Cuenca’s coffee and cake, and the Cajas 🗻🚶🏻‍♀️

(Living deliciously, but with the shits) 👀

1/2/23

Today I had breakfast at the hostel and got talking to an Aussie guy, Robert, who had Italian family, for quite some time. I didn’t have any real plans for the day apart from the walking tour, but the tour hadn’t got back to me to tell me where to meet. Robert said he’d show me a great cafe, so I figured why not?! He gave me a quick tour of Cuenca’s centre, via beautiful park, courtyard and flower market and then we went to the cafe. It. Was. GLORIOUS! It had views over the park and the famous church behind it with the blue domes and the decor was fabulous. We ordered coffee and the torta del dia (cake of the day), which was a delightful rich chocolate sponge with salted caramel sauce and ice-cream. Mmmm.

Afterwards, we split ways and I went for a mooch and a bite to eat before joining the afternoon walking tour. I had exchanged numbers with Robert as he had mentioned going to a market the following day and I was keen to join. The tour was of course from the main pretty courtyard and it was surprisingly quiet, just me and a Czech/Chilean couple that had of course met travelling, but were now happily married in Czech Republic. Cute. We had a tour guide and a trainee which meant the guide were nearly as many people as the tourists – lol. We wandered through many a pretty place, and past many an old building and eventually ended up at a market where I tried a traditional drink agua de flores (flower tea with lemon). It was surprisingly nice. The we headed to a viewpoint overlooking the river where there was another election event going on.

After the tour, I went to sit by the river awhile before going to buy some bits to cook. Then I headed back to the market to try tortilla de yuca, a fried potatoey dish which was pleasant but not exciting. On returning to the hostel, I went to rest a little. I planned to go out for salsa after cooking. I settled in my private room to watch some Netflix. A few hours later, I hadn’t moved, the rain was hammering down on the tin roof and I wasn’t hungry. I sacked off dinner and salsa and headed to sleep.

2/2/23

Today was market day. I’d told the owner of the hostel that I didn’t need breakfast and that I would be back to collect my big rucksack later. She was quite happy with this so I showered and left early, leaving my bits in my room. I walked across the river past some fab street art and under some umbrellas past a stadium to meet at a flower shop. There I met Robert and the Paul, an American, who also had Italian family and we headed to the market. It was a typical markets filled with fresh fruit and veg and with some hot food stalls too. At one end, there was the organic Market that we were here for. While I’m not a massive believer in organic, the fruit and veg looked glorious and the tomatoes I bought were very tasty. Robert bought a bit but Paul was essentially doing his weekly food shop for a family of four so came out with oodles of stuff. After the market, we got a taxi back to Paul’s and I met his wife Marie and their two shy kids (age two and four), and we all drank coffee and chatted. Paul and Robert prepped breakfast and we had a glorious quiche. Mmmm. Close to 12pm, I had to leave to collect my rucksack to take it to my new hostel. I said my goodbyes and headed out. We planned to meet again for a day at a hot springs and also maybe for a classical concert that Robert fancied.

I collected my bag and headed to the new hostel, which was right near the main church, square and park. I was changing hostel because my old one was pretty sleepy and I was hoping to find someone to walk in the Cajas National Park with. The new hostel, Guillerminas, was faaaancy! I left my stuff and then headed out to the modern art gallery, which my Quito pal Kai had recommended. It was pretty cool. Afterwards, I stopped in a cafe which ground its own coffee and smelt glorious when I walked past, plus, it had a beautiful courtyard which I had clocked the day before. I ordered a strong cappuccino and a fig cake and settled in. I blogged and chilled and even read a little. Then I headed back out, stopping at another smaller art gallery just past the flower market. Then I headed home to cook. After eating, I got chatting to a guy from Jersey, Chris, while I was doing some Spanish. He was also travelling for a few months and fancied doing Cajas, so all good! I went to bed earlyish so I could be up and ready to go straight after breakfast.

3/2/23

I got up, packed and was raring to go. Breakfast was glorious and over breakfast, Chris and I got chatting to another girl, Aura, from Dominican Republic, who was also planning on doing Cajas today. We decided to go altogether. We waited for her to finish breakfast and then we were gonna head. Another guy, a Russian I had talked to earlier the day before and who was mates with Aura also decided to join us, because, why not, so soon after we headed to the bus station. We picked up some extra snacks/lunch and then got the bus to the entrance to the Cajas.

We arrived around 11am and after registering, we set off on the recommended route. To start with it was like bloody Picadilly Circus, but soon the people spread out and we had space for ourselves. The landscape was mad pretty and somewhat reminiscent of the Lake District back home, but with different greens! We walked through an amazing woods, with trees I’d never seen before and stopped at a cave before heading out the other side of the woods, back into the open. We went a little off piste to stop for lunch by a lake. We were wondering about swimming, but in the end decided against!

After lunch, we had to pick up the pace a little as both me and Erodian, the Russian, needed to be back in Cuenca for 4pm ish. The route was oh so pretty and we enjoyed it as we walked. We made the 3pm bus and were back in Cuenca before 4pm. This gave us time to stop in my fave courtyard for coffee before heading to a place Aura and Erodian had been recommended for pan de yuca (more or less like cheesy dough balls) and yoghurt to drink. The dough balls were glorious and the banana yoghurt (think milkshake) was also very tasty. Then we headed back to the hostel. I managed to get out of my 5pm commitment – I was meant to be going to hire a car with Paul for the hot springs but Robert had got jack before so said he could go instead. I confirmed this before hopping in the shower and getting ready.

The classical concert we were going to go to had be rearranged to the day before because of the elections so we had missed it. Instead, I went to meet the others at the car rental because they were having problems, but by the time I got there, they had decided there must be better option. We would taxi and bus perhaps, or see if one of Paul’s friends could take us. We headed back into town for pizza and had a longggg chat with wine. We ended up being the last people in the courtyard. Afterwards, the guys walked me home.

4/2/23

Today was hot springs day! After a hostel breakfast, of a scrambled egg roll along with the granola and yoghurt, and the fruit, and the toast, I headed over the river to Paul and Marie’s house. There, we chatted while they had grits (kind of like porridge, and I tried some), and then we left. We got a taxi to the town near the hot springs and then got a 4×4 taxi the rest of the way. We had hired the whole hot springs for the six of us and it included lunch and glorious hot chocolate and brownie afterwards too. I pretty much chilled and chatted with Robert while the others tended to their kids! On the way back, O’Ryan wanted to sit on my knee and fell asleep. Marie and Paul invited us to stay for dinner, which we did. We had shepherd’s pie, which they were familiar with from their time living in Ireland, followed by banana bread which Paul and I prepared. I also spent some time playing lego and then an improvised version of air hockey on the floor using lego with O’Ryan and with Aurora playing colouring games on an app. My tummy was a little dodge from something but I think I styled it out pretty well. I also tried canelazo, a hot spiced drink made from cana (sugar cana spirit) and spiced with cinnamon sticks, cloves, brown sugar and maybe a few other things. It was strongggg, and not quite how I was expecting it to be! After dinner, I said my goodbyes and left. Both children burst into tears on my announcement that I was leaving, which I guess was quite the compliment!

I headed to the bus station to buy my ticket to Riobamba, the place which has a volcano which is the closest place to the sun, because of its location on the equator. I got my ticket in between toilet trips, and hoped I’d be well enough for the six hour bus ride the next day!! Then I headed back to the hostel to sleep, since it was pretty late.