Now that we have lived here almost two months, it’s high time to report back to base about our experiences.
Let me start at the beginning. The ride from the coast (Guayaquil, to be exact: the biggest city in Ecuador but one the Feher-Gavras have yet to visit properly… next time, Guayaquil, stay put for us!) was the single most beautiful one of our lives. The stunning scenery showcasing the extraordinary natural beauty of the Andes as you crawl up the serpentines from sea level to 4000 meters above guarantees an extremely memorable experience that won’t leave anyone disappointed… unless you’re immune to the wonders of the mountains (and to my humble knowledge not many fellow humans fit this description).
Michaela, whom we had previously only been in touch with online, waited for us at the bus station and took us straight to their place. This turned out to be a good indicator of what we could expect in the next few days from our self-appointed hosts/guides: super niceness, friendliness, and extreme helpfulness (that’s a little too much ‘ness’, I know, but what can you do in the case of amazing people, right?).
Santiago and she not only accepted us into their home (just outside of Cuenca: to our surprise it turned out to be substantially colder despite being only a few kilometers away from the center, which made for some crisp mornings but also provided a serene and tranquil environment), but also took us everywhere. At the risk of usingg an exaggeration with a core of truth we could say we saw more of Cuenca in the first three days than since…
(including the Mirador aka lookout)
....and on top of all that they introduced us to Bufi, a great feline who will make an appearance toward the end of this post.
Despite all their niceness I still consider it fortunate that we didn’t get to enjoy their hospitality for too long: finding an apartment went quicker than we’d thought (and hoped). We actually took the first one we viewed and made it our home very fast. It may not be perfect (among the negatives is the negligible sound proofing on the windows and the occasionally disappearing cold water), but it is spacious (including an extra room for meditation, working out and visitors!), homely, light, reasonably priced, and has everything we need.
The neighborhood is also pretty cool: apart from street vendors serving cheap and absolutely delicious food (go salchipapas, go!), we’re 100 meters away from the river Tomebamba (which makes for a great hangout…, and additionally you can actually walk into town on the bank), 15 minutes away from a huuuge market where we get all our groceries for a more than reasonable price (especially now that we’ve learnt how to haggle), 10 meters from the bus stop into town….
…and it’s 50ms from a playground where Bailoterapia happens. Every weekday night at various locations in Cuenca dance instructors appear with huge amps and anyone may join for an hour of mostly Latin (a good mix) free dancing. Alina is usually one of the more enthusiastic gringas among many Ecuadorians. In all honesty, this is among the coolest things in Cuenca: a really heartwarming sight to observe (or participate in… in which case it ceases to be a mere sight… okay, let’s not get sidetracked).
The first two weeks here were rather chaotic, as always, mostly taken up by acquiring stuff, organizing things and getting to our new environment. Plus we wanted to take advantage of Alina’s loose work schedule… which is why we went to El Cajas. Remember what I wrote about that memorable bus ride? Well, turns out you can actually be in that scenery! All you have to do is take the bus toward Guayaquil and hop off after about 40 mins. Here are a few pictures. We tried capturing the atmosphere and while I feel like we fell short, something still remains...
(meanwhile you may choose to check out our gallery for more pictures).
On top of the natural beauty of the city and its surroundings, Cuenca has a LOT of culture to offer. In order to start experiencing that, we began by taking part in a theatre festival. Completely by accident we ended up going to a non-verbal (but very vocal) play. It was a one-man army and quite entertaining with some hints at a deeper message… just how we like it. Give us more! ‘I will’ – says Cuenca, which is no empty bragging: there turn out to be about 200 festivals here each year. That includes the smaller ones and yet it’s no exaggeration: many have happened in this past month (and a half).
… and then came the Australians. The dramatic phrasing does not represent an invasion (although the banks of Tomebamba are full of eucalyptus trees… which might signal ambitions of a more subtle takeover… which will take a while to unfold at this rate… so we solemnly vow to keep vigilant), but Alex and Fish, a loveable couple we met in Puerto Cayo.
We did some pretty cool things together such as:
paying a visit to Centro Prohibido,
visiting Pumapungo (the Incan ruins of old Cuenca),
or staying at home to enjoy some great home-cooked meals, play card games and drink tequila.
They stayed a week… if you want to see their travels, check out http://lookwhatwedone.com/, their cool blog. Believe me, it'll be worth your while! ;)
When they left, it was time to work. Actually, Alina already started while they were here. Her schedule has been pretty tough so far (including no day off for a few weeks) but she’s handled it like a boss. My life is concentrated in the apartment with occasional visits to the playground (to work out), river bank (to contemplate things), or downtown.
On occasion, however, we still find the time to go out: we have visited various parts of the city, its biggest museum, some bars (they have character here, which is refreshing and great after LNK) and a metal show which was decent but I don’t doubt (seeing the amazing level of cultural activity in the city) there is more to come.
There are no long trips in store for us for a while but in November and especially in December we’ll be sure to discover different parts of this beautiful country (and relay the outcome back to you, dear readers).
Until then stay cool, enjoy the days of late autumn, and think about us as we rock out in the land of constant spring… (update: it’s been raining for days now… tone that jealousy down, but just a little bit :)).
And finally, as promised, a picture of our awesome 'rental cat', also known as Bufi (or Boofi, Boofster, Boofina, ...). We're extremely happy to be your foster parents for two weeks!
With warm hugs,
Balazs & Alina
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