Enjoying the Last Days of Ecuador

We arrived at our Hostel in Cuenca at 1:30 AM. Thankfully, we were able to get in, although we felt pretty bad about waking up the owner. The hostel we stayed in was a 100 year old house and it was gorgeous on the inside. We were put in the nicest room we’ve stayed in yet. We pretty much crashed right away.

We woke up for breakfast the next morning. Breakfast was the standard; eggs and toast. After eating we went back in the room and lounged till about lunch time. Jeremy found a Mexican restaurant to eat at for lunch. It was funny being on the inside of it because it looked like any other Mexican restaurant I had ever been to. The food was great and it was cheap. 

Pretty pumped to finally have Mexican food

"Quesadillas"

After eating, we explored the city a little bit. We saw church after church. Everywhere we looked there was beautiful architecture. 

The street art is also incredible in Cuenca. Here are just a few of my favorites:

(This is for you Josie)

After walking around for a while, we decided to head back the hostel to participate in ciesta (nap time). 

We didn’t head back out till around 7. We walked to McDonald’s for dinner. I know, we aren’t really embracing the local food but we all have not been feeling 100% so we haven’t been very adventurous with our food choices.

After dinner, we went back to Parque Madre, the park we were at earlier that day. It was PACKED! There was a class of at least 50 people doing Zumba. I decided to join in for a little bit. 

There were dozens of people running and walking around the track, people doing situps along the fences, others using the work out equipment built into the park. There was a pickup game of soccer and 2 basketball games going on the court. It was amazing to witness this community come together to work out. I really wish this was common in the states. What a great way to get moving and to do it with neighbors.  Jeremy and I decided to join in on the basketball game and we had a blast.

Once we started walking back to the hostel, we saw even more people working out. There is a flight of about 90 stairs and I counted at least 15 people running up and down them. It was truly incredible to see.

We took the next morning just as easy. We lazily woke up for breakfast and lounged around till lunch.I did a little sink laundry. 

For lunch this time, we went to Chipotle for lunch. It was soooooooo good. 

The night before, we all placed a $1 bet on who could take the best picture. As we were walking around the city, we were getting pretty creative. It was really fun to just be goofy and relax.

Around 3, we went back to the hostel to take another nap. At 4, we met up with some friends of Alex. She did mission work with them in El Salvador. We met the guy, Carl, at a local ice cream shop