from Dublin to........Mirissa, Sri Lanka: Cuenca, Ecuador

Cuenca is situated at 2,500m above sea-level, 4hrs bus ride inland from Guayaquil. You reach the third largest city in Ecuador after having passed through Parque Nacional Cajas, peaking at an altitude of over 4,000m. The climate changes drastically from the humid thick air of Guayaquil to the cool clean air of Cuenca….a welcome change. Mind you the air in the city centre along the bus routes is awful.

I liked Cuenca as soon as I saw it from the bus, a sprawling large country town neatly nestled in amongst the surrounding low-lying mountains. Instantly I was going to stay here for a few weeks to learn some Spanish….I ended up staying 3 weeks.

Home for the majority of my time there was Alternative Hostel. A new hostel with exceptionally clean facilities. It only has one dorm room with the remainder being twin/private rooms. It didn’t really work as a hostel for that reason and was a little difficult to meet people at times. Being 15-20mins walk from the main square wasn’t exactly convenient but it did mean I got a little exercise each day. It took me around a week to acclimatise fully and not run out of breath just walking into to town briskly, let alone walking up any stairs.

Each morning for a fortnight I went to Si Centro Spanish school for one-on-one lessons. It was intense and I normally left exhausted and with a headache from concentrating so much. Three days a week the school provided free “cultural” classes in the evening which sounded good in theory but kinda ruined the rest of your day as you couldn’t go anywhere and the classes themselves weren’t exactly that interesting. Aside from that the school was quite reasonable but I don’t think there is all that much difference between them.

Much of my first fortnight in Cuenca was spent going to school, eating at the local markets (cerdo cerdo cerdo!...washed down with a jugo de coco) and wandering around town during the afternoons visiting the odd local sight or avoiding the regular afternoon shower that swept through the city right on 2:00pm. The first free weekend I was supposed to go to Cajas NP but the weather forecast didn’t look too appealing – I learnt to ignore the weather forecast as it was always wrong. The mornings are normally fairly clear with the likelihood of an afternoon or evening shower so you should get to Cajas when the park opens at 8:30am and finish your hike by around 2pm if possible.

Things to do:

Ruinas de Pumapungo / Museo del Banco Central - Pumapungo is an Inca site that was destroyed by the Spanish a few years back. It is worth the price of admission....free, and there is an aviary at the bottom that has talking macaws. The museo is also free and worth a look to learn about the culture of the region - forget the moneda exhibition on the lower floor unless you are a coin collector.

La Compania Brewery - If you get tired of Pilsener beer head here for something different. It is made locally and you may even spot the brewer in there now and again. The staff are friendly but speak only a little English. Spent a week in here.

Inca Bar - The local gringo (American) hangout. Great if you like American football and Texans - seemed to be heaps of them there! Cuenca is becoming a popular destination for retirees to move to. It appears to be quite easy to do so long as you bring $600 into the country every month (usually via your pension payment). This phenomena is unsettling many locals as it has lead to considerably higher house and rent prices as well as increases in food bills. Spent a lot of time in this bar. Wed night has an open music night which was a bit of fun. The owner serves plenty of beer on dry Sundays. How can you not like him???

Parque Nacional Cajas - About an hour away from town. Catch any bus heading to Guayaquil and ask to be dropped of at one of two locations to commence your walk. $2 each way. The easiest place to walk is from Lago Toreadora where there are 3 or 4 day walks you can do. I went around Lago Toreadora and up Cerro San Louis. 3.5hrs in total if you don't lose the trail along the way which we did. A tough a challenging hike up and down the mountain too - very steep and altitude peaking at 4240m.

Tiestos Restorante - a steak restaurant on Juan Jaramillo, 7-34. Go here as a small group as the amount of food is ridiculous. I ordered the grilled chicken in a salsa sauce. It came with 8 small entree salsa and dips and nibbles followed by another 6 larger side dishes to accompany my already large serving of chicken. A stupid amount of food.

Molienda Cafe (Via Honorato Vasquez, 6-24) - A Colombian restaurant with a friendly owner. Serves traditional fare at ok prices. Makes for a welcome change to the typical almueroz/merienda you get at most comidas.

La Esquina (Calle Larga y Hermano Miguel) - A fancier meat restaurant that was always quite busy. Caters to small groups with many large shared dishes on offer. Looked great. Pricey compared to a comida. Definitely try. I didn't get the chance to.

El Chilenazo Authenticas y Exquisitas Empanadas Chilenas (Calle Benigno Malo, 6-14) - Chilean empanadas served by a very friendly host.

El Tunel (Honorato Vazquez, 6-80) - Has a set lunch menu but is high quality in a very nice setting at the same price as your local comida but serves you less food (but still more than enough).

Cafe Astria (Calle Benigno Malo) - Good for a coffee. Nice and cozy inside. Free wifi. Mainly international crowd but doesn't feel too touristy.

Not on my recommend list, but I went to Ingapirca which is a popular 2/3 of a day trip from Cuenca. Massively overhyped for my liking and not really worth the effort. Just do another hike in Cajas instead.