids…and a few less of another mountain.
Gina and Gigi - Cuenca, Ecuador
Even the boys got into the action…very rare!
Grant and Sean - Cuenca, Ecuador
When we found out at the Colombian border that we only had a week to get out of the country, we headed straight to Cotacachi to grab our stuff. We had one day to pack, take care of loose ends, say goodbyes, and wash our clothes. Most of the time our laundry was air dried, but we needed to find a machine dryer if we wanted to travel with clean clothes.
Our friend Monica told us she had a dryer, and then proceeded to have her family wash and dry our clothes for us. I don’t know how many loads they did, but it was a lot. What an incredibly nice and generous thing to do, and it allowed us to focus on the many other tasks we needed to get done.
Here is a picture of Monica and her daughter on our last in our apartment. Gigi is having fun with the camera, and we are all enjoying each others company for the last time. This will be one of those photos that we look back at fondly when this experience is only a memory. I think the laundry was finally finished around 10pm…it was a long, busy day!
Monica in Cotacachi Apartment
Until next time, peace…
by Sean
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