Stylin' in Cuenca

Thursday, November 23, 2017
Cuenca, Azuay, Ecuador
We were down for breakfast by 7:15 because we had a tour scheduled for 7:45. The breakfast room at Hotel Forum is their restaurant and is quite nice. Breakfast was similar to the others, but had fewer choices. 
Our guide did not arrive until a little after 8:00. She was a young woman named Maria. We started driving to Cajas NP. As we headed out of town, Maria pointed out an area they call "Gringo Land" where many expats live.  The apartments are modern brick buildings with all the newest amenities.  She thought the rent for a 2-bedroom apartment, including parking and all services might be $700 per month. There are approximately 80,000 US expats in the city.
Maria needed gas and there was a market next to the station so Dave bought some water and wine. Maria said that gas is cheap (about $1.40 per gallon because the government subsidizes it and it is made with sugar cane). It is also sold by the gallon. 
We proceeded to Cajas National Park but had to make a decision whether we wanted to visit the highlands or the lower rain/cloud forest area. Since it was cloudy and sprinkling, we decided the cloud forest might be the better choice (and we had spent all of our time thus far in the highlands). We drove to the Park entrance and while Maria registered us, we walked around and took pictures. Sadly, we watched a vet do surgery on a young llamas' eye and we thought he may be removing it. A herd of llamas nearby were making soulful sounds somehow knowing what was happening.
Our hike around the lake was very nice and Maria pointed out various plants. Many alpacas were grazing near the lake. They were Brennan's first alpacas he had seen in the wild. The back half of the walk was through a jungle-like environment. It reminded us of Costa Rica, only colder and no monkeys.
After our hike, we drove to Tuhi for a panoramic view of Cuenca. The weather had cleared up and it was an amazing view. Maria pointed out the various avenues, the historic area, etc. Then, she gave us some time to look around the town. We bought some postcards and drove back down to Cuenca to visit a Panama hat factory.
The Panama hat factory was a great tour. The first area was a museum with exhibits from the early days of making the hats. The Ecuadorians were the original hat makers, but they were sold to the Panama Canal workers. Teddy Roosevelt was President when the Panama Canal was built and when he visited, he bought a hat. When asked where he got it, he said, "Panama". Thus, they became Panama hats!
After the museum, we walked through the modern day factory where we saw the reeds being soaked; the hats being dyed, shaped, cut, labeled, etc. Today's process is much different from the original version, except for the hand weaving.
Of course, the last stop was the showroom where Dave & Sue bought hats. Dave's is a traditional one, but in brown (not white). Sue's is a sunhat with a llama design. Brennan really likes them, but thought he'd never wear one.
Our tour of the historic area started with lunch in a very busy restaurant right off the grand plaza.  Maria ate with us and explained the "plate of the day". We had soup with a popcorn garnish; either a pork cutlet or chicken in green sauce; vegetables, fruit juice and a sponge cake for dessert. 
Our walking tour of Cuenca was very interesting. Cuenca is a beautiful UNESCO city with impressive architecture. The cathedral is the largest in Ecuador with triple blue domes. We walked through various neighborhoods, squares, churches and through a very colorful and active local market, Mercado Municipal. We bought some chocolate and coffee in this market. Our final stop was in an outdoor flower market that National Geographic rated the best flower market in the world. Dave bought Sue a bouquet of four beautiful peachy-colored roses for $1! 
Maria was a good guide but struggled with a lot of English words. She apologized for this and said she was new to the job.
The only real criticism of her was when she ended the tour.  She walked us back to the car where we went from tourists to beasts of burden! We had purchased hats, a six-liter water bottle, two bottles of wine plus our backpack, hiking sticks, etc. and she said we were close to the hotel so we could walk!  We walked with all this stuff at least ten blocks.  Not cool!
We dumped our stuff and Brennan and Dave went to the Post Office for two stamps for the postcards.  Two stamps for the US were $5.15!!
Brennan FaceTimed with Mom and Dad until the internet failed several times.  
We wanted a nice restaurant for Thanksgiving so we made a reservation for El Mercado Restaurante which had been suggested by Maria. The restaurant was really nice and was situated on a cliff overlooking a river. Our table was near the big picture window and the lights of the city sparkled all around us.  The food was really good: Dave had a rack of lamb, Sue had pork loin and Brennan had a seafood chowder in a bread bowl. We were all really happy with our choices. The desserts sounded great at the restaurant, but we wanted to spend time on the main square so we chose to get our dessert there. 
The main plaza was magical at night. It not only was lit up with its regular lights, but several of the palm trees were wrapped in green, white and blue lights for Christmas. The plaza was bustling with activity, including some tumblers. Brennan got a chocolate dip cone for $1.50 at a corner shop; the ice cream was oozing out of the chocolate dip.
On our way back to the hotel, we stumbled upon a religious festival on our street. Most of the people there were holding framed pictures of the Virgin Mary. Many of the participating children were dressed up as angels. At the door, they were selling parish 2018 calendars depicting the Blessed Virgin. They were asking a $1, but Grandpa only had 95 cents in change. Guess what, we got a calendar for 95 cents! 
Throughout the historic district there were ice cream vendors. What made them unique was the ice cream was in a huge mound in the center of a tray. They scooped and filled the cones from the mound -- how it didn't melt remains a mystery. After asking permission of the parents, Grandma got a great picture of a little girl with more of the ice cream on her face than in her stomach!
By this time, we were starting to be sleep walkers. Hotel Forum was calling and our heads couldn't wait to hit the pillows.

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