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Published: November 8th 2009
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 8:30am 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 aware of the "oh i did not notice how much bill you gave me " trick, I pursued him till i got the $10 from him. The trip will last nearly 9 hours with numerous stops, to Ambato, Riobamba, Alausi and some small towns, a few gringos got on along the way including 3 loud American missionary dudes who got off at Azogues.
Posada del Rio II is the place where I will be staying. Booked it before we went to Quilotoa as there will be fiesta over the weekend, took me ages to find a room and was lucky to book this one. I am in a 2 bed room, apparently the dorm is full, but I
dont really see any people at the moment, this place is nice, with creaky floor but very tidy and neat and my room is ample. They have free internet and wifi. You can use the kitchen too. I forgot to ask how much was the room for to be sure, since I am in a 2 bed room, i am hoping I will still be paying the single bed price. It was 7pm and am starving so went for a walk but had a difficult time finding a cheap place to eat, there is a dj playing at one street next to a church, good music, few people as of yet but i can tell it will get busy, it is also next to a bar.
Found a corner eatery, the senora invited me in and got served some fried cerdo or carne I havent a clue what it is but it tastes good, accompanied by the usual papas and of course a grande Pilsener beer. While eating the tv was on, it is also their living room, and the kids were watching the Simpsons in Spanish of course, I was laughing with them, i guess i can understand
a lot. Checked out the dj concert near the church, then headed back to the hostel, quite tired after a long bus ride from Latacunga.
Dropped off my laundry at the place just across the street from the hostel, very cheap laundry. then i again struggled to find a place to have breakfast, walked around town around 9am and the city is just coming alive, people slowly opening their establishments. I found one near my hostel, a meager American breakfast for $1.50. I asked the senora if there is a supermercado nearby, she pointed me to it and lo and behold it was a huge one! mercado 10 de Agosto, it's bustling with people selling anywhere from flowers to veggies, to carnes and also there is a restaurant section on the 2nd floor and found lechon!(roasted pig) they love their pigs here, and i had a second breakfast for $2. After that i walked around sightseeing, found a fe churches and the flower market and of course the huge ass Cuenca Catedral, i think this is the best church I have ever seen, it is massive and is quite impressive inside and out. There is a parade happening as
well, kids from school dressed up in costumes, dancing etc. Quite lively and colorful, had a great time watching it but it was quite a long parade, i got bored quickly, i loved the float where these kids were pretending to be roasting cuy(guinea pig) and they have the real stuff too! the kids are so cute1 then the high schoolers came along at the tail of the parade, not as entertaining but still interesting. I found the church San Blas as i walked down towards the end of the parade, took some fotos then went back to the mercado to buy lunch of what else, lechon again, this time from another stall.
Bought some fresh fruits as well, grenadillas(maracuja)and sweet mandarins, very cheap only $1 each bagful. Got back to the hostel to take a nap. in the afternoon it started to drizzle and dark clouds loom over the city. I found a travel agency and inquired about trips to El Cajas Nacional park. They are charging $40 for a day trip, I could do it on my own and will be way cheaper but will not get far, i wanted to see the highlights of the park
and you have the benefit of a guide as well so I signed up for it. Picked up my laundry, and while internetting, one of the owners of the hostel asked me if i dont mind sharing my room with another dude, i said yes, knowing it is quite difficult to find places to stay here at this time because of the festivities, besides will save me a few bucks.
Booked a day trip to Parque Nacional El Cajas, $40! quite expensive but lunch is included, we'll see.. We have to pay an additional $10 entrance. I was with 2 couples, a young Brit/Aussie couple and and elderly American couple, both seem to be nice, the Americans as usual are very talkative, and everytime the guide points something the American dude will say"I have never seen anything like it ever", I heard it way too much i wanted to shut him up.He was like a broken record, or a parrot, the guide one time wasnt even done explaining something yet and he started with his I've never seen "crap, epistle we all looked at each other trying to hold back laughter. Anyway, we started at the lowest point of
the park walking to a nice path we seen the vegetation typical of the area then to the viewpoint at Tres Cruces, the highest point, then we did the walk, supposedly a 3 hour hike but we have to change trails as the Americans were quite slow and we'll take ages to finish the hike, at this point i did not care anymore, just wanted the day to be over. we did a 45 minute hike, the scenery is still stunning but the weather not so good, very windy and overcast.
