Cuenca buying snow

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Cuenca buying snow

When the middle of July arrived, Mark and I found ourselves with only two weeks left in Ecuador, before our allotted three-month entry stamp expired August 2 nd. By then, we had long decided to skip the jungle region and, more recently, the coast as well. For months, we had looked forward to visiting the beaches of Montanita, watching the sunset, having happy hour with our toes in the sand, and letting Maya frolic in the sea. But it would be a major detour and — as we were about to head that way — police officers, knocking on our door at 6am near Cotopaxi Volcano, talked us out of it. Drug-related crime and petty theft seem to fester along the Ecuadorian coast. View towards the Temple of the Sun at Ingapirca. The three of us kept heading south after spotting the snowy peak of Volcano Chimborazo I added a cool photo to my last Ecuador post of my friend Marie on top of the world — and closest to the sun — after scaling Chimborazo and aimed for the Inca Ruins of Ingapirca. Marie on the top of Chimborazo at sunrise Photo credit Marie Fraisse. It was a long drive, involving a massive detour over bumpy roads around and through the town of Alousi, due to a massive landslide and subsequent road works. The scenery was stunning! We arrived at our destination late afternoon, so the parking lot was pretty full and we took a temporary, unlevel spot, while checking out the neighborhood with Maya. Once a level space became available, we moved and settled in for the night. But, since the parking lot was actually straddling a busy road and residents love to ride their loud motorcycles with 2-stroke engines, we decided to not face a second sleepless night. Parking lot of the Ingapirca ruins, early morning. This relatively small site packed a punch for us, because it was our introduction to the Inca empire and culture. Maya stayed home for this one. We booked the first tour of the day at am and enjoyed the different areas and English explanations of our excellent and passionate guide, Segundo. Both groups used different kinds of stones, visible at this site. After the hour-long tour, Mark and I finished exploring the region with a self-guided walk past smaller sites and through nature. It was super quiet and we had to work around sprinklers in the fields to avoid getting soaked. I left Belgium — inadvertently forever — on July 14 th , Every tourist in Ecuador loves historic Cuenca and all the western flair it offers. I am always a bit hesitant when it comes to popular destinations. Traveling in your own camper throughout South America is very different from flying in and getting around by public transportation, staying in comfortable hotels. Cities are tough on us, overlanders. Our Cuenca campsite near El Paraiso Park for five nights. Mark and I found what looked like a decent spot alongside a park — awesome to take Maya out — but it was a minute walk to the center and traffic ran loud, starting super early and running late, inches from our vehicle. That first afternoon in Cuenca, we happily discovered what the park had to offer and stopped by an expensive micro-brewery The Pub , where we met interesting characters, including Sheila, a young pet tarantula. The following days, we worked, had a video interview with CNN , walked in the park, ate good food, cringed at noisy fireworks on Sunday morning, met up with old and new friends, managed to schedule calls with distant friends and relatives, shopped for groceries, did laundry, and took in the sights. One late afternoon, Mark and I took turns in the excellent Pumapungo Museum, with exhibits indoors the dioramas were my favorite and Inca ruins and a bird sanctuary outdoors. At our arrival time of 3pm, we were each allocated only half an hour as the museum closed at 4pm and one of us needed to stay with Maya. We also met Tyrone, the owner of the well-stocked yet small and pricey Cuenca Store. We listened patiently to his stories and were impressed by his generosity, when he sent us home with chocolate treats including chocolate wine , which we saved for special occasions. Before taking Maya to a vet in Loja to obtain her international health certificate for Peru, we spent a couple of nights at a nice, free park north of the city. It offered hiking trails, a cute pond, and the company of our new friends Keith and Gertrud. Friday night and Saturday morning brought more fireworks, launched right behind our camper. The humans had more work to do and the unexpected, fast publication of our st o ry in CNN over the weekend caused a frenzy of online activity for me, including an invitation to talk at the library of Vilcabamba, our next destination. Such a coincidence! Our busy days were long not over. Aaaaah Vilcabamba, or Vilca in short. While Mark preferred Cuenca and enjoyed it more than me, I lost my heart in this