Day two in Cuenca

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We are really loving Cuenca. It´s high in the Andes, around the same altitude as Quito I think, and it´s nestled in a valley surrounded by mountains. It´s funny how much you are warned about the altitude in Ecuador, when the pollution is way more noticeable and problematic. I definitely find it a bit harder to walk uphill here, getting out of breath more easily - but just walking around Cuenca the smell of exhaust is heavy and unpleasant. And you don´t get used to it! Sitting here in the internet cafe, I am constantly aware of it. I don´t remember Quito´s air pollution being quite as bad.

Anyway, so we are staying in another fantastic place - Hostal Macondo. It´s in a beautiful building with a lovely indoor atrium, which our room overlooks, and there´s a courtyard with all sorts of lovely flowers where you can have breakfast (though it´s a little too chilly to eat out these days - probably in the high 50s-low 60s in the morning). The rooms are immaculate, and they give you dressers with locks, which is always nice. I am attaching some photos of it, for anyone interested in staying here we couldn´t recommend it more highly. They have a full kitchen you can use, as we did this evening (reheated some of our leftovers from El Tequila last night), with a fridge to store anything you buy.

We went to the market today to buy some necessaries for the camping trip, like rubber boots, and an everyday bag (since all we have are those ridiculous packs - mine is bigger than me). Josh did some pretty impressive haggling with the indigenas, telling them ¨no me gusta!¨ Then we went to the food market, which was really wild - there is raw meat hanging EVERYWHERE, entire animals waiting to be butchered, blood on the floor...it was quite a sight. Then just past that there is the greatest abundance of fresh fruits and vegetables I´ve ever seen in one place.

Enjoy the photos, we have some more on the way from our day trip to Chordeleg!

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Photos

Meatmarket in Cuenca
Notice the whole pig hanging in the background!

Chicken stall
Notice the indigena in the background - we try to avoid taking photos of them because they don´t appreciate it, but their costumes are incredibly beautiful and colorful. It is such a sight to see the huge mix of traditional indigenous garb alongside the usual Western clothing you see everyday in the States.

Aiming for the beautiful park in the background...
We don´t want to risk ending up like the family in European vacation by asking someone to take a photo of us...so we do our best but the result isn´t always perfect :)

Comments

[Daddy]

Wow!
Fantastic blog! I really love this - keep 'em coming. I would have loved to see the menu at El Tequila - can only imagine it was wonderful. Great room also. Have fun!

[beaconofstability]

hi
waiter, what's dow jones doing in my soup? there must be some kind of misunderstanding. i want souveniers! xoxo

[Jim & Estelle]

Photos day one and two
raw meat - may make one a vegetarian. love the photos, the last one makes one wonder who is the felon??? say hello to hummingbirds.