Lunch is at this touristic restaurant/trout farm, we had of course trout for lunch. The place is crowded, and trouts swim along the creeks around the area. After this we got back to town, the Brit/Aussie couple got dropped off at the plaza they leave tonight for Peru, they were kind enough to provide me with info (bus sched) I need to make my crossing at a later time. Supposed to meet them at a bar called Eucalyptus but could not find it in the map. I went out for dinner with JoseLo, my Spanish roommate to a Tapas Spanish restaurant, a bit pricey but am longing for
some good tapas, the owner is from Basque country as well like JoseLo so we got a bit of a special treatment, we had tortilla and jamon serrano, and a half bottle of good red wine from Chile. Then went for a walk and check out what is happening in town the fieats mood is already going, there is a bar next to a church i cant remember the name we sat there for a few drinks and we got free booze from people handing out shot on a test tube. People on the streets, lot of drunk.
The next day Sunday me and Jose Lo ventured out to see the markets in the smaller towns close to Cuenca, we followed the LP recommendations, our 1st stop is Gualaceo, a one hour bus ride from the terminal, lots of traffic so took longer. it is a big town, we went to the local mercado 1st thinking all the action was there, we found the roasted pigs again so we sat down for lunch, i was tempted to try the cuy outside being spit roasted but still does not have the courage, another time. After the lechon we asked the
locals for the "other" market and we got pointed to the plaza next to the church and it was livley veggie/fruit market,we tried all the unusual fruits, and enjoyed the stroll around it. We quickly got bored after walking around town, there is really nothing much to see here. We took the 5 minute bus to Chordeleg. we got dropped off at the plaza, looks boring place, all you see around is a joyeria, a jewellery place, a number of tourists makes the place a bit lively. There is a free concert here later at 2pm so after we had lunch we wiated for it to start, and true to the latin American tradition it was late, it kicked off around 3pm and with a lot of sound porblems, the 1st 2 act were quite boring and lots of waiting in between acts, the announcer is getting to our nerves as well, he keeps repeating the same words over and over, grr.
We almost decided to leave after the 2nd act then the 3rd act came and it got better, a family playing cool local folkloric music then a group with some folk dancing involved, it got cloudier and
the wind picked up it was cold and i wanted to leave already, halfway to the 5th act we left, we took the full bus back to Cuenca, we got to sit down later, there is a group of young American tourists, very loud, we can hear them talk in English all the way down the back of the bus. At the terminal the bus #7 took ages to arrive and I am freezing!
There is a concert at a makeshift stage below the steps next to the river, JoseLo decided to stay while i went back to the hostel to check on my email, i am meeting Clement and Julien here tonight, indeed a got a message meeting time is 8pm, shit it's 7:55pm already, literally ran to make it on time at the catedral archway. I was late but they were not there yet, 5 minutes later I saw Clement and gave him a hug, Julien followed later, they went to the wrong church! Not unusual to get confused here after all they have maybe 10 big churches around the small old town. We walked to their hostel, they just got here literally from Riobamba, at their hostel
i met their friends, a french dude and 2 cute Ecuadorian girls, friends of Guillermo their buddy living and working in Quito. The boys made it to the top of Cotopaxi! it was hard though, they both got sick near the top, Julien vomitting several times and Clement having this massive headache, so pourd of my buddies especially Clement made it to the top on his day of birth and wearing my beanie and layer shirt that i have him borrow!
We went to eat at this restaurant next to the catedral, very crowded, food is so so. then we waited for Tania's local friends to show up. Vlad and Alex brothers who are from here, we went for a walk with them near the fuente roto next tot eh river, big salsa and cumbia music going on live, bands are very good, we started to party there, excellent atmosphere people dancing and drinking, Vlad bought some zhumir, a durazno flavored liquor and a caneloso, a hot drink laced with alcohol, i had one too many and i started to go wild dancing like everyone else, met more of the locals, friends of Vlad, we danced with the girls
and got shitfaced at the same time. There was also fireworks. then when it finishes Vlad took us to his parent's place, Clement went back tot the hostel tired, we all went with Vlad, this dude Daniel drove us to the south of the city, nice digs!
