Cuenca, Ecuador.  (April, 2022, Part III).

In my trip planning notes Amaru Zoológico Cuenca was designated as both a zoo and a hike.  And so it was.  We arrived about 10:00 AM on Monday and paid $12 for two tickets.  The lady at the ticket desk told us that the one-way route is 4 kilometers (2.4 miles) and would take at least three hours.

It took us almost exactly three hours.  The route is a dirt trail, similar to what you would expect hiking in the woods.  It is uneven, littered with rocks and tree roots, and muddy in many places.  Being on the side of a mountain, most of the trail is spent going up or down.  There are a lot of fairly steep sections. 

Tennis shoes were okay, but I would have rather been in hiking boots.  Towards the end Stephanie and I joked about the excellent $12 workout we received.

The exhibits are grouped into five sections: Los Andes (the Andes Mountains); Mágico Bosque Seco (tropical dry forest); Amazonía (the Amazon Rain Forest); Islas Encantadas (enchanted islands, i.e., the Galapagos Islands); and, África salvaje (wild Africa).

I was not impressed with Los Andes, though the alpacas were pretty neat.  Mágico Bosque Seco has one exhibit, collared peccaries (think small hogs).  They smelled pretty bad and attracted flies.

Amazonía is clearly the highlight of the zoo.  This section includes snakes, frogs, turtles, tropical birds, crocodiles, monkeys, and jaguars.  Stephanie and I were lucky enough to be in the tropical bird house at feeding time.  The toucans, lovebirds, and macaws knew their feeding places and promptly flew there as their food bowls were filled.

The final two sections were Islas Encantadas (a few birds and Galapagos Giant Tortoises) and África salvaje (lions and more birds).  By the time we made it to this point in the hike we were pretty beat up and ready to go.

As a zoo, Amaru Zoológico Cuenca gets a B grade (Amazonía is an A; all else is a C-).  As a hike in the woods, I’d give it an A.  We earned our Pilsener Light that night.

During our final week we decided to give the Museo Municipal de Arte Moderno (Modern Art Museum) another chance.  The last time we tried to go it was inexplicably closed.  Now it was open and free to enter, with the obligatory sanitizer spray.

The museum is comprised of several large outdoor courtyards with sculptures.  At the time of our visit the few interior rooms were dedicated to an exhibit of paintings by local Ecuadorian artist Arial Dawi.   Not my taste, but the paintings were okay.  It was a nice 30-minute visit.

As is now to be expected, Stephanie found a local spa to attend for an afternoon with a friend, Piedra de Agua Fuente Termal & Spa, in the nearby community of Baños.  For $48 plus tip (and a $5 taxi ride), Stephanie got a 30-minute massage, a two-hour thermal spa tour (mud baths and hot water soaks), heated outdoor pools, and a glass of champagne. 

I got peace and quiet for most of a day.  All in all, it was a fair trade.

For our last weekend in Cuenca we tried something new: a symphony.  The Orquesta Sinfónica de Cuenca gave a free performance dedicated to Ecuadorian composers – Nuestra Música (our music) – at el Teatro Case de la Cultura.  Also participating were dancers from Ballet Andino Causanacunchic.

We sat on the far-right side about six or seven rows from the front.  There were six of us together.  Thank God I sat away from the aisle.  Towards the end of the hour-long performance the dancers walked up the aisles and grabbed folks to come up front to dance.  Stephanie and I were too far from the aisle to be selected. 

Before and after the symphony we had drinks with a few other travelers.  Prior to the concert we went to Consuelo Restaurante for beers, which is best described as a very small restaurant and bar decorated in a religious eclectic style.  Very quirky.  Stephanie loved it.

Afterwards we went to a more traditional place, Monday Blue, basically a Mexican restaurant plastered with random decorations (signs, money, old license plates, photos, and so on).  It would fit in nicely anywhere in the United States.

The unique thing about this place is the rectangular napkin box on each table.  It has call buttons to request either a server (for more beer) or the bill (time to go).  Four large beers and chips with guacamole set us back only $10.

Instead of going out to dinner on our last night, we instead went to brunch at Sunrise Café.  It was highly recommended, and rightly so.  The food was very good.  The portion sizes were so large, and we ate so much, that we skipped dinner that night.

Earlier in the day we had our covid tests for our flight back to Memphis.  We tested negative (thankfully), but requiring a covid test to fly to the United States is ridiculous, especially for vaccinated citizens.  We can fly from Memphis to anywhere in the United States without taking a covid test.  Why do we need a negative test to fly from Quito to Atlanta?

Overall Cuenca grew on us the longer we stayed.  It is a nice town with plenty of activities.  I suspect Cuenca is a better place to live than to visit.  I’m still not convinced Cuenca is as great as others make it out to be, but I’m glad we came for a month. 

Next up: a return to Europe to go see some castles.

Garrett and Stephanie

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