Cuenca is a College Town
Cuenca is a College Town
March 23, 2019
Cuenca Ecuador has been in the back of my mind for about seven years. Back then I had a pretty healthy habit of watching House Hunters International and day dreaming about living abroad. For some reason I vividly remember an episode about Cuenca Ecuador and it stuck somewhere in the memory banks. Fast forward to this trip and Cuenca was a must do – and my final stop in Ecuador. The journey to Cuenca however started with the usual antics.
My flight from Galapagos landed in Guayaquil, Ecuador’s largest city, rather than Quito (as Guayaquil was much closer to Cuenca). Rumor on the traveler street is that Guayaquil is not safe so I was admittedly a little cautious on arrival. Much to my surprise, the airport was brand new and beautiful. (I’m not saying this makes the city any safer, but it was a lovely surprise). You disembark and are greeted by a beautiful indoor garden wall by luggage claim and exit to a welcoming and towering glass lobby. My Galapagos tour guide had given me some hints on finding a bus to Cuenca but the airport was so nice I decided to stop by the information desk and cross check the infoGlad I did because she gave me a better option than the usual bus. Less than a mile away there was a ‘microbus’ that runs exclusively from Guayaquil to Cuenca for $12 (the normal public bus is $10) so it seemed like a no-brainer. I left the airport, got a taxi and was at the microbus station in 10 minutes. There was a bus schedule that said buses left every hour at 20 after. I arrived at 4:25pm and had just missed the 4:20pm bus so I got a ticket for the 5:20pm bus and decided to walk across the street to grab a quick snack before the 4-hour ride. When I got back to the bus station the ticket agent told me I just missed the bus – it just left. I was totally confused. My clock said 4:45pm and my ticket was for 5:20pm but it didn’t matter, the bus was gone. Empanada in hand I really wasn’t sure what to do so I sat down, took a breath and waited to see what bright ideas I’d come up with. Before I had to do anything I noticed the ticket agent making a phone call and could make out a discussion about ‘ella’ (figuring this was me) and before I knew it she had me following her out to a taxi who was going to rush me to the bus which was 10 minutes down the road. They’d called the bus, asked it to pull over and were rushing me there as fast as they could. It was a wild ride but we made it safe and sound. Another adventure in Ecuador that ended with more love for the kindness of people here (and a good lesson about bus schedules). I don’t actually know if the bus that I missed was the 4:20pm bus leaving late, the 5:20pm bus leaving early or something in between, but next time I buy a bus ticket I’ll just stay put.
Three and a half hours later (the public bus would have been 4-6 hours) I arrived in Cuenca. It was late and a bit of a rush to get to my B&B before they close for the night at 9pm but I made it and was ready for a good night’s sleep on solid ground. My room was perfect.
Pepe’s House is a super cute B&B (though occasionally listed along with backpacker hostels) located in central Cuenca. My room is a loft with a desk and the lobby is a huge open area with a skylight and a cat. Pepe. The folks are super nice and possibly Ecuadorian hipsters. Turns out Cuenca is a college town (7 to be exact) – and definitely has the vibe.
This is Pepe. It’s his house.
On arrival, University of Cuenca was playing Tecnico U in soccer (futbol) and everyone, I mean everyone, was watching. Just like a Texas game day. (Cuenca won – everyone was happy).
Cuenca is the 3rdlargest city in Ecuador and referred to as the Athens of Ecuador. It’s also a UNESCO World Heritage Site and another fan favorite with retirees/expats (the largest community abroad – about 10,000). I thought Otavalo was cute but Cuenca is just right. Apparently, Cuenca is the 2ndbest preserved city in South America. (Quito is supposedly the 1st– which kind of confused me but I didn’t see all of Quito so maybe that’s true, or maybe that’s good Ecuadorian marketing? You know how it goes, every country says it’s the best….)
Back in the day Cuenca was supposedly exporting Quinoa to France and while there selling their goods, the exporters became importers of French architecture. Legend has it they brought back homes, piece by piece on ships from the coast, and carried them manually to Cuenca. The picturesque balconies, blooms and tile roofs are on just about every block.
There are city squares all over the place but the main square Parque Abdon Calderon is the best. It’s surrounded by two cathedrals, a granite bank and the best helado in town (seriously the place is packed all the time). Also, the fountains actually work. The park is a tribute to Calderon who joined the army at 15 and at 18 planted the Ecuadorian flag before having his arm cut-off. (Arm still attached in statue…). The statue is also surrounded by more trees imported by the Ecuadorian president (this time to pay tribute to each of his 8 kids).
