Ecuador Week 1: Studying Abroad in the “Athens of Ecuador”
The first person I met when I landed in Cuenca, officially named Santa Ana de los Cuatro Ríos de Cuenca, was my host mom for the study abroad program, Silvia. She was waiting in the airport terminal for me when I landed, holding a green sign that had my name written on it. We walked outside to her car and drove across the city back to her house. She was driving her parent’s truck, both because she needed space for my suitcase and also because her car was almost out of gas. I was arriving in Ecuador during an intense struggle between the federal government and indigenous groups. Due to protests and blocked streets the city was experiencing some shortages, including gas.
Silva’s a super sweet lady who’s now retired and has lived in Cuenca nearly her whole life. Her house is on the same plot of land as the houses of her siblings, right near the Río Yanuncay. It’s about a twenty minute walk from her house to the University of Cuenca, where our study abroad program was being hosted.
Silvia’s also an excellent cook, as I was quick to discover. Here in Ecuador, meals are a bit different than in the United States. The biggest meal is lunch, where there are generally three courses: a type of soup, rice with some form of meat and salad, and a small dessert. Breakfast is important here as well, but the people eat very little for dinner, usually just something to drink and a type of bread or pastry.
Classes and Protests
Silvia walked with me and another student from the program living with us Monday morning over to the University so we could get to know the route. Once we joined everyone else in the program, we took a quick tour of the campus and then started our first class.
Unfortunately, while we were in class, the protests in Cuenca grew in intensity. As a precaution, instead of walking, Silvia came and picked us up so we could drive back to the house. We were asked to stay in our homes the rest of the day, but I left once later that evening to accompany Silvia to her parent’s house and back.
Exploring the Riverwalk along the Río Yanuncay
The next day we had class online, and spent most of the day inside. Once the streets cleared up a bit in the afternoon however, a group of us went for a walk along the Parque Lineal Río Yanuncay, a greenway that follows the nearby river. I ended up splitting from the group after a while however, because I saw two families playing small-sided soccer and asked if I could join. They were really nice about it, and I played with them for about an hour and a half.
The smaller sized field ended up being a huge blessing. I found out quickly that I was not acclimated to the altitude yet. Cuenca sits within a valley in the Andes Mountains at 8,400 feet above sea level. Living at sea level for the past few weeks definitely didn’t help my situation: San Diego is about 60 feet above sea level, San Juan about 25 feet. I could definitely feel the difference. It wasn’t a super intense match, but I quickly realized I needed more time to fully acclimate to the altitude.
So of course, the next day, after class in the morning and working on homework most of the afternoon, I decided to give my altitude acclimation another test. I went for a run along the Parque Lineal Río Yanuncay, following it to as far as it extends towards the west side of the city. It was about a five mile run, and while it wasn’t the fastest I’ve ever gone, I wasn’t as exhausted as the day before, which I took as progress.
First Time in Central Cuenca
We had class at the university again Thursday morning, and received the news we all had been waiting for. The protests were officially over! The federal government and the indigenous organization had reached an agreement, and the strikes and demonstrations were dissolved. This meant it was safer for us to be in the streets again, so after lunch we returned back to campus. After listening to a presentation from a local economic group, we headed out into the city. We walked across the Río Tomebamba towards the city center and visited the Maki FairTrade store. This small but impressive shop had a variety of beautiful, locally handmade products, from hats to jewelry to blankets, along with small souvenirs and other accessories. Learn more about the FairTrade program here and see some of the products sold here: fairtrade.ec
Before heading back home we stopped by the city’s Museum of Modern Art. It wasn’t the biggest museum, but it was located in a beautiful area and had many interesting exhibits. The gardens in the back were pretty as well. It was also free, so spending a few minutes looking around was definitely worth it.
Cuenca City Tour
After class on Friday we were given a tour of the city, visiting a few key places in central Cuenca. We left the University, crossed the river, and climbed up dozens of stairs to reach the city center. On our way into town we stopped by the Plaza del Vado, which included a statue, cross, art, and a breathtaking view of the southern modern half of Cuenca.
Our next stop was the Plaza de San Francisco. There were dozens of kiosks selling all sorts of products, and the shopkeepers called out to us as we walked by. The plaza also offered a great view of the Catedral de la Inmaculada Concepción, the enormous cathedral in the middle of town that is famous throughout the region.
After taking a few pictures we turned back to visit the Centro Municipal de Artesanias (CEMUART), right across the street from the plaza. This commercial center hosts an incredible collection of local artisan shops, selling homemade goods of all kinds. You can also find the famous Panama Hat sold here, which isn’t actually from Panama and is in fact only made in the Cuenca area.