small, dry, and warm village. We stayed a week! The climate was perfect, the restaurants of good quality, our main camping spot attractive, friends joined us, and life was easy. So easy… Everything was in walking distance, safe, comfortable. No wonder expats love it here. Bad timing! Every morning and evening, Maya was a mess. Plus, we camped in four different locations, moving as needed, because of partying locals, smoke from a neighboring yard, or the sounds of homemade fireworks, firecrackers, bottle rockets, canon balls, whatever created those loud bangs. We returned to the same restaurant once more, because the menu options were all attractive and hard to choose from. We found other favorite establishments during our time in Vilca as well. Another highlight was the river trail, which we enjoyed and were camped along most of the time. Living this close to nature and to the town center was pretty sweet. Mark and I wrapped up more work assignments and all good Vilca things came to an end. Poor Maya. It was time to leave. One needs time left in the country for that. So, on July 29 th , we headed towards the Peruvian border via narrow and dirt mountain roads, hoping for little oncoming traffic successfully and no rain unsuccessfully — it did sprinkle, but luckily not enough to turn the track into slippery mud. We spent our last Ecuadorian night near a dam, where it was pretty quiet, finally, apart from the turbulent river. Curious about a previous ten-year chapter in our nomadic lives, which includes eight years aboard a foot sailboat in the tropics with dogs, check out my compelling, inspiring, and refreshingly honest travel memoir :. Available on Amazon and elsewhere. Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email. Type your email…. August 18, at What fun. The tarantula—pet or not, I can do without! Haha, Jacqui. No hairy spiders for you? Like the fireworks, and pets not being allowed in National Parks. We will figure it out. Same reaction from poor Lulu. Sorry to read that people are still shooting off fireworks and crap over there. Lulu would not be happy in these countries either! With Maya, the monthlong fireworks in Colombia over New Years set off a whole bunch of other anxieties and issues, like slamming car doors, rain on the roof, falling twigs or fruits on the roof, … it all sends her hiding and shivering. For a while, we thought maybe all the booms would desensitize her. So far, Peru is not doing it for us. So sorry you had to skip the coast. I love being on the ocean. But have also heard that the coast is where the worst of the cartel action in Ecuador is. Those towns look lovely. I know that will last you a long time! Peru is almost as expensive as the US for drinking out, so no more cocktails for us. Unless we make our own. We will have to be super careful here. The chocolates from Tayrone are all gone, but we still have the chocolate wine. And, no idea why he got a liking towards us and spoiled us rotten! I think any rig will stand out with the local military, so you will have plenty of opportunity to be in photos! August 20, at August 19, at Yes, there have been more explosives and fireworks, but not at the border. The crossing was mellow, but it took much longer than expected, as it was busier than normal. Wonderful post and photos, which threw me right back to and the almost 10 months spent in South America. Not sure if I told you this story before but… We visited Cuenca and somehow got invited to an odd party full of expats. An American plastic surgeon was chatting to us but looking me over all the time. Probably wanted to erase my wrinkles also. I swear, I nearly punched him! Instead, I kept my cool and said no thanks, then walked away. OMG about that story of the rude expat. No, you never told me that and I do wonder if he is still around Cuenca. I have to assume so! Many end up in these countries for a reason other than curiosity, it seems like. I never realized that until recently. Of course, there are a lot of awesome, open-minded, and liberal folks who move abroad as well. August 21, at Hope so! Why are they called expats? Many expats never return so they should immigrants. I found this when I lived in Italy. It was almost an arrogance as people even on social media liked to be known as expats and never migrants or immigrants. Good question, Nilla! And migrants move for work reasons, nationally or internationally. Either way, expats are immigrants no matter how you look at it. Finally some semi good experiences for you! The fireworks must be really annoying, though. Good luck with your new destinations, and safe travels! Thanks, Diane. We can all live with the random and colorful firework display to celebrate an event, but when homemade explosives sound constantly throughout the day and night, it gets old quickly. Glad you visited Cuenca which we were fans of like Mark. Especially happy you escaped