Cuenca

We moved on to Cuenca, at 8399ft it is about 1000 ft lower than Quito. The apartment on Benigno Malo was near the Rio Tomebamba (River), 2-3 blocks from the center of Cuenca and in a neighborhood with many nearby restaurants. Our host showed us the way to Pizzo Tr3s for dinner. 

Our City Tour started with a view from the Church of Turi and an unexpected but fantastic visit to Eduardo Vega's Gallery with his gorgeous ceramics. No, we did not leave empty handed but sadly, our purchases were limited by available luggage space.

Next up: Homero Ortega Panama Hat Museum & Factory where Bill selected his new hat which was then neatly trimmed and beautifully boxed.

The French architecture in the center of Cuenca resulted from the visit of a team of  French and Spanish scientists who came to Ecuador to investigate the earth's shape. The Mercado had great looking vegetables, fruit, legumes, herbs for medicinal purposes and more, including stalls selling meat from whole roasted pigs. 

Heading back to our neighborhood we viewed the hanging houses along the Rio Tomebamba (River). They spill down several levels from the Calle Larga (Street) near our apartment to the banks of the river.

We had lunch along Calle Larga at El Mercado (corvina/sea bass for Bill & pulpo/octupus for Pat). We enjoyed the  view over Rio Tomebamba and another bottle of Enigma Chardonnay.  After lunch we went to a SuperMaxi across the river navigating the 7 flights of stairs in the collage above, an umbrella covered bridge over the Rio Tomebamba and the Parque de la Madre in order to get some breakfast items and evening snacks.  The purple umbrellas on the bridge are in memory of the victims of Femicide in Ecuador in 2014. The bridge is inscribed with the names of the victims. 

Timing is everything, the next day (Christmas Eve Day) we watched an hours worth of the Paseo del Niño Viajero parade with men, women, children and bands passing down the main street for what we were told was 8 to 12 hours. Some very nice costumes and cute kids. Many folks carried a baby Jesus to be blessed. 

We returned to El Mercado for lunch to sample their Gorgonzola Fondue and added an Andean Stout desert (Kumquats, chocolate ganache, candied almonds, Stout). Later we walked to the "Wine Store" where we selected a Chateaunerf du Pape, a Nero Davola and a Primitivo to complement our evening repasts.

Christmas Day we went to another fine local restaurant, El Jardin, for afternoon dinner.  Not exactly a traditional New England style meal with:

• El Jardín Salad: Mixed greens sliced apples, blue cheese and caramelized pecans
• Beef Tenderloin Medallions: sauce (pepper, fine herbes, bernaise) potatoes gratin and artichokes (Pat)
• Salmon with Sesame Crust (Bill)
• Pecan Pie with Ice Cream (Pat)
• Chocolate Molten Cake (Bill)

In Ecuador it's pretty quiet on Christmas and the day after. This gave us a chance to work review our photos, draft some content for the blog and do some more work planning our upcoming trip to Florida, especially Walt Disney World, where reserving both dining and rides appears to be essential these days.

We took a stroll along the river and back through the center before a light lunch at the Taj Majal (yep, Indian food) the day after Christmas. Along the way we discovered another a couple open galleries. We especially enjoyed talking with the artist and admiring the fanciful enameled work at the Miguel Illescas C. Gallery of Arte. And Pat found a sign that told us the way back to Mexico.

The next day we were off to Cajas National Park. Our touring took us up to 13,000 feet (the highest point in the park is 14,800). Getting to the park, we drove along a bit of the Inca Trail, a piece of the network of roads used by the Incas to control their empire. In the case of the Incas, all roads lead to Cusco (Peru).   

We started the visit at a lower altitude, wandering around a pond with some interesting wildlife (including a shy toucan, alpacas and ducks). 

A little further up the mountains we enjoyed some great scenery (luckily we had a clear day) and interesting flowers. There are many trout farms around the park, so obviously after our park visit, we stopped at one for lunch. Pat had trout sautéd in garlic butter sauce. Bill chose lemon butter sauce.

A few walks and planning our reservations for Disney Parks, especially making dining reservations for our Feb / Mar trip, consumed much of our remaining time in Cuenca. Making Disney reservations is complicated by making them from outside the US. Disney should take note 'cuz a lot of international travelers visit the parks.

One day we had a nice Italian lunch, Mushroom Risotto and Carbonara at the nearby Restaurant Pizzería Mediterráneo. We also returned to El Jardin for some Veal Cordon Bleu and more Pecan Pie. We had takeout pizza from Pizzo Tr3s our last night in Cuenca.