Last Day in Cuenca

Friday and Saturday, Oct. 6 and 7, 2017--Cuenca

Friday was just like Wednesday and Thursday.  The morning was nice, but rains came starting around 14:00. By then, I had done enough for the day and just stayed inside enjoying my wonderful apartment here.

I first walked far to the South just beyond all the colonial buildings to see the main museum of Cuenca--the Pumapungo.  It has some art and a money connection, but the main exhibits are a series of ethnographic sections representing the indigenous groups of various sections of Ecuador.  Included within each were examples of clothing, tools (including hunting and/or fishing tools), jewelry, huts with typical furnishings, pottery, etc.  It was really interesting, and there were some really beautiful things done with colorful feathers.

Behind the museum are some Inca ruins and a nice botanical garden.  The ruins consist of foundations and a pyramid with views down inside where there were passages.

The botanical gardens were small, but nice and beautiful.  The best feature was a birdhouse with colorful native birds.  It had large sections so that they didn't seem crowded.  And there were as many as 6-8 birds of the same kind so that they didn't appear to be bored or lonely.  Among the trees of the gardens, there were several llamas.

From there, I walked along the river path back to the northern side of town until I reached the campus of the University of Cuenca.  There were banners proclaiming the 150th anniversary of it.  Students were everywhere, so it was fun to observe them as I wandered through seeing the buildings and noting what programs we're in each.

By then, it was about 13:30 and clouds we're building.  I stopped at a bakery to buy some buns for tuna sandwiches for dinner and got a pastry to have with tea in the afternoon.

Both Friday and Saturday, I made a big breakfast that I sometimes make at apartments in Europe.  I had bought some small potatoes and boiled them until they were tender.  I sliced them into rounds and fried them until light brown and crispy.  Then I fried chunks of onion.  Finally, I fried two eggs.  It makes a filling and tasty meal.

Saturday morning, I visited one more museum--the Remigio Crespo Toral Museum.  It is operated by the city, but it was the home of the man in the name and his family.  It is large and elegant.  The family was very wealthy, and there are exhibits of things they had bought on trips to Europe.  The women in the family dressed very stylishly, and the exhibits included recreations of dresses they had worn.

I also just wandered the streets for a while.  There was more excitement around town due to it being a weekend.  The rain, although also forecasted for this afternoon never came.  Still, I stayed inside my apartment.  I read, I cooked, I finalized travel plans related to my next 4 stops, etc.

Tomorrow I head further south.  I will be near the border with Peru.  The towns somewhat of the Santa Fe of Ecuador with a hippie/new age vibe.