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Published: March 26th 2011
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Hostel Nucapacha
Nice big bed, and pretty comfy. This entry is going to be about my experience arriving in Cuenca, but I am also going to be thorough about where I stayed and some travel tips. When I was researching Ecuador there was some information I really wanted, but was unable to find. I am hoping to give some information in order to make things easier for another traveler.
Wow, so getting here was actually terrible. Before I came I was really nervous about getting around in Ecuador once I got her. However, that was the easy part. The difficult part was getting here on plane. I guess you have to expect some difficulties and delays when traveling from continent to continent, but this was rediculous. In Portland, OR the plane was having mechanical difficulties, so I was unable to make any connecting flights. So instead of going from Portland to San Fran to New York to Ecuador. I ended up having to go from Porltland to Seattle to Miami (9 hour layover in Miami) then to Ecuador. Well, becuase it was the airlines fault that I missed my flight, they paid for me to get a hotel room in Miami during my 9 hour wait, and
Guayaquil
This was the view out of the back of my hostal in Guayaquil. also a meal voucher. Unfortunately, nothing worked. When I got to the hotel, there was no reservation (they told me this after I waited for 2 hours to get my room). When I tried to use the meal voucher it didn't work. So I had to go back to the airport and just wait for 6 hours. I was tired and really stinky by this point. Oh, and if this wasn't enough, the Miami airport had actually had an explosion that morning, so all flights were being delayed by 1-2 hours. So I ended up waiting another 2 hours in Miami, for a total of 11 hours. Probably won't be going back anytime soon.
Anyway, once I got to Ecuador, everything was a breeze. I grabbed the first taxi I saw getting out of the airport (probably not the best idea, but it worked out), and it took me to my hostal in Guayaquil. I stayed at Hostal Nucapacha ($15 dollars a night for a private bedroom with a shared bathroom). I was really impressed with how clean the hostal was and it was really empty. There was only myself and maybe 5 others staying there. The rooms are
Driving to Cuenca
This is some really dirty water and an island with homes on it in Guayaquil. really bare, but I didn't need anything but a bed, so I was happy. As for the shower, it was cold, but I was so happy that it was. It does not cool down at night in Guayaquil. Even after I got out of my cold shower, it only took about three minutes to start sweating again. When I woke up in the morning I went downstairs for a breakfast that they made for me when I got there and then I just sat by the pool until my taxi showed up. I took the taxi from my hostal to a van station. I decided to take the van instead of the bus because I heard a lot about luggage getting stolen from the bus. Besides, the van is air conditioned, it takes less time to get there and it only cost four dollars more than the bus. However, I don't know if I would suggest this if you get car sick. They drive fast and the road has a lot of turns. The van service I used was called Operazuaytur. They do have a website, but it does not help very much. It was $12 for the 3 hour
On the road
Just some scenery. ride to Cuenca. You have to go to their office in order to get a ride. They do not speak any English, but it was not really needed becuase all they do is go back and forth from Guayaquil to Cuenca. *Here is a tip for anyone who is traveling in an area where you do not speak the language. Write down the name of the company/hostal/company...etc and the address. This allowed me to simply point at the address instead of trying to struggle explaining where I wanted to go. I never would have made it to my location if I had not done this.
The drive was amazing. I will add pictures so that you can see what I mean. The entire drive has amazing views of banana farms, sugar cane farms, mountains, waterfalls, rolling hills and the beautiful Cajas National Park. The park it an amazing sight but is hard to explain. It is like rolling hills with waterfalls and pools of water everywhere. I have never seen anything like it, I am really excited to do some hiking. When we started to drive into Cuenca I was trying to take it all in. I did not
Waterfall!
I got really excited about this small one, but there are actually lots of waterfalls on the drive from Guayaquil to Cuenca. get any pictures, but I will later. On the edge of town the houses are pretty spaced apart, but as you drive further in everything gets closer together. By the time you are in downtown, there are no gaps between buildings, everything touches. The downtown really is as pretty as they say. The cobblestone streets and the architecture of the buildings are really pretty.
So getting into Cuenca, the van drops you off at their office and there are several taxis waiting there to take you where you want to go. Again, I took the first one that approached me. This taxi driver was super nice and he even spoke some English. Without even asking he brought my bags into the hostal and starting asking all the employees if they spoke English so they could help me. My first impression of my hostal (Hostal Macondo, $19 a night for a private room and shared bathroom) was wow! You walk in and there is a court yard inside, there are also several green areas throughout the place. My room has a bed and some furniture, again, it doesn't really matter to me. I will only be at this one for
Cajas National Park
This is an example of one of the pools in the park. The picture would have been perfect if that dang truck wouldn't have shown up. a few days.
Anyway, I dropped off my stuff and immediately took off. I started walking through town looking for my school and looking for the building (another part of my school) that I was suppose to go to find an apartment. Well, I couldn't find either of them. Well, that is not entirely true. I found the addresses just fine, but they were no longer buildings from my school. When I got back to the hostal and got on the internet I found out that the school has changed their location. I then found out that I had gotten the addresses from an old flyer for the school. Oh well, it was still a good opportunity to check out the city. I found out that people walk everywhere in Cuenca. The sidewalks are always full, not New York full, but there are a lot of people. I also found out that it really can go from nice out to rainy in about 30 seconds. I actually found a place that has weather that is more unpredicatable than Oregon's. As for finding my way around.... There are no street signs, but there are tiles on the sides of buildings
Hostal Macondo
My bed and my junk. that say the name of the street. They are a really cute touch to the town, but they are not on every corner, so sometimes you have to walk an extra block to find out where you are. I went into a Supermarket to buy some food, and I discovered that supermarkets are the size of convenient stores here. In fact, besides the meat and produce all I could find was junk food. I ended up buying some tuna, crackers and some juice for dinner. It is not really a meal, but I am sick of eating out.
Tomorrow I plan on getting up, eating some breakfast and then trying to find my school. I really hope that there is someone there that can help me find an apartment. If not, maybe I will walk around town a little more.
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Paul V
non-member comment
Cool story!
Amanda, great story, fun to read and I am very glad you made it down to your new town successfully. I hope you have good luck finding a nice place to live and remember to be patient, some things are going to take longer then you think they should. Take care of yourself Paul