http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Ecuador/South/Cuenca/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from South America , Ecuador , South , Cuenca en-us Mon, 07 Dec 09 01:31:18 +0000 Mon, 07 Dec 09 01:31:18 +0000 Entre Baos et la frontire pruvienne nous ne savions pas trop o nous arret.. Aprs avoir tudis la carte nous avons dcid de faire un arret Riobamba et Cuenca.Le seul attrait pour nous Riobamba c'tait sa proximit avec le parc national de Chimborazo 6310m montagne la plus hate d'Equateur. Nous voulions faire une excursion dans le parc et peut etre meme mont jusqu'au glacier. Un c http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Ecuador/South/Cuenca/blog-457964.html We were up at 7am for breakfast at 730 for our car ride at 8. Breakfast was uneventful and the taxi came by at around 815. We hopped in the car and made the long trip across the island to Baltra. On the way I told my mom I was going to pull a local no gracias when it came to paying the ferry guy 80 cents...she saw it done on her ride last week so now I am going to try it. We made it to the fer http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Ecuador/South/Cuenca/blog-456396.html After a quick breakfast I took a taxi and asked to be dropped off at Puente San Felipe where apparently I can catch a bus at the Pan American highway to Cuenca. I was there at nearly 830am and waited for a good hour Such luck When I paid the 8 fare the bus conductor tried to stiff me I gave him a 20 and gave me 2 change and quickly moved on to another passenger I wasn't born yesterday I am http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Ecuador/South/Cuenca/blog-449323.html So after Banos we took the bus down to Cuenca...officially the worst bus ride yet. The farmers are still striking over plans to privatise water so buses are avoiding certain parts of the country. This means that getting enywhere involves long complex routes scaling mountainsides. This would have been fine if the ecuadorians were skilled road builders. Unfortunately they are not. Even more unfortun http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Ecuador/South/Cuenca/blog-443606.html Baos is a cool little town where we went white water rafting on Grade IIIIV rapids very fun and went in the hot springs in the evening to relax. There were 3 pools cold hot and hotter. The hot pool was like a hot bath and the hotter pool was really hot. Too hot to sit in for more than a few mins But for only 2 a fun experience. We went out for a drink and dance with Fernando that night http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Ecuador/South/Cuenca/blog-443097.html Next stop on our trip down the Andes was Cuenca lying in the Southern Highlands we had decided to skip the train ride 'the devils nose' in Riobamba. The last I had heard was that you were no longer able to ride on the roof which was the main drawcard. From what I have read on other peoples travelblogs it seems that a couple of Japanese tourists were decapitated a couple of years ago more recent http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Ecuador/South/Cuenca/blog-442002.html Warning This may be a yawner for those not curious about how much it might cost to live in Cuenca. Do not read while driving. On the other hand...We have this compulsion to look at almost every interesting place we go with the question Could we live here Sometimes that question is answered at first glance as in yuk argh no way. Other times mdash like with Vilcabamba or Cotacachi or C http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Ecuador/South/Cuenca/blog-441538.html Yes Cuenca has some great nightlife. Unfortunately most of it has passed us by...We missed a jazz concert and haven't heard or read about any symphonic performances. We were also prevented from enjoying a sixplay theater festival due to our language handicap. That kind of cultural involvement requiring a fluent understanding of the language is light years away. Right now we'd be happy just http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Ecuador/South/Cuenca/blog-440857.html When your city mouse self needs a country mouse fix that's no problem in Cuenca. Just hop on a bus and in just a few minutes you're out of town. South is a great direction to go in because in less than an hour you'll be in the Yunguilla Valley an eastwest stretch of Andean majesty that reaches all the way to the coast. The Yunguilla Valley is a great alternative to Vilcabamba for those who wa http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Ecuador/South/Cuenca/blog-440138.html Cuenca's a great town to get lost in. That's just what we did the other day when we played let's hop on a bus and see where it goes aka bus roulette. Buses cost 25cents and go almost everywhere so it's a great way to see places you'd never see otherwise. On this junket we passed through the