Ecuador Week 5: Exploring the Magnificent Museums and Parks Along Cuenca’s Rivers
Read about more of my adventures in Cuenca and other places in Ecuador here!
Final Week in Cuenca
After an entire summer studying abroad in Puerto Rico and Ecuador, our program was beginning to wrap up, and my time in Ecuador was coming to a close. Despite spending most of our last week in Cuenca working on our final group projects, I was still able to find some ways to get out and explore a few last places in the area before heading home.
El Museo Pumapungo
On Tuesday a couple of my classmates and I decided to take some time off from our academic preparations to visit one of the main attractions in Cuenca, the Museo Pumapungo. Using the city’s official taxi service, we traveled from the University over to the museum after class and began exploring the different exhibits.
The Pumapungo Museum houses an impressive collection of great modern art, regional artifacts, and more than 20 displays that illustrate the variety of Ecuador’s geographic regions. On the second floor of the building, a captivating journey awaited, inviting us to explore Ecuador’s rich tapestry of indigenous cultures. Vibrant dioramas and meticulously crafted replicas of traditional dwellings transported us through the diverse heritage of Afro-Ecuadorians from the Esmeraldas province, the resilient montubios (coastal farmers) resembling cowboys in the western lowlands, as well as various rainforest communities and prominent highland groups.
However, one of the museum’s main draws is their collection of shrunken heads, known as tsantsas, from the Shuar people of Amazonia. Historically, in some indigenous cultures, part of a boy’s transition into manhood required that he kill an enemy and make a trophy of his skull, scalp, ears, or—in the case of the Shuar—the hide and hair from the entire head. The process of shrinking a head into a necklace-sized pendant, known as tsantsa, was unique to the Shaur, and supposedly enabled them to harness their spirit for strength in future battles. We weren’t expecting to see anything like this during our time at the museum but it was interesting to learn about this unique practice.
Pumapungo Ancestral Park
After we finished exploring inside the museum, we moved to the outdoor space surrounding the building to continue discovering more about the region’s history and culture. The rain drizzled lightly around us as we stepped out into the Pumapungo Ancestral Park, but we were committed to see everything the museum offered and carried on. We were immediately met with an extensive set of ruins of a former Incan military post, but unfortunately only the foundations remain today because the Spanish conquistadors moved most of the stone on the site to build Cuenca. It was still amazing to see another Incan archeological area though and consider the history that had taken place while we walked through the ruins.
Pumapungo Ethnobotanical Park
After we explored the ruins for a while, we descended down the hill towards the ethnobotanical park, which contains over 230 native Andean plants and trees, making it a unique Andean ecological center. There was also an avifauna rescue center on the grounds which, in coordination with other organizations, works to contribute to the fight against illicit bird trafficking with a goal of eventually returning them freely to their natural habitat after being properly cared for. We saw all types of species of birds housed at the shelter, including macaws, parrots, and eagles.
Last Night in Cuenca
A few days later, after successfully finishing and presenting our culminating group project to the rest of the class, we walked around Cuenca’s city center one last time before heading to the San Juan Hotel for a going-away group dinner. It took a while for our food to be brought out, and I ended up taking my food to go so that I could catch the Tranvía nearby and head to a synthetic field for an evening game of pickup soccer. The game was a blast, and I couldn’t think of a better way to spend my last night in Cuenca than to be on the pitch with some of the local friends I had made in the few weeks I had been in Ecuador.
Bike Ride Across Cuenca
Now free of homework and assignments, I had one final morning left in Cuenca before having to head to the airport later that evening, and I was determined to make the most of my remaining time in this beautiful Andean city. I set out to see as much as possible, borrowing a bike from my host family and heading east along the Parque Lineal Rio Yanuncay, just across from our home away from home.
A few miles down the trail I rode past the entrance of the city’s beautiful Botanical Gardens. This spectacularly landscaped park, nestled into a bend along the Río Yanuncay, is home to thousands of different plant species and offers free admission, making it a great place for anyone in Cuenca looking for a tranquil outdoor atmosphere.