More Zhumir liquor, oh so potent, i did not have a lot of water to drink and i was so dehydrated i drank the tap water from the toilet. the party went on to the wee hours of the morning, until it was only me, Tatiana and Daniel left, everyone passed out to bed. Eventually we had a sleep, couple hours in to my sleep I opened my eyes and Julien's face is inches away from me, he was whispering they need to go and catch up with Clement, i just nodded and agreed to meet up with them later in town then passed out again, that was 9am. 2 hours later i woke up and i woke Daniel who is snoring violently, we said our byes to Vlad then he dropped me off to my hostel. Severely thristy and abit hungover, i went to shower and drank lots of water and
hurried to meet up with Clement. I was supposed to be on a bus to Peru by now, not gonna happen! my extra day in Cuenca started at the catedral where i waited for Clement, then the 2 couples came later and met JoseLo as well.
We walked around town in the genreal direction of the mercado to have a browse, they bought pure chocoltaes, i bought a portion of lechon, then we took a taxi tot a district called Don Bosco to try out "cuy", guinea pig roasted on the fire. If i have to try it this is the time, with my buddies, as me and Clement kind of dared each other. Busy place, its a long strip with cuys restaurants all over and also roasted pigs. The cuy came in a plate and we all shared it to try, I was very hesitant especially on an empty hungover stomach, my first bite into a piece of meat, i felt like hurling, which i dont really do, and normally am tolerant of exotic dishes, I saw Clement chewing away and eating the skin and all, so i was up for the challenge, i started with the crispy
skin and it went well after, it has its own distinct a bit gamey taste, got used to it and finished my portion, still hungry though. There is also a cuy mascot going around, of course we have to have a foto with it.
Back in town we picked up a copy of the nite's activity, then headed to the guys' hostel for them to change for warmer clothes, i was wearing my surf shorts, i was freezing my "cuys"off, Cuy in french apparently means "balls". So the frenchies warned me never to say i wanted to eat cuy in front of a french stranger! I went back to the hostel and put warm clothes on and met the group at the steps of the fuente roto. they were having the caneloso drink again, I begged off but the girls bought a round so i partake, i cant finish it though, the smell of it is repulsive to me, trying to get over a hangover.
7pm we walked to the plaza to see the concerts of the military bands, 3 of them playing at the same time in different parts. We sat to watch one band, a drunk guy
next to me kept talking to me in slurred Spanish so when Clement wanted to sit I offered him the seat next to the drunkard, he wasnt happy with that!
We wanted to see this group playing Spanish guitar, i found the teatro sucre where it will be held but no more tickets, i think it's by invite, darn! Clement and i so badly wanted to see them, oh well. We decided to just hit the bars, first up to El Cafecito for a few drinks, i decided only beer tonight for me, no liquor please. Nice atmosphere, good 80's music going on, you would not want to stay here(its a hostel too) the rooms are just next to the bar, and quite loud. Vlad and his friends hung out with us for a bit then we left.
We wanted to go to a club and the cheapest entrance was $5 a club playing reggaeton and salsa music, nice vibe, and they have a terrace too. we stayed there for 3 hours maybe, free vodka or rum drink, one round only. Lots of good dancers, attractive girls going crazy on the dance floor, Clement and i danced with
2 volunteer girls from the US for a bit. Lots of gringos in the dance floor making a fool of themselves, hey why not its fiesta time and the locals are very friendly and patient with us dancing awfully. When Julien decided to leave i left as well, Guillermo and Clement stayed a bit more, so tired I slept like a baby.
on the day of the fiesta there is a military parade in town but none in the hostel went, including me, i just could not be asked, still reeling from last night's out i just chilled in the hostel with Joselo my spanish roommate. For lunch we went down to the river, lots of exhibits going on, we went to the Biblioteca then had lunch, we cant find anything so for the last time in Cuenca i have to have the lechon again!
Took the night bus out of Ecuador to Piura,Peru.
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