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1994
Ecuador(Cuenca) - South America
Bec2004-09-20 16:23:43
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Cuenca
Cuenca, tucked in this high Andean valley, is Ecuador's third largest city with a population of about 300 000..
The San Francisco market seen from my room in the Milan Hotel. The Inca Tomebamba ruins in the city gave that name to the river that flows through Cuenca whose old colonial churches date from the 16th century. It was a pleasant base from which to visit nearby Andean villages.
I think that the church on the left below is the old Cathedral taken from Sucre street but I'm not sure. The blue one on the right is the church of the small village of Bańos 5 kms from Cuenca which has sulphurous hot springs just like the city of Bańos 200 kms to the north.
Gualaceo
Gualaceo's colonial church on Plaza 10 de Agosto. I have a problem with the South American custom of naming places and streets for the dates of historical events that nobody can identify (even the locals sometimes).
Chordeleg
Chordeleg has two markets, one on the plaza before the church that sells jewellery and handicrafts to visiting tourists and this one which is a normal food market for local people.
Loja
Another 200 km south on the Pan American Highway brings us to the pleasant university town Loja where almost a quarter of the population are students attending one of the two universities, the law school or the music conservatory.
Calle 10 de Agosto is the Main Street in the center. I met some Peruvian students who invited me to a dance at the University that ended in a local bar quite late at night.
Mountain Road
It took more than two hours to travel only 60 kms along an interesting unpaved mountain road that climbs up from Loja at 2100 meters to more than 2500 meters and then drops down to 950 meters. The views were really worth the trip.
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See photographs from:
Ecuador Gallery
