Friday 9 November 2007

Cuenca - Colonial Jewel On The South


Today I'm in Cuenca. After an early (05:00) and rather short trip to Guayaquil I've managed to get a express connection to Cuenca. On the road I've passed also the national Park "Cajas". This was great because the landscape is very unique. High mountains, lakes in the valleys and mosey green everywhere. Defenitly worth a visit! After arriving in the city I immediately went to the airport to get a ticket for Friday back to Quito. I didn't want to spend 10h in a Bus again. The ticket was quite affordable - 63$ for a 45min flight.

I'm here in a nice hostel - "El Monasterio". Its continently located in the city center AND at the 6th floor. That means a great view over the Plaza de San Francisco and the city. It's just around the corner of Parque Calderón - the finest plaza in town. As already mentioned the city has charm and is more laidback then Quito. I've visited today a Panama hat (sombrero de paja toquilla) factory and learned how the hats are produced. I have also decided to buy a classic Panama in beige. With the new sombrero I've walked further on and found some Inca ruins and also the main city museum with an impressive collection of live and life in Ecuador. There is also an exhibition with "shrink heads". Human heads shrunken to a size of a tennis ball - Ancient tribes wore these heads to demonstrate their power over enemies.

Tomorrow I will fly back to Qutio and prepare for my leave on Saturday. My journey will be finally over on Sunday late night.

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