The flight to Cuenca took an hour and 10 mins, it was a tiny tiny plane. They had to check my backpack because it was too big for the overhead bin. That actually never happened before, even with Porter, that small a plane, it fit. But I'd do what they say, I was in no rush. The flight was pretty pleasant, I was on the last row, actually we boarded and left the plane in the back, so it worked perfectly, I was the first one to get out of the plane. When we landed, we had light rain. But as the day went on, the weather got better. I took a taxi to my airbnb, the host was already waiting for me downstairs. He showed me the apartment. It really is a lovely place. For US$30 per night, it is kind of unbelievable, it is right in the center, I am steps away from everything.
First thing first, I stopped by the tourist information to get a map and asked about my bus to Alausi (my next destination) for Tuesday morning, I wonder if I need to get the ticket ahead. She did not think so, and said I could just go to the station Tuesday morning to buy it, I should be able to find a ticket pretty easily, since all buses going to Quito will stop by Alausi, there are bus every hour, she said. People seemed to be a lot more laid back than Quito, maybe because it is Sunday, a lot of businesses are closed, even travel agencies. It is a very Catholic country here. The lady at the tourist information gave me the phone number of a tour guide I could call and try to get on a tour for tomorrow, I was thinking of doing a hiking day tour at the El Cajas National Park, if possible. I have left 3 messages on his phone, it went straight to voice message. We will see if I have the luck to make it to El Cajas this time, it is all in his hand. I told him he can call me tonight or early tomorrow morning, although it does not look promising. Anyhow, as I was reading the tourist guide I got from tourist information, it mentioned about Ingapirca Ruins (about 80 km northwest of Cuenca), perhaps that will be my backup plan. But going to that ruin, I will have to go to the bus station to find a specific bus to go and to come back. They only have two scheduled times a day, so I better not miss it if I do that! Alternatively, I can just take a day off and enjoy the laid back mood of this town.
Most of the tourist attractions in Cuenca are very concentrated near where I am staying, I pretty much have walked everywhere today. I even took a taxi to a cutsy church on a small hill, Mirador de Turi, it overlooked Cuenca, with a beautiful beautiful view. It was one of my highlights of the day. I have to appraise the taxi here in Ecaudor, they all use meter automatically, you don't even need to ask or worry that they scam you. It surely does not happen in the neighboring Peru.
For lunch, I had American BBQ actually, it did seem to me there are lots of American influence here in Cuenca, I bet this BBQ place was opened by a retiree from the US South. I had a pink lemonade, like it was made from real lemon and lemon only. For dinner, I had dinner Ecuadorian food in a restaurant Simón 7-84, I had Lorco de Papas, a soup made with potato, cheese and avocado, kind of interesting but very filling. And then a plate of El Cajas caught rainbow trout with rice, some salad and deep fried corn or plantain, I couldn't quite tell. I also ordered a lemonade which was even more lemony than the first one. I should not order lemonade here again.
Here are some of the street arts I bumped into today:
See all Day 3 photos here.
