ECUADOR CITIES ::CUENCA::

Cuenca could easily be part of my Ten Cities I’d live for 1 Year List. It’s a laid back town with low buidings, life here goes slow and with the flow. I had a great feeling wondering in the streets of Cuenca with no plans or destination. We got so evolved that we didn’t visit the touristic attractions around the city like Incapirca (Ecuador’s largest inca ruins) and Chorro de Giron (beautiful nature hiking) . Oh does it mean I gotta come back? :D Great excuse Marta!

I love the architecture of the buildings, you have a vibe of colonial times mixed with modern and a good variation of colors. Street Art is stunning, besides Bogota in Colombia which is number one with grafitti in my opinion, Cuenca comes next! You will find some Culture and Artists Houses and a handful of museums that I didn’t explore enough.

MY PERSONAL FAVORITE THINGS TO DO IN CUENCA:

– Parque Calderon: This park in the city centre in front of the church is perfect to sit and watch locals life while you eat an ice cream or banana chips you bought from a street stall.

– Flower Market: It’s colorful with all different kinds of flowers. The vendors wear ecuatorian traditional clothes and hair styles with braids. Lovely walk, even if you don’t need flowers!

– Museo Banco Central (free entrance): The largest Museum of the city with exhibits of colonial artwork, Inca Civilization and Ecuador History. You can use internet for free in the library. Outside you will find a beautiful garden, Inca Archaeological site and a stall with belgium waffles.

– Cathedrals La Inmaculada and El Sagrario in the central park. They are fascinating!

My friend Sam recommended a Waffles Stall in the Museo Banco Central. I’m a waffles monster, I almost bought a machine to make them at home but Bruno doesn’t let me do it, otherwise I’d get 20 kilos extra in 1 week. I prefer my hometown waffles but since you cannot find them easily in South America I just took this one and wanted another but again, Bruno came to save me.

There is a river crossing the city and when you go to Turi Mirador (you can catch the local bus) you will watch two more rivers (there’s a total of 4 rivers in the city). When we were resting in this grass near the river I saw at least 10 rats aucchhh!

I wrote a post about Quito, the other Ecuador city that surprised me. Now I’d like to know your opinion: Quito or Cuenca?