Ecuador unscathed unlike me years ago. What a tragedy the presidential candidate was assinated in Quito before the upcoming election. Sounds like very tough times are ahead for the people of Ecuador. Cuenca has its charm and attractions, but it is too busy and loud of a city for me to ever consider living. Unlike Vilcabamba, it is a place where you can sink into anonymity, though, because of its size. Some expats like that. Yeah, Ecuador is going through tough times right now. That would be just fine by us as then we can hang out together again. I was enjoying the read until I got to the image of the spider. I remember nights of traffic when motorhoming. Hard to get the perfect spot as most places want you to stay in grounded accommodation. Having said that there are places in NZ that are classed as RV supporters. South America from your adventurers is certainly a place to venture. Even with the negativity are you still enjoying exploring South America or are you and Mark thinking of leaving? Take care, Liesbet. Good question, Suzanne. As long as the positives outweigh the negatives which is still the case , we keep on going. We can always move on in pursuit of more attractive places and countries. Luckily, most of the time, she is happy, active, and healthy. You know, the boat life was challenging for different reason, but we often managed to find peace and quiet at anchor and at night. More countries should have these spots and restrictions, as RVs with a bathroom, especially with a toilet, leave no impact on the environment and the surroundings. A huge YES to all that free and generous chocolate! A hard NO to holding a tarantua. And now you have me very curious about Peru. I am sorry that it did not start out well for you. Hopefully, it has gotten much better since! We finally opened that bottle of chocolate wine last night, during sunset over the Pacific Ocean. It was delicious and a pleasant surprise. Who would have thought that chocolaty wine was a thing and actually is tasty and addictive? Not me. You might have guess that, or know, though. As always, I appreciate your support and enthusiasm for our blog posts and lifestyle. We still have to find our groove in Peru, but it will happen. Three weeks already…. Congratulations on your CNN appearance! I love the tarantula! I once had a tarantula on my hand in Venezuela. Few people seem to be enamored with hairy spiders. Not sure where that phobia came from. I rarely scream, but that was a good occasion to do so. Fortunately, you are a digital daughter. And where would I store them all? I know. I stay very busy taking photos, deleting photos, organizing photos, captioning photos for blogs , posting photos on Facebook, … And all the writing as well. I need a break! Wow, you packed a lot in this post! I get stressed too and I know what they are. To finally catch up with all my blog posts, I have to start covering two or more weeks at a time. They just make noise. No idea what the attraction of that is either, especially since they make us jump as well. But we have noticed that sound and noise does not affect people in Latin America the same way than us. Looks like a nice couple days, but OMG, the tarantula is going to give me nightmares for daaaaayyyyyssss. One of my favorite things about being in Lisbon is the lack of fireworks. Such a game changer when you have a dog. I feel for you guys and Maya. I know how tough it is to deal with. The dogs — and other animals — in Portugal must live a happy life. And, I assume Thor is enjoying your move as much as you two? Looking forward to more blog posts about your experiences! When I was in Puerto Vallarta there was constant fireworks and bands playing until late in the night next store. Hard to sleep at night. I agree, Ann. Mexico — like most Latin American countries — is a loud one to live and sleep in. I still remember exploring mainland Mexico for six months in and once the bottle rockets and fireworks of a Saint procession was so close that ashes fell on the roof of our camper and we had to move camp spots! The culture is not very tourist-friendly! Vilca looked like a great relaxing spot. I hope you guys have found some good spots in Peru, and maybe some cheaper gas? August 29, at No cheaper gas in Peru yet. I liked Vilca a lot, because it had the perfect temperature, natural surroundings, good restaurants, and was super easy to camp and be. Despite the fireworks. Neither our dog nor we are bothered by fireworks, but I can imagine that weeks on end of hearing them would wear thin! Like another reader, I read the news about the assassination in Ecuador and thought about how sad it is that this fairly stable country is heading in the wrong direction and that you were there during this unrest. Sorry to hear Peru is not a good next stop so far; I loved Peru and hope things turn around for you. Good for you and your dog, regarding the