Exploring Cuenca’s Riverside Parks
I followed the greenway further along the river to one of the city’s biggest greenspaces, el Parque el Paraíso (Paradise Park). The park sits in between two of the city’s four most important rivers, the Río Yanuncay and the Río Tomebamba, right next to where the two rivers converge. As I rode through the park I saw people enjoying all sorts of activities within the park, from sports to picnicking to outdoor yoga and everything in between.
Connecting to Central Cuenca
I decided to follow the Río Tomebamba west for a while to see how the trail connected into the city center, passing the Pumapungo Museum and the famous Puente Roto (Broken Bridge) along the way. I took a lap around El Parque de la Madre, a popular urban park near El Estadio Alejandro Serrano, where the city’s professional soccer team plays, and El Centro Comercial Milenium Plaza, a busy shopping mall near downtown. The park includes a running/walking path, basketball courts, outdoor exercise equipment, and open space where locals and tourists alike were just enjoying the beautiful morning.
North Along the Río Tomebamba
As I headed back east along the Río Tomebamba, and passed el Parque el Paraíso to continue heading north along the river. I was amazed at how much of the city I had been able to explore on connected trails without essentially ever having to ride on a road with other vehicles. I passed through another park, El Parque Los Eucaliptos, and followed a side trail along the Río Milchichig for a bit. A few miles later the main greenway trail finally diverged from the Río Tomebamba, heading along the Río Machangara instead.
Cuenca Tranvía
The trail continued alongside the river for a while longer, but then I split off to ride alongside a road that led straight to the easternmost stop of the Cuenca Tranvía, el Parque Industrial. It was amazing to see the trail to transit connection the city had created, connecting the tram from the easternmost station to the Río Yanuncay with the greenway network. I wanted to enjoy as much time outside as possible though, so I turned around and began riding back home along the greenway. The whole trip covered about 20 miles and took me about two and a half hours, but with more time I definitely would’ve spent more time in the parks dotted along the trail. Check out a map of my ride below!
I showered quickly after returning home from my ride, and our host family gathered for one last traditional lunch before heading to the airport. I’ll always be incredibly grateful for the generosity and hospitality they showed me during the short time I spent with them.
Leaving Cuenca
We packed up our luggage into our host mom’s car, took some final pictures, and headed up towards the Mariscal Lamar International Airport. The Cuenca airport isn’t a very large one, so with almost two hours before our flight was supposed to leave we weren’t very concerned about arriving at the airport in time. Unfortunately, for some reason there was a ton of traffic in between where we were and the airport, and it took us about an hour to reach the drop-off location.
I thought an hour would still be plenty of time to check-in and go through security because of how small the airport was, but when we got to the LATAM check-in desk we were met with some disappointing news. Unbeknownst to us beforehand, the gate agents informed us of a policy that prevented any bags from being checked-in less than one hour before a flight was scheduled to leave. We had missed the cut by five minutes. So even though I already had a boarding pass ready to go, I wasn’t allowed to bring my suitcase with me, which was a bit frustrating.
Change of Plans
Three of my classmates were in the same situation, and we were all concerned about missing our connecting overnight flight from Quito back to Atlanta if we weren’t able to get out of Cuenca in time. After about forty-five minutes discussing the situation with the airline representatives, we made the decision to cut our losses and buy completely new tickets on the next flight to Quito from Cuenca, which would give us a very narrow window to catch our flight back to the United States – but it gave us a chance. Although it very clearly wasn’t the most ideal situation possible, we were ready to get home, and didn’t want to risk having to buy a new flight back to Atlanta as well.
Because our new flight wasn’t connected to our overall itinerary anymore, however, once we arrived in Quito we had to run to the baggage claim, grab our luggage, check-in over again with Delta Airlines, and race back through security and to our gate. It definitely ended up being one of the more stressful travel experiences I’ve ever had, but I was even able to use the bathroom quickly at the Quito Airport before boarding, so in the end things worked out. We took off and headed north, and after a few hours of attempting to get some sleep on the plane, we began to descend. I was back in Atlanta!
I had an incredible time exploring, learning, and living in Ecuador, and Puerto Rico beforehand, this summer as a part of my summer study abroad programs. The opportunity to experience these different cultures, landscapes, and environments was truly one-of-a-kind, and I was so grateful for the adventure.
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