Saturday, November 23, 2013

Cuenca, Ecuador

We left Atlanta Thursday evening and flew 5.5 hours to Quito. Then, we took the one-hour taxi ride to The Bonanza, by the equator, where we spent Thursday night. Friday morning we met with our residency advisor and then flew to Cuenca late Friday afternoon. Arrived here around 8:00pm. Staying in a Hostel, La Casa Cuencana, only $12.00 per person per night. Room is comfortable with plenty of hot water for showering. The Hostel offers a complete breakfast for $2.50. It includes eggs, ham, toast, yogurt, granola, coffee, juice, and bread. Plenty of food to get me thru the morning.  Explored Cuenca by foot and then boarded a double decker bus to tour the city. Absolutely beautiful!

We walked around the city after the bus tour and stopped for lunch at Cafe Austria. Enjoyed typical Ecuadorian food...lentil soup, salad, baked chicken breast, rice, and pineapple for dessert. All for $6.50 per person.  We walked a bit more and explored the local Mercado. That was an interesting experience. Fresh fruit and meats. They also had eggs, rice, and pasta. It was sort of like a farmer's market. We then stopped at a coffee bar, had a few drinks, and watched the local youth enjoy what appeared to be a local talent show.  It started sprinkling rain so we headed back to the Hostel and took a 30-minute nap.

After our nap we headed back out and had pizza at a local joint. It was great. Good food and service. Walked a little more and returned to the Hostel. Now, getting up to date on email and writing this blog.

One thing I must keep in mind is that the sun is fierce here. Must wear long sleeved shirts, jeans, and a hat at all times. I wore a short sleeve polo shirt today and my arms are burned a little bit.

For some reason I am unable to upload pictures from my iPad. If you want to see pics before I get home please friend me on Facebook. I will be uploading my pics to my Flickr account too.

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