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Published: July 28th 2006
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Yes, that´s right. Day one of mini-vacation here during my vacation. This whole week there´s no school and so we begin our small tour of Ecuador: the Southern Sierra.
Day One: ¡Bienvenidos a Cuenca!
MONDAY (7-24)
Cock-a-doole-doo! A we were up at the crack of dawn. Our bags were packed up the night before, so all we did was dress before hittin´ the long road to the Sierra.
On our way to south, we went through Duran, Km 26, Churute, El Mango, and stopped in Puerto Inca to fill up on gas and eat some breakfast. I really had to go bathroom, though I was charged 10 cents to do so! At least they were clean...
We were on our way again. Passing through Tama Rindo, Hierba Buena, San Pedro de Yumate, Los Tintos, and a beautiful drive through Parque Nacional El Cajas. We stopped here so Sra. Loyola could use the bathroom and we got some steamin´ hot cups of coffee because it was COLD! I´m a gringa and I´m telling you-it was cold! Before we left we bought some sugar cane to munch on and we ran into some more gingos who couldn´t
speak a lick of Spanish. I had a very entaining time "talking" with them. I talked more with their Ecuadorian guide though.
Finally, after driving through Cajas we landed safely in Cuenca. After checking into our hotel, Hotel Europa, we had a nice lunch there and rested for a while in our rooms. This hotel was so pretty. Flowers and plants everywhere. Classy, inviting, and made for a perfect stay!
Santa Ana de los Cuatro Ríos de Cuenca. Commonly known for short, Cuenca--the third largest city in Ecuador. You would think that it´d be a lot harder to find your way around. But it was quite easy. And it was quite fun too! This beautiful city has stores lining the cobbled, narrow streets. The buildings are designed in a colonial style and are very appealing. What I liked most was the peace the city offered. Despite it´s size, there wasn´t a lot of noise and they people were very friendly and easy-going.
After our naps, we got up to check out the markets. I´m certainly glad I did! Such beautiful artwork all made by hand. So many gorgious wooden and leather objects to be purchased at such
amazing prices! Needless to say I did some shopping. I bought 11 objects and paid around 6 dollars for it all! Oh do I love Ecuador! While out and about, I got to see a lot of the typical dress of the Cuencan women. Most don´t wear shoes, but some are smart enough to wear small leather shoes during this cold season. They wear long thick skirts that are usually brightly painted though some elderly women wear dark, warm colors. They all wear matching shawls and top hats to finish the look.
We walked back to the Hotel, jumped in the car and headed down to Gualaceo, a nearby town. The Loyolas always visit this town when they go to Cuenca for their delicious Rosero. Rosero is una bebida de arina con jugo de naranja, babaco de maíz con piña, canela, y naranjia. It was so good! We all enjoyed a cup with some great baked bread.
When we got back to Cuenca we visited a few fruit and veggie markets before coming back to the hotel and drinking some hot chocolate and eating some bread. Whew, what a tiring day!
Day Two: ¡Bienvenidos a
Loja!
TUESDAY (7-25)
¡VIVA GUAYAQUIL! For a little history, Conquistador Francisco de Orellana founded the city as Santiago de Guayaquil on July 25, 1537. Named after Huancavilca chieftain Guayas and his wife, Quil. Today is a huge celebration of the city and everyone´s invited to this 24 hour fiesta! Only we weren´t there for it...
But that´s quite alright because I was enjoying my stay in Cuenca very much and was looking forward to more exciting action today.
After eating breakfast at the hotel, we checked out. We took E35 straight down to Loja, and an amazing trip that was.
We drove through Jima, Nabon, La Paz, Pilaling, and Susudel before finally stopping at Oña to fill up on gas, use the restrooms, and eat lunch.
When we got back on the road again, we shortly found ourselves leaving Azuay Providence and entering the providence of Loja. We´d been on the road now for 2 hours and were quite anxious to reach our destiny.
Sadly, we were only half way there. We had to pass through El Tablón, Urdaneta, Saraguro, Barlo Piche, San Lucas, and Nueva Esperanza before finally arriving at Loja!
This was the prettiest city I´ve ever seen. I didn´t see one piece of trash on the streets of this city. Remarkable! To enter into Loja, we passed under a castle and directly to the left was the hotel we stayed in: Hostel Aguilera Internacional. I was pretty scared when I first read the name on the side of the building. It reminded me of a particular movie. Though it was actually a very nice hotel. Set-back from the center of the town, quiet, great rooms/bathrooms with cable TV. I got to watch the Simpsons in Spanish! It wasn´t as good without Homer´s real voice though.
Well after we got settled, we all rested for a while after quite a trip. When we all finally got up it was time for some grub, so we headed down the street and had some great Sierra food at El Tomal Logano.
We didn´t get to walk around the city that much today because it was rainy, and suprisingly, a lot cooler than Cuenca. We did manage to stop by and pick up a couple CDs before headed back to the hotel for the night.
Until next time,
Shir
<3
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George y Rosie
Rosita Crespo
Stupendous!
What a fascinating journey, and what great pictures to boot! Wish we were there to share the feeling and the experience. So pleased you're having such a great time, learning so much, and of course, staying safe. I know you'll hate that it comes to an end, but we're looking forward to getting you back. jeje of course! Although it'll go by fast, you actually have almost 25% of your total time still left. Still we imagine that coming home is on your mind. Glad you figured out that the 25th was actually la fundación rather than the independencia. Well, take it easy and thanks for the nice blog! Lord be with you, now and always. We love you!