Cuenca, World Heritage City

Wednesday and Thursday, Oct. 4 and 5, 2017--Cuenca

A desire to see Cuenca for many years was a major reason for planning this trip.   The entire old town which covers many blocks has been declared a World Heritage Site.  Wednesday morning I decided just to wander aimlessly to get a general feel for the city.  I passed the flower market around the corner from my apartment, Parque Calderon (the main plaza) with its two cathedrals (the old now a museum and the new), two different markets, lots of nice colonial buildings and a number of other churches.  I bought a big slice of pizza for a dollar, and I stopped at a grocery store to buy some basics for the apartment--eggs, granola, milk, tuna, pasta, pasta sauce, etc.

It began to drizzle just as I was returning home around 13:30.  By 14:00, there was heavy rain, and rain continued off and on for the rest of the day.  Therefore, I stayed inside my wonderful apartment here, reading, watching a film, researching places to stay, making a reservation, etc., for the rest of the day.

Thursday started with a bank run (almost literally).  I was getting low on dollars and needed to use an ATM.  All the guidebooks warn to make a withdrawal and quickly leave.  I stuffed my new money into my hidden rear pocket I sewed for myself years ago and always pin inside the back of my pants and walked quickly home where I stashed all but two $10 bills away before going back out.

Today, I took my camera with plans to see specific sights.  I started with the New Cathedral which is probably the nicest church I have seen on this trip.  It has lots of marble and a beautiful silver alter with a silver canopy.  Then I took photos of Parque de Calderon outside and of the colonial buildings surrounding it.  Following that, I walked down Simon Bolivar Street, one of the fanciest in town taking more photos of special buildings. 

That brought me to a pretty square with the Museo de Arte Moderno.  Unfortunately, it had no exhibits open, but I was encouraged to wander through to see the sculpture gardens.  From there, I headed for an old factory where they made Panama hats.  Today it is a museum, has a few people making hats as a demonstration, and has a couple of shops selling hats. 

I wandered back home about 13:00 and had a bowl of granola.  By 14:00 it was raining like yesterday.  I read and made some phone calls.  By 16:00 the sun was out again, so I went across the river to a modern part of town.  At a supermarket there, I bought some onions, potatoes, chips, and beers.

My apartment has a nice rooftop deck.  After having pasta for dinner, I took a beer and some chips up there.  I plugged in the twinkle lights, and sat looking at the lighted church tower across the plaza.  It was very quiet, so I walked over to the wall and looked down.  Although it was only 20:00, there was hardly anyone out walking.

Notes:

1) Have you ever wondered what happened to all the 50 cents pieces that used to be in circulation and the gold colored dollar coins that were minted but never became popular?  They are all here in Ecuador and in daily use.

2) A rare event happened yesterday.  I gave up on a book I was reading.  I had gotten 88 pages into it (19 percent of the way through it) and I just couldn't continue.  Although the book had been a finalist for the National Book Award, it had major problems.  It was too technical in terms related to programming and encryption for computer games, it was already outdated even though the book is only about 4+5 years old, it was written with a major emphasis on being witty seemingly to impress the reader, it was too complicated for me to want to try to keep up with it, and there was little, if any, plot.  It falls into a category of a few National Book Award nominees that I call books that could only have been nominated because of the author either sleeping with several judges or paying them off.  The book is Bleeding Edge by Thomas Pynchon.  I give it 1 star out of 5.