I’m just going to go ahead and kill three birds with one stone in this post. I’m still writing about my time in Ecuador and this week, I’m talking about three of the short stops we made toward the end of my study abroad- Alausí, Ingapirca, and Cuenca.
Alausí was a small town and our main reason for being there was for the Devil’s Nose train ride. We had the chance to wander the tiny town until 11, which was when we then hopped on the train and rode up to this small mountain community which was a hardcore tourist attraction. Before that though, I had a chance to buy some empanadas and they were so good and fresh. 🙂 Good empanadas are another thing I really miss from my time in Ecuador. There were dancers and a lot of bright colors and good smelling food. Toward the end of our time in the community, I even got to dance with one of the dancers when they all started picking people to dance with from the crowd. It was pretty fun.
Also, in my opinion, if you look toward the top of the mountain in the center of this photo, it looks like a face is coming out of the mountain and that’s also why I think they call it Devil’s Nose.
We left the community at 1 and were back in Alausí for lunch pretty quick. For lunch, we stopped at a cafeteria and I had a massive plate of really good local food and a huge glass of blackberry juice, all for only $4! Our time in Alausí was short but sweet. We then had a lovely three hour bus ride to our next stop, Ingapirca. See ya later Alausí!
We arrived at our hotel, La Posada Ingapirca (I’m pretty sure that was the name), and then had dinner at the hotel around 7. I was feeling kind of yucky when we got to this hotel but I was extremely relieved to find a comfy bed and very cozy room waiting for me. I remember sleeping very hard that night. And if I can recall this right, I’m pretty sure the sleep I got that night was the best it had been in a few.
The next morning, we had breakfast at the hotel and then were off to the Ingapirca Ruins, which are a mixture of Cañari and Incan Ruins. I’ve always wanted to see some form of ancient ruins and it was cool to see what we did. If you’re ever in Ingapirca, Ecuador for some reason, go check these out! They’re no Machu Picchu, but they’re still very cool. After seeing this ruins, I’m even more intrigued to actually go to Machu Picchu and see the Mayan and Aztec Ruins in Latin America. Maybe some day!
Our time in Ingapirca concluded after our tour of the Ingapirca Ruins and we were then off to Cuenca. We arrived before lunch time, checked into our hotel (which was gorgeous by the way! If you’re looking for a good hotel in Cuenca, San Juan Hotel is the way to go!), and then were off to lunch at a really cute place called Simón. I had a buffalo-chicken sandwich with fries and strawberry juice and that was a very good meal, despite my upset stomach. I still wasn’t feeling 100% and it was honestly so frustrating to have such good food in front of me and worry about not being able to keep it down.
Following lunch we had a tour of Cuenca and it was a gorgeous little city. We were there on a Sunday and Cuenca is a very religious town so a lot was closed, but I still really enjoyed taking in the views of such a pretty town. After our tour, we had some time to relax at the hotel and then went out to dinner at this place near the Catedral de Cuenca. I had some really good avocado, cheese, and potato soup that night. 🙂 To work off our dinner, we then walked to the river and then back to the hotel and hit the hay for the night.
I wish we could’ve stayed in Cuenca longer, but sadly, the next morning was our last day (not even a full one) there. We had breakfast at the hotel, visited the Catedral de Cuenca, which was absolutely STUNNING by the way, and then left for our final destination, Guayaquil. One quick thing about the Catedral de Cuenca. They built it to emulate Notre Dame in France, but something went wrong with the calculations for the towers and so if they had added the full-on towers to truly look like Notre Dame, the whole building would have collapsed so they didn’t do that. Being inside the cathedral was such a powerful moment and I’m sad that I wasn’t able to take any pictures in there though. I can understand why, but I just wish I had some pictures of it to remember how beautiful it was. If you ever find yourself in Cuenca, please visit the cathedral. It’s hard to miss.
I’ve really enjoyed sharing my experiences in Ecuador and I hope that you all have enjoyed reading about them! Visiting a new country is such a fun experience, even if you get sick along the way. Our short time in Alausí, Ingapirca, and Cuenca was fun and I hope that you all have a chance to explore another culture or country some time, or have done so already. I’ll see you all next Sunday for the final Ecuador blog. Have a good week! 🙂
