Cuenca... I heard it was beautiful and charming... but I never expected to fall in love! Leaving an incredible experience in Coca (in the middle of the Ecuadorian Amazon, mind you), I headed back into the central mountains of Ecuador. The little town is only 4 hours north of the Peruvian border. Arriving on a bright sunny day, I was immediately floored by the town. The streets are clean. Like immaculately, European after a nightly cleaning, clean. The food is great. There are international restaurants that serve everything imaginable, and incredible bakeries next to hand crafted ice cream shops. Maybe it was just because I was coming from a region where most restaurants offer the mind boggling selection of lunch OR dinner, but this was amazing to me. Cuenca ranks as one of my all-time favorite cities I've visited. The cleanliness, food, friendliness, stunning architecture, artsy culture, and international community here make a visit delightful.
Don't get me wrong. I love Coca. I had a wonderful time there and grew a lot from my experiences, but the change was nice after a month or so. I spent my time wandering the friendly streets, reminding myself what Mexican food was, and searching for decent Oreo ice cream (it kinda became an obsession after I got a craving for it in Coca, and their offerings just didn't match my expectations... thankfully I found the real stuff on the last day in Cuenca. I'm cured!). My hostel was nice, although I had to crack out the sleeping bag after freezing in the rooftop hammocks the first night. After three nights however, my itch to get to Peru and an ever shortening length of days remaining on my visa prompted me to head for Mancora, Peru. Its been nice Ecuador, I can't wait to come back and visit all the wonderful friends I made there! Till next time.
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