Stef and Matt

Stef and I spent just over a week in Cuenca. The colonial “capital” of Ecuador, as a city and tourism site its residents feel that it is MUCH better than Quito. In fact, if you speak to the locals, you will often find that they reaction to everything is superlative – just about everything having to do with Cuenca is “the best in Ecuador”, and often it is “the best in the world”. A few examples:

• More than 95% of Cuencanos are catholic, the highest percentage in Ecuador
• There are more than 50 catholic churches in the city of Cuenca (it might be more than 250; we are asking for an instant re-translation on that one)
• Cuenca is the most beautiful city in Ecuador (we agree with this – it’s also the most European)
• Cuenca adjoins Cajas National Park, the most diverse park in Ecuador (which, according to Cuencanos, is the most biologically diverse country in the world)
• Cuenca has the best ciclipaseo in Ecuador (because it’s an organized ride with a planned route)

We loved Cuenca – beautiful town, very comfortable, easy to get around, and a pretty friendly local population. Stef spent the week at Simon Bolivar spanish school with Miguel, a great teacher. We saw some local ruins, the museum and the process for making panama hats, and took a few salsa lessons. We even ran into a few friends from our volunteering program in the galapagos, and met up with a few new friends from Seattle (Hi Katie and Garrett)! The second weekend we were there was National Tourism Weekend in Ecuador, so they had a cool festival in the streets. We saw a ton of fireworks, some great music, and some interesting local dancing. There are a few of my favorite photos in this set (the churches and the old men in the park); be sure to check them out!

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