Day 12 - Aug 4, 2018 Ingapirca & Alausi, Ecuador

We hired a car to take us on a day trip to Ingapirca and Alausi today.  Ingapirca is the most significant and complete Inca ruin in Ecuador and it's located 1.5h drive north of Cuenca.  Although it's not a huge site and definitely not on the scale of Machu Pichu, its setting on a hill overlooking the small town of Ingapirca is still stunning.  This Inca ruin is also significant in the sense that it is the only Inca structure that is curved elliptically as Inca temples are all rectangular and straight-lined.  This change in building style can be attributed to the influence of the local Canari people.  Canari were fierce warriors themselves and had successfully resisted the Inca's northern advance from Peru for years.  It's only through political marriage that the Inca was successful to make peace with the Canari and continue their conquest north.  Part of the famous Inca trail runs through Ingapirca.  The temple structure made of perfectly fitted stones without the use of mortar again reminded us of the advance building techniques of the Inca people.

Original Inca Trail - Hwy of Inca!

The town of Alausi is located a further 2.5h drive north of Ingapirca.  We came here to ride what is claimed to be the world's most dangerous train track up and down the mountain known as Nariz del Diablo (Devil's Nose).  Here, in order to reach the top of the mountain, the train had to switched tracks in a zig-zag way several times up the very steep mountain, going forward and backward.  This train track is actually part of the Ecuadorian train network connecting the Pacific coast Guayaquil to Cuenca before the highways were built.  It is now developed as a tourist attraction to draw tourists to the back countries to spread the economic benefits.  Our seats were unfortunately on the wrong side of the train so we did not experience fully the experience but the few glimpses that we had showed it's quite scary and very scenic.  There was only one stop for this train ride to the small village town of Sibambe.  We were treated to local dance show and some explanations of local history and farming.  Good exercise to participate in their dance!

Switch back train tracks below cliff

Train starting to switch track

Nariz del Diablo - You can see train tracks cut into the mountain

Our driver is Eucadorian who had lived in the US for 12 years before returning home.  He left for New York in 2000 during Ecuador's last currency storm when their local currency, Sucre, lost 260X their original value against the US dollar.  To stem the crisis, the Ecuador government decided to abandon the Sucre and adopt the US dollar as their official currency at the prevailing exchange rate.  So instead of 1000:1 Sucre to USD, people had to exchange their Sucre at 26000:1 rate.  Millions of people lost their lifesavings and decided to leave the country to protect what amount they were left with.  Our driver told us that 2 million Ecuadorians (out of 13 million total population) left the country.  That's 15% of their population!  This could explain the numerous US tourists we met on our journey here who have Ecuador relatives or connections.

Our dinner was eaten at Tiesto's Cafe recommended by our driver to try their specialty grilled pork ribs.  We were really surprised to be served many many pickled veggies (onion, eggplant, potato, pepper) and salsa sauces made with mango, passion fruit, pineapple, etc.  It reminded us of eating in Korean restaurants where they served you varieties of kimchi and pickled veggies.  Their local white corn is gigantic and tasty.

Day 11 - Aug 3, 2018 Cuenca, Ecuador

Cuenca sits at around 2200m above sea level in the Andes mountains.  Since it is surrounded by mountains, its climate, like Quito, is highly unpredictable and subjected to the micro-climates created by the high mountains.  We were initially terrified by the weather forecast before we arrived.  Everyday the forecast was rain, rain, and more rain!  These were totally discarded by the locals who really do not even watch weather forecast.  And I must say that the locals are right!  Since we were here, the days would start sunny with a few clouds.  As the day progressed, it would become more cloudy.  At times, it would appear it's going to rain but then the clouds would start to disappear, followed by sunshine.  By nighttime, the sky would become cloudy.  The day time temperatures were around 20-22C and after sunset, the temperature would drop to around 12-14C.  On the streets, I seemed to be the only one wearing shorts!  Everyone seemed to carry a sweater or jacket.

