Ecuador

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Cuenca - Day 13

Delicious cherries for breakfast! Walked a few blocks down to the river, which is fairly wide and very clean. A park with an outer track was along the river. Several groups were exercising, and a soccer game was going on. There also appeared to be some sort of graduation ceremony. Right on the edge of the park was Escuela de Marcha, a famous race-walking school that trains Columbian refugee children.

Bob is a good tour guide! He next took us by the Museo Landivar. Although it was closed, we could still see the famous ruins where the Canari, Incas, and Spanish civilizations built over one another.

We walked to Plaza San Blas. There were marching bands in the area, and many decorations for Christmas. Today must be some sort of holiday. There was much street activity, parades, singing, etc. On the edge of the plaza was the Church of San Blas, the only church in South America shaped like a Latin cross.

Went back to the main plaza, which was filled with toy horses for pictures with children. Many people were out enjoying the parks. The Saturday market (Mercado Plaza de San Francisco) was ongoing. The market contained a wide variety of very colorful crafts.

Found a good rooftop sitting area at the hostel. Perfect for photos and reading books. This is the first place we have found to exchange books. They had only six, but they were in English. Hostel in Montanita had many books, but they were either in Spanish or German. Later we went to lunch at the Cuban spot, Bella Cuba. This time we opted for beef and chicken. Very good.

Later in the day we walked along the river again. Beautiful. Walked by the University of Cuenca. We were surprised how very modern it looked. The grounds were surrounded by a fence, so we couldn't walk on campus, but we could still get a view. Continued to a plaza high above the river, del Cruz del Vado. Could get some good mountain shots from there.

Light dinner at Moliendo Cafe again. An accordionist was playing for tips. He played few songs and a couple got up to dance. Festive atmosphere.

Cuenca was a fun city. Tomorrow we have a very long bus ride to Banos.

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