Across the street from the park is the La Immaculada Concepcion cathedral. Like all cathedrals it looks super old, but turns out it was finished in 1985 (making it possibly the newest cathedral I’ve visited). It took over 100 years to finish as there was an earthquake which took down the first try and then it was just the usual construction timeline for cathedrals. In addition to the earthquake, there was also an architectural error. The cathedral was supposed to have grand steeples (see sketch) but once installed the walls to the cathedral started cracking so they were chopped off to become the things of dreams. While I’m surprised with the hiccups this place isn’t considered somewhat cursed, its alive and well with active faith. The place can hold 10,000 people (coincidentally about the same number of expats in the city which again could be a blessing or a curse).
(No steeples – steeples)
Across the street is a lovely flower market – perfectly located for church offerings – as well as a monastery for cloistered nuns.
(flowers exports are a huge part of Ecuador’s economy)
Sidestory about the cloistered nuns (Carmen de la Asuncia). So turns out that there are limited opportunities for many girls/women in many countries. One option that is often turned to is becoming a nun. While often we see nuns walking the street and doing service work in public, twice now in Ecuador I’ve seen the cloistered nun monasteries. Once the sisters enter, often as young as 12 (if the family is very poor and desperate), they are never seen again. They serve the public behind the equivalent of a wooden lazy susan when the parishioner puts down money, places and order (or prayer request), the lazy susan turns and the sisters are never to be seen or heard. (My tour guide says they also dress in full cover (face and body) and never have contact outside the monastery.)
When I first came across this in Quito I thought it was interesting, spiritual, mysterious, etc. but for some reason in Cuenca, hearing how young these girls can be, it started to bother me. I don’t know where the line gets drawn between service and slavery but I can bet that there have been blurred lines over the centuries and wonder if this set-up still makes sense in more modern times. (The structure of the catholic church is an ever-evolving wonder – and not always a positive one.) Oh PS. While you’re pondering that – let me add that prostitution is legal in Ecuador, as well as owning brothels. (Took an expat, Sharon from Dallas, to tell me this…. funny it wasn’t mentioned in my Lonely Planet guidebook. HIV is also a big problem). (Sorry for the reality embedded here but no reason to just highlight the pretty stuff.) I’m in no way saying the nuns and prostitution are in anyway related but both highlight eye opening examples of a society in which women have very little power. So so so much to ponder….and so much to be grateful for.
Ok – feel free to ponder that on your own while the virtual tour moves on.
(pull the bell, talk to the lazy Susan, buy this stuff (incl DVD’s?)
Cuenca has a bit of everything. A river, eclectic street art, old and new, young and old, traditional and modern, and even a light rail (yes Austin, a light rail). Cuenca also has street numbers (actually rare for the cities I’ve seen) and the buses tell you the stops (praise Jesus my Hail Mary guesses get a break for a few days).
(It’s a sign! Yes it’s the next stop!)
The Riverwalk
They’ve got an Alamo! It serves food 🙂
And cute cafes.
(Trust me this is a cute cafe. I’m on a mission to not take any perfect photos during the trip)
The indigenous here wear different skirts than the Otavalos. The skirts in Cuenca are shorter and the number of braids is a big deal (one for pure indigenous, two for mixed with Spanish). The markets here are more produce based than craft based like in Otavalo, though the Otavalos have found Cuenca as well and bring their goods with them.
Another funny aside – national elections started March 22 and go through March 23 (I think). For the month I’ve been here the election has been a big deal. Signs and flags everywhere pledging allegiance to a party. I think I’ve counted at least 7 parties and it’s a big deal to be loud and proud about who you are voting for. There are almost daily parades or trucks driving through town with music and flags and everyone seems to be engaged. With that in mind, on March 21 I could hear a parade in the street and went outside to see what was going on. Turns out it was a pre-voting parage down the main street in town (like a homecoming parade but for every candidate running) and everyone was having a blast. Dancing, brass horns, lots of balloons and overall enjoyment (no one got shot or run over America) and it gave me a bit of hope for democracy in emerging countries. Fast forward to election day and a few interesting facts: 1) turns out the country prohibits the sale of alcohol for the duration of the election (two days) and 2) as I was walking around today there were lots of folks with large stacks of papers with fill in the bubble surveys on them and I think those might have been the ballots. If so, that’s a pretty different process than we’re used to and open to all kind of big picture concerns. In any case, it was still a fun parade….
And with that brief pass on Cuenca, I am celebrating the end of my 1stfull month of travel. Ecuador it’s been real – I appreciate your use of the dollar, your slow(ish) Spanish and your maybe most of all, your helado (everywhere). I’ve rolled along pretty well, but had my days where home felt pretty far away too. I’m still finding my groove with all of this and still seeking that thing that I’m looking for, but it’s out there somewhere I’m sure of it. Peru, game on.
Buddha & Boots 