We had decided to stay several days in Cuenca because of its reputation as one of the top cities in the world for retirement.  Our second day here started with a walk to the central plaza to visit the main cathedral.  The Catedral de la Inmaculada Concepcion has three giant blue domes that dominates the Cuenca skylines.  Its inside is huge and decorated with beautiful stained glasses.  It must be one of the biggest cathedrals in South America, if not the biggest!  Construction of the cathedral started in 1885 by the local town when the old cathedral was too small to hold the crowds.  The old cathedral, sitting directly opposite the plaza, is now a museum after being restored from years of neglect.  There is a small scale model of the new cathedral there on display.

Walking south from the main plaza took us to one of several small rivers that cut across Cuenca, Rio Tomebamba.  There is a pleasant pedestrian path along the river with flowering trees and shrubs that leads to parks and even a bridge that goes nowhere.  We saw local children practicing gymnastics using ribbons hanging off the bridge.  At the end of the path, we entered the garden of Museo Pumapungo which is a national museum partly built to display the artifacts excavated from the nearby Inca settlement ruins of Pumapungo.  The whole site was restored to showcase how this Inca village would look like in the past so there was a big garden of various crops and food staple plants like corn and tomatoes.  There was even an aviary with many bird species like parrots and macaws!  Several llamas lazily grazing on the pasture made this a picture perfect setting with the deep blue sky.  The museum itself was very interesting although sadly not much was in English.  We could still figure out that Pumapungo was a significant archaeological find with tons of artifacts and structures uncovered.  The second and third floors of the museum were dedicated to different regions that made up Ecuador all the way from the Pacific coast to the high Andes to the Amazon jungles.  There was even a special section (with English translation) dedicated to the Amazon tribe who practiced head-hunting literally and shrank the heads to wear on their necks!  Too bad no picture was allowed in the museum.

Inside the cathedral

A model of the cathedral

Bridge that leads to nowhere!

Pumapungo Inca Ruins

Aviary at Pumapunga

Iglesia de Santo Domingo

Day 10 - Aug 2, 2018 Cuenca, Ecuador

Our day started with a huge breakfast at the Radisson Guayaquil.  We were not disappointed as we had many excellent breakfasts in various Radisson hotels worldwide.  We then took a taxi to a transport depot to get on a minivan to Cuenca which is 3h drive away.  We were initially disappointed that our reservations were not honoured and we had to wait another hour for the next van.  It was a blessing in disguise as there were not much legroom inside the van and the next van only had 3 passengers including us.  In effect, it felt as if we had hired a private van transfer for a really cheap price!  The journey took us from the coastal tropical plain at Guayaquil all the way up to Caja National Park at almost 4000m high before decending into Cuenca valley at 2200m.  As we started to climb, the cloud and mist started to roll in and for over an hour, the visibility was almost zero!  Yet the van was still clicking in at 80-90 kph amoungst the winding mountain road.  To add to the drama, drivers in Ecuador had total disregard for single or double solid lines or no passing signs.  They would pass wherever and whenever they want, sometimes even at blind turning spots!  Sometimes it's better to close your eyes and don't even look!  Caja National Park was very scenic but unfortunately, we ran out of time to explore it so it is good that we went through it on our way to Cuenca.

Breakfast at Radisson Guayaquil

Driving to Cuenca in near ZERO visibility!

Our van driver dropped us off at the depot on the outskirt of town and we had to hail a taxi into the old town where our hotel was located.  The taxi driver's face changed color when he heard our destination was the old town.  He refused to drive us there but we insisted.  Finally, he relented and drove us there in no time.  We later found out that due to the installation of new tram service in the old town, traffic had become horrendous and many roads were closed for construction.

Our hotel, Hotel Boutique Los Balcones, is a renovated historic house where famous poet and politicians had stayed before.  It is very charming with all the antique decoration.  Staff there were super courteous and professional.  We were given an excellent room facing the inside courtyard so we were spared from the street noise.  The hotel is located only few blocks from the main plaza so it is close to everything.  We walked to a public market close by and got many yummy tropical fruits like maracuya (passion fruit), custard apple (chirimoya), giantic avocado, and pitahaya which is similar to dragon fruit but yellow in color and super super sweet!  For the rest of the afternoon, we just wandered around town to get our bearings.

Our hotel (Hotel Boutique Los Balcones)

Tropical fruits at the local market

Rush hour in Cuenca

Catedral de la Inmaculada Concepcion, Cuenca

Flower market