Cuenca’s Old Cathedral
We walked through the Plaza de San Francisco again towards the Catedral de la Inmaculada Concepción. We didn’t go inside, but even just the exterior architecture was breathtaking. Instead, we walked through the Parque Calderón to the other side where the Old Cathedral of Cuenca stands. We paid a small fee to get in and got the chance to explore this magnificent church for a while. This was the main cathedral in Cuenca for many years before the new one was built, and now it is open to the public as a museum as well. The building was huge, the organ beautiful, and the artwork impressive. I even went inside my first catacomb, built underneath the cathedral, which was an interesting experience.
After we finished exploring the Old Cathedral, we walked along the Paseo 3 de Noviembre, following the river back to the University. The Río Tomebamba basically splits the city in half, so there are a lot of bridges connecting the two sides of the river.
Looking for activities and tours in Cuenca? Check out Viator.com for great options!
El Mercado 10 de Agosto
One of our homework assignments for the class was to visit a local market and write an ethnograph. On Saturday morning I walked to the Mercado 10 de Agosto, a huge market located in the middle of Cuenca.
The first thought that came to mind when I walked into the market was the phrase “controlled chaos.” It’s something my mother usually says when she describes our house, but perfectly applied here. When I lived in Guatemala I went to a few markets as well, but the one in Cuenca was bigger than anything I had ever seen. At the entrance I stopped for a moment to take some first impressions. As I listened to music playing from across the street, I noticed that the market had two floors, with stairs and escalators up to the second floor in the middle of the building. I also noticed that most of the stores seemed to be located along the perimeter of the market, which made sense and was similar to other markets I had visited.
I learned that the market is a public area and that vendors rent a space within the building, but each of them is responsible for their own products. At this particular market, it seemed that all kinds of people from the city came to shop, including families with children, especially in the small restaurants upstairs.
Products at the Market
When we started walking around, I saw lots of different vendors full with all types of products. Women sold packaged foods, couples displayed baskets of fresh fruits and vegetables, and families stocked clothes and accessories of all kinds. After exploring the ground floor for a bit, we accidently walked down a hallway entirely dedicated to kiosks selling women’s underwear, getting some strange looks as we passed by. We visited the market around lunchtime, so the building was quite crowded, especially on the second floor where all the restaurant kiosks were located. Many sellers were busy with other customers negotiating prices. Those who weren’t, however, called out to us as we passed.
Market Food
Every morning for breakfast, our host mom gave us local fruit as part of the meal and I was interested to see what other types the market had to offer. I saw many different types of fruits that I did not recognize. One of these was the tree tomato, which is apparently usually used only to make a drink, rather than eating it directly. The naranjilla was also new to me, and is also usually used only to make a drink. I had never seen fresh maracuyá before this trip to the market, but I had tried it before when our host mother made ice cream with this flavor.
I was also surprised to see so many different types of potatoes on the market, more than I knew even existed. One of the vendors told me that there were more than three hundred different types of potatoes in total, but in her store she only had about fifteen. You can buy large quantities packed in bags or select them individually. Some of the names of the potatoes I remember are leona negra, cecelia, capiro, unica and chola. The two most popular ways to eat potatoes in Ecuador are as chips or in soups.
After being at the market and seeing all this food, I started to feel a little hungry. When we left, I wanted something easy to eat, so I bought a donut at a bakery. It had dulce de leche inside, and it was a delicious way to end our visit to the Mercado 10 de Agosto.
Host Family Time and El Mirador Turi
We had some more free time that afternoon, and visited the Parque El Recreo with Silvia’s extended family. The park is located just a few blocks down along the river, and I had passed it on my run a few days ago. I kicked around a soccer ball with some of the kids for a while, and then we all walked across the street for ice cream from a store called Monte Bianco. It was delicious. Ice cream always is.
Once we finished at the park, the three of us drove up to a famous Cuencan viewpoint, el Mirador de Turi. You can see the entire city from Turi, and it truly offers a one-of-a-kind perspective of the valley. A Catholic church that can be seen throughout the entire city sits on top of the mountain, and there are a few restaurants and gift shops near the viewpoint as well. There’s even a small adventure park that offers a couple of different activities, but it was too late in the day for us to check it out.
We got to watch the sun set behind the mountains, and see the lights of the city come to life, which completely transformed the look of the valley. An airplane flew overhead on its way to land at the Cuenca Airport, and going to Turi was a fantastic way to end my first week in Cuenca.
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