Advertisement
Published: November 18th 2007
Edit Blog Post
Cuenca
The New Cathedral I arrived in Cuenca on the 4th November (a day after the Independence party). I left on the 8th for Baños. Journey details:
Origen/Destination... Loja - Cuenca / Cuenca - Baños
Mode of transport... Coach
Company... Viajeros & Sucre Express
Cost.... $4 & $7
Duration... 5 Hours & 8 Hours
Remarks... the trip from Cuenca to Baños was fine. I had to change at Ambato but this wasn't a problem. The first trip from Loja really wasn't fun though... in true South America style the bus was packed beyond capacity and I had the pleasure of some fat guy's ass in my face for the majority of 5 hours. Pleasant.
When I arrived in Cuenca it was dark and raining... the worst possible conditions to arrive in a city that you've never been to before. I asked the taxi driver to take me to my hostal (Hostal Norte) up by the market area. He dropped me off at the Plaza and pointed to my hostal. I entered and told them that I had made a reservation, which they didn't have. Assuming I had the wrong hostal I took a stroll around the plaza at which point an old local
Cuenca
Parque Nacional Cajas woman told me not to walk around as there are a lot of thieves in the area. So I went back to the original place which turned out to be the correct one... they just hadn't written down my reservation. The experience didn't fill me with a whole load of confidence in the area that I was to remain for the next few days. I got my own room for $5 dolars a night though, so I guess I can't complain too much.
I spent the first and last day in Cuenca just chillin out enjoying the city. Sandwiched between these days I decided to go on an expedition to the beautiful Parque Nacional Cajas... 30 Km west of Cuenca. I liked everything about Cuenca... it's such a pretty city that has plenty of colonial architecture mixed with funky little cafés and resturants. I also liked the central plaza, which for once wasn't called "Plaza de Armas" but "Parque Calderon". The New Cathedral that stands up on the western side was quite impressive. One thing I did notice about the city though was the presence of SO many security guards with guns... and not just small guns, but big
Cuenca
Parque Nacional Cajas "don't-mess-with-me-or-I'll-pump-you-full-of-lead" shotguns. Outside every bank and every casa de cambio there would be a guard brandishing a rifle and not making the slightest effort to conceal it subtly. I've noticed this a lot since I left Cuenca... even in McDonald's there are guards with guns... anyone who's thinking of stealing a Big Mac with cheese oughta think again.
I did a bit of price comparing on tours to Parque Cajas... but it turned out that $35 is the standard price no matter where you go. So I decided to book a tour with a company called Expediciones Apullacta. $35 definitely wasn't cheap especially considering that the $10 entrance fee to the park wasn't even included. For the money I paid I got private transport, lunch and a guide (Javier). Although it wasn't cheap (and with the benefit of hindsight it would have been easy to go it alone), I still feel it was worth paying more and having a guide... who for once turned out to be really really good. It was refreshing to see a guide that hadn't grown bored of what he was doing but had real enthusiasm for his work and he was more than happy
Baños
One of the waterfalls on the way to Puyo to explain everything to us about the park. His real passion was bird watchin, and we could barely walk for more than a few minutes before he stopped us to wax eloquent about the bird passing us by in the sky. He was a nice guy, and he really helped add to the experience. As for the park itself... the scenery was pretty stunning, though it was a slight shame that the day was quite ovecast.
So after Cuenca I was off to Baños... named, well, because it has famous baños I guess. I arrived there last Thursday and only stayed until Saturday. It wasn't long, but it was still long enough to rent a bike, see some waterfalls and bump into an old friend that I thought I'd got rid off in Cuzco! I rented a bike on Friday (Deporturis - $6 for the day) and left Baños down the road that connects the town to Puyo... 60 Km away. The cycle was great fun, and as described in "Shoestring" it's pretty much all down hill (Baños being much higher than Puyo) meaning much of the time I could just let gravity run it's course. The company that
Baños
Pailón del Diablo waterfall... 20Km from Baños rented the bike gave me all the proper equipment and a map which highlighted all the waterfalls along the road right up to El Pailón del Diablo... the best and most impressive waterfall 20Km away from Baños. Some of the waterfalls along the way were impressive but this one was the highlight. After about 20 minutes cycling I met a well-travelled Australian guy called Gary, and we decided to continue along the road, in the end stopping about 30 Km away from Puyo and hitchhiking our way back to Baños... there wasn't anyway we were gonna cycle back! The ride was really good fun, and it made for the perfect day activity in Baños. I later thought about soaking my aching muscles in the Piscina de la Virgen, but looking at the crowds I decided it would have been a far more stressful experience than a relaxing one (too many screaming kids and parents who couldn't be arsed controlling them). I felt that Baños had a nice little charm about it, and I'll be happy when I go back there next weekend before starting work in the Amazon.
At the time of writing I'm one week in to my
Baños
The weekend crowds at la Piscina de la Virgen volunteer project at Santa Martha Rescue Centre (just south of Quito), and so far I've managed to avoid being eaten by a lion. All is well.
Suerte
Cuenca & Baños photos can be seen here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/14643121@N05/
Advertisement
Tot: 0.084s; Tpl: 0.01s; cc: 10; qc: 46; dbt: 0.0586s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb