Since my last post I have left Banos and reentered the Amazona Region of Ecuador. I went through Puyo and on to Macas where I spent one night. From Macaas I traveled to Cuenca in one day. The roads in the jungle are quite good. Which is not surprising to me, since I think Ecuador has the best roads overall of all Latin American countries I have visited. I stayed in Cuenca for three weeks. The city is beautiful, safe and has the feel of a town much smaller than 500,000 inhabitants. There are many expats in Cuenca including 3000 to 5000 Americans at anytime of the year. I made contact with some Americans the first morning and was invited to a regular Wednesday morning breakfast which I attended while there. I had contacts from people that I met in Salinas so I was never bored there. The city has more museums, for a town that size, than any I have visited and I went to many of them. My only complaint with Cuenca is the weather. It is often cold, windy and raining. It is not unusual to not see the sun for days. Many of the American expats there are from the Northwest...so the weather is like being at home for them.
I reunited with Susan and Scott Nelson in Cuenca and yesterday we rode from there to Vilcabamba where I plan to stay one week before heading into Peru.
Some photos from my room on the 5th floor of Hotel Italia in Cuenca.
These photos are of Pre-Columbian ruins within the city of Cuenca.
Some photos taken around Cuenca
This Mark Hansen from Seattle, Washington. Mark is the first person I met when I arrived in Cuenca. Mark had Susan, Scott and I for dinner one evening.
Some photos after leaving Marks while walking back to our hotels.
This the Iglesia de Todos Santos.
My last morning in Cuenca I toured the Panama Hat and Bag Factory. The Panama Hat is and always has been a product of Ecuador. The hats were shipped by the thousands to Panama during the building of the Panama Canal. When then President Teddy Roosevelt visited the canal he wore the hat and the American press core named it the Panama Hat and it has stuck since.
Susan, Scott and I on our ride from Cuenca to Vilcabamba.
A few shots of my hotel in Vilcabamba.
Some Photos from the balcony at Susan and Scotts place.
I plan to leave Vilcabamba and enter Peru in five or six days. I will say now that I have enjoyed Ecuador very much. It is a very beautiful country filled with wonderful people. I hope to return one day. More will be revealed.
I reunited with Susan and Scott Nelson in Cuenca and yesterday we rode from there to Vilcabamba where I plan to stay one week before heading into Peru.
Some photos from my room on the 5th floor of Hotel Italia in Cuenca.
These photos are of Pre-Columbian ruins within the city of Cuenca.
Glen Short, from Australia, and I reunited in Cuenca. I first met Glen in Villa de Leyva, Colombia. Sorry Glen...this the only pic I have of you in Cuenca.
One and a half hours ride north of Cuenca is Ingapirca the largest known Incan ruins in Ecuador.
Some photos taken around Cuenca
This Mark Hansen from Seattle, Washington. Mark is the first person I met when I arrived in Cuenca. Mark had Susan, Scott and I for dinner one evening.
Some photos after leaving Marks while walking back to our hotels.
This the Iglesia de Todos Santos.
My last morning in Cuenca I toured the Panama Hat and Bag Factory. The Panama Hat is and always has been a product of Ecuador. The hats were shipped by the thousands to Panama during the building of the Panama Canal. When then President Teddy Roosevelt visited the canal he wore the hat and the American press core named it the Panama Hat and it has stuck since.
A few shots of my hotel in Vilcabamba.
I plan to leave Vilcabamba and enter Peru in five or six days. I will say now that I have enjoyed Ecuador very much. It is a very beautiful country filled with wonderful people. I hope to return one day. More will be revealed.
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