fireworks, Lexie. Thing is that if they would happen once in a while, we could all bear with it. We think a lot of it is church related. And indigenous traditions. The cost of living is so much higher here than in Ecuador and Colombia, yet, life appears to be more third world. August 25, at Oh, poor Maya, with all those fireworks going off. The South Americans seem to like their fireworks. They seem to be going off every day. No, thank you for the tarantula, but well done on holding it. But a big yes, please, to chocolate wine. Does it taste sweet? What would it be like dribbled over ice cream? Your trip to Ecadour seems to have flown past. Those three months have gone so fast. What a shame the coastal region is unsafe, but you did right by avoiding it. But it is good to hear that the Police advised you not to venture there. It will make us leave Peru sooner than we wanted. We will see what happens. We only got three months at the border, so need to rush through anyway. But we still hope to get more time here, somehow, because there is so much to see and the country is big. You know, that chocolate wine was a super pleasant surprise! It actually tasted like chocolate, so, yes, sweet, but not too much. Just right. I was more a fan of it than Mark who is not into sweet things. Not sure if it would go on vanilla ice cream. March 24, at March 25, at No Inca ruins seen in Vilcabamba. Sorry for the confusion. We have been perpetual nomads since — sailing, camping, RVing, house and pet sitting — and are currently roaming about South America in a truck camper with our rescue dog, Maya. As lifetime adventurers, we are self-employed and maintain a tight budget. This blog is about all that — and more — to inspire a life less ordinary. Email Address. This blog contains affiliate links to Amazon. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases without extra cost to you. Stunning scenery along the way in Alousi. Long and bumpy detour. This bus had a hard time making the turn! Information sign three languages. Overview of the site. View towards the Temple of the Sun. Storage areas. Burial site of an important person and where the sun hits during the equinox. Part of the old Inca Trail in Ecuador. Grazing llamas on the site. Temple of the Sun. These blocks were removed from the site by farmers and then — during a local campaign — returned for their historical value. The wider curved stone acted as a beam support for a building. The narrower, deeper curved stone was to sacrifice llamas. This significant building was a gathering place and had important relics on display — nobody lived here. The Temple of the Sun seen from its back side in the fields. Significant rock. Walk through the fields. Carrying milk. Can you see the face? Peaceful spot by a river. Parque El Paraiso. Walking Maya in the park. Meeting Sheila. Even Mark invited her over…. Plans to meet other overlanders here! Happy hour with new friends in Cuenca. Walking home at night. Pottery display. Inca ruins in the city of Cuenca! Botanical garden and terraced site. Rehabilitated bird of prey. Music diorama. Replica of a hut of an indigenous tribe. The Cuenca sign on a rainy day. Walk to town. Impressive door. Approaching the historic center. Small church. Main church on the plaza. Interior of the main church. Pretty facades. On the edges of the historic center. At this plaza, a pigeon slapped me in the face with its wing! Continued walk in the historic district. One of the many churches in Cuenca. Tyrone showing us what he has in store. He has a lot of products and not enough space. Unfortunately, the maple syrup which we came for was way out of our budget. We bought decent soy sauce instead. Tyrone from the Cuenca Store sent us home with these gifts! On our drive to Loja, we passed 50, miles on the odometer. Such a good passenger! It even had a decent pond. And horses that were loose, so Maya was hesitant to join us. She had been attacked by a wild horse near the Cotopaxi Volcano. Approaching the good-sized city of Loja. Taking Maya to the vet for a current health certificate. What would we find in Vilcabamba? The village of Vilcabamba is surrounded by mountains. A nice square — and sign. We moved here in the middle of our first night in town, when partygoers kept us awake at 1am. Anxious and alert Maya due to the constant fireworks. We camped at this parking lot for our last night in Vilca — the fireworks were a bit further away, but partygoers decided to disturb our peace around 5am. Having a drink on the other side of town and the river. One of the two European bakeries in Vilcabamba. Going out for a drink with Keith and Gertrud at Vilca Garden. Driving through a stream to get to our favorite camping spot. Cooling off in the river. Our attractive and free camping spot by the river in Vilcabamba. Along the river trail. We enjoyed walking the extensive river trail. Waterfall along the way south to the border. Narrow bridges. Steep roads in towns. Not much traffic along our route south, leaving Ecuador. The dam — and our last campsite — was located in this tiny village. Last night along a turbulent river and dam in Ecuador. Careful to avoid the peeled up metal plates on this bridge. On our last morning towards the border with Peru, the roads were still narrow and traffic picked up a bit. A military checkpoint, still in Ecuador. The guys just wanted to post in photos and selfies with our camper. Customs building, leaving Ecuador. Ready for a new country! Like this: Like Loading Discover more from Roaming About Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email. Type your email… Subscribe. Liesbet Post author August 18, at Onward to Peru. Hi Pete, Sorry to read that people are still shooting off fireworks and crap over there. Darn… So far, Peru is not doing it for us. Y Ruins! So cool! Segundo — is that like the name Junior in English? Maybe she will get used to the fireworks one day? OK- so now one of my goals is to have a rig that border guards want to take selfies with. Your comment made me smile, Duwan. I love your enthusiasm. Alex J. Cavanaugh August 18, at Some cool stops. Sorry, no tarantula for me. Liesbet Post author August 20, at Oh, come on, Alex! Anabel The Glasgow Gallivanter August 19, at That last sentence sounds ominous! More fireworks? Congratulations on your nomadic anniversary. Hi Annabel, Yes, there have been more explosives and fireworks, but not at the border. Image Earth Travel August 19, at Hi Nilla, OMG about that story of the rude expat. Image Earth Travel August 21, at Liesbet Post author August 21, at Diane Henders August 19, at Diane Henders August 20, at That sucks. Fingers crossed for better days ahead! Annie Berger August 19, at Hi Annie, Cuenca has its charm and attractions, but it is too busy and loud of a city for me to ever consider living. Suzanne August 19, at Haha, Suzanne, What is it with people — and especially women — having a fear of spiders? Retirement Reflections August 20, at Hi Donna, We finally opened that bottle of chocolate wine last night, during sunset over the Pacific Ocean. Three weeks already… Loading And what a great experience in Venezuela. Just a random thought, Liesbet. Janis RetirementallyChallenged. Hi Janis, To finally catch up with all my blog posts, I have to start covering two or more weeks at a time. Laura August 20, at Ann August 20, at Liesbet Post author August 29, at Hi Debby, No cheaper gas in Peru yet. Hugh W. Roberts August 25, at Yaqob March 24, at Were Inca ruins seen in Vilcabamba, Ecuador. The title mentions two cities but named three. Liesbet Post author March 25, at Hi Yaqob, No Inca ruins seen in Vilcabamba. This is the place where conversation is made. Please, join in! Cancel reply. Buy My Book 'Plunge' here:. Like Us on Facebook.

Why Loja Is Ecuador’s Hidden Gem For Living Like A Local

Cuenca buying snow

We also have tips for what to do in Cuenca and how to get to exciting day destinations such as Cajas National Park and the Ingapirca ruins. We highly suggest Cuenca for a visit or extended stay. We love a good budget workout and the chance to get outside. The ability to exercise outdoors was one of our favorite things about Cuenca! There is also the Parque Lateral along the river, with more green space and some sports fields. You can get in a good free workout here. We thought this was the ideal location to stay long term in Cuenca vs staying in the historic city center to have access to outdoor spaces and supermarkets for everyday living. Parque El Vergel is small but also has a street workout area. Finally, there is an abundance of choice when it comes to gyms in Cuenca, which we appreciated on rainy afternoons. Other gyms will have similar prices. This is definitely a must-do day trip when in Cuenca if you are interested in ancient civilizations. The cheapest way to get there is taking the bus from Cuenca, which will drive you to the ruins, stay long enough for you to take the required guided tour, and then take you back to Cuenca. If you want to be able to stay longer in the ruins, you can also hire a private guide from Cuenca — though of course that will be more expensive. We also saw lodging around the site of the ruins, so you could always make this a weekend trip and get another bus back the next day. You have about 90 mins there before the bus takes you back. We arrived back at the station around It seems like a very full day for only 90 minutes at the ruins; however, the bus ride itself is beautiful and incredibly scenic so we thought the trip was absolutely worth it. Just be aware — the bus dropped us off right in front of the ruins but we had to find it a little down the road when it was time to go back. If you like hiking and nature, Cajas National Park is absolutely the best day trip to do from Cuenca. The environment is otherworldly — straddling the Continental Divide, this might be the only place reaching over feet where snow is extremely rare. Cajas is not completely without trees, however — the Polylepsis forest is full of papery looking trees that are the highest growing trees in the world. This park is also extremely wet, with lagoons, rivers, waterfalls and puddles everywhere you look — when we hiked there, it was raining on and off and our feet got wet immediately. However, this only added to the mysterious fairy tale-like atmosphere of the place. It was completely unique and stunningly beautiful. When we were in Cuenca, a landslide had made it so that public buses were not going by Cajas, so we had to book a private tour — this was nice, because the guide knows the path well and can point out interesting things about the flora and the landscape. However, it is a much more expensive option. We had no choice and decided to take the plunge and take a private tour. We took this tour and had a great time with the guide — so if you are thinking you want to go the guided route, we can recommend this company. A free museum that includes several parts — the bank has a currency museum in the basement, the second floor has ethnographical information covering all the regions of Ecuador, and the first floor had some paintings as well a section dedicated to explaining the archeological site you can reach at the back of the museum. Tomebamba was apparently one of the most important cities of the ancient Incan empire. Our favorite part was the impressive terraces you could see going up the hill as you wander through the garden. The rest was only in Spanish. It is the building you can see when you exit the museum down the hill on the right. Still, the museum is free and definitely worth looking at the ruins. If you want to get some straight from the source, check out the flower market. This drink contains a secret blend of several herbs and flowers with medicinal properties that is supposed to be great for your health and relaxing as well. You can also bring your own container to save plastic, we saw plenty of people doing this while we were there. Cuenca is famous for its variety of beautiful churches. Also not to miss: the Old Church of Cuenca right across the park from the Cathedral, now a museum; Santo Domingo Church , beautiful and colorful; San Blas Church — an atypical church compared to others in Cuenca, covered in pink marble and which forms a latin cross. Make your way up to this lookout point for a fantastic view of Cuenca and the surrounding mountains. There are several ways to get here — taxi, tourist or city bus, or even walking though be aware the walk goes through some neighborhoods and the way there is uphill with many stairs. This view is beautiful both during the day and at night. We actually reached Turi as part of a hike we followed on AllTrails that also included Icto Cruz — stunning views, but unless you like broken bridges, faint farm paths, suburban dirt road walking, and trails of dubious clarity, we do not recommend the trail we followed. We actually just wandered into this museum as a way to escape the rain, but ended up really liking it. Located in the former house of Remigo Crespo Toral, an important Ecuadorian writer, you can see an example of what a house in Cuenca might have looked like in the early s. You can also learn a little bit about this poet, his works, and his life. The museum is free and has a lovely cafe with a patio overlooking the Tomebamba river. Be aware that the information in the museum is in Spanish only. Either way, it is located in an attractive area of town, and with free entry it is definitely worth an hour of your time. The Mercado 10 de agosto is a giant market located in the historical center of Cuenca. Here and the surrounding area is a great place to get cheap, fresh produce, nuts and seeds, spices or souvenirs. Like any market, there is a ton of meat sold here as well, so if you are sensitive it might be best to avoid it. The food court is on the second level. Part of this process includes being rubbed all over with an egg which is later cracked open into a cup. The egg use prevented us from trying this ritual. Visit this plaza for great views of the Blue Domed Cathedral Roof, souvenirs, or to take your picture in front of the Cuenca sign. We were overall pleasantly surprised by the vegan options available in Cuenca. One super unexpected delight was the abundance of vegan fine dining here — an experience we had never gotten to enjoy before due to cost. The good news is that, if like us you have always wanted a fancy multiple course meal but have not had the budget for it, it is a lot more affordable here. Check out our vegan restaurant and store recommendations below:. There you have it! As always, let us know if you go and used any of our suggestions! Anywhere Vegan.

Cuenca buying snow