industrial section around town and up into the mountains. Since we had no idea where we were or h http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Ecuador/South/Cuenca/blog-439511.html There is something quite disconcerting about approaching a guard at the door of a bank a guard wielding a very serious looking shotgun and a face that says ldquojust give me an excuse thatrsquos all I needrdquo. All that I wanted to know was whether the bank had an ATM but felt like he might shoot me or something if my Spanish wasnrsquot good enough and he happened to misinterpret my wo http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Ecuador/South/Cuenca/blog-438873.html One of the great things about Cuenca is that you can drink the water Right from the tap. It tastes terrific... with no worries about a crummy tummy they say. Hallelujah The water we locals drink comes from some 200 glacial lakes in the nearby Cajas National Park. It doesn't get any better than that. After wandering around Mexico and Central and South America and buying bottled water eve http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Ecuador/South/Cuenca/blog-438345.html We're now in Cuenca where the architecture is amazing As far as the cities go this is definately my favourite in Ecuador. It is so pretty for a city anyway You can really see the Spanish influence here. The buildings are so intricate and all have quant little balconies overlooking the fairly narrow streets. We've only got two nights here so we havn't seen a great deal but today we took a tri http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Ecuador/South/Cuenca/blog-438328.html Chordeleg plaza 1pm. I spied a girl I met a few days and 200 miles ago sitting in the square. She had no plans to go to Cuenca let alone this offshoot village as far as I was aware yet there she was nonetheless buried in her South America on a shoestring guide. Everyone I've met so far on my travels seems to have that guide it's a kind of bible in these parts.We had originally spent the http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Ecuador/South/Cuenca/blog-438303.html I had read about the pretty modern intercity buses that serve South America before we embarked upon this trip. Unlike the local buses they have toilets air conditioning comfortable seats and all the things you'd expect. Our's didn't.It was fairly small around 50 years old I would guess and everywhere you looked it was worn from years of abuse. Still we had a seat and that was nice. We also http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Ecuador/South/Cuenca/blog-438024.html Hey people walk a lot faster in Cuenca than they do in Vilcabamba And they wear suits and ties and 4inch heels. Funny the things you notice fresh off the bus. With our village stroll and our gringo jeans and running shoes we felt like the alien creatures we are in this sophisticated city of half a million.But it hasn't taken long for us to appreciate this Andean treasure named a World Cu http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Ecuador/South/Cuenca/blog-437683.html .....so it is Friday 4th of September and we have been here for 8 days over the last couple of days not too much has happened we travelled yesterday for around 9 hours on a coach from Banos to Cuenca...Cuenca is the 3rd largest city in Ecuador and has a lot of historical buildings and pretty churches. We walked around tody had a look at the town Some of the buildings reminded me of being in Par http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Ecuador/South/Cuenca/blog-433902.html SCROLL DOWN FOR ENGLISH.Bon je suis en beau joilevert et j'en ai plein le casque des internets qui ne marchent pas bien en amerique du sud donc cette foisci vous n'avez pas le droit a une explication. Juste des photos. En gros j'avais presque fini mon blog pi il s'est eteint et j'ai tout perdu. Essentiel1. Cuenca2. Vilcabamba3. 28 heures de bus pour arriver a Lima4. LimaJe m'amuse full gros http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Ecuador/South/Cuenca/blog-425730.html Highlights Just one night here.....on the way to Guayaquil Ecuadors biggest city A city of beautiful colonial buildings cobblestone streets beautiful and clean ....our favourite city......compares to the old town of Quito but in our view much nicer well looked after and cleaner The quest for the holy grail.....somewhere that served anything vegetarian took us to the four corners of Cuen http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Ecuador/South/Cuenca/blog-424018.html Ultimi giorni in Ecuador trascorsi nella sua citt pi bella e vivibile Cuenca... l'antica Tomebamba incaica.Ingapirca i pi importanti resti inca e pre.inca caari del paese... Cajas brughiera laghi montagna oltre 4000 m. .... e tanta tanta pioggia.Maana Per http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Ecuador/South/Cuenca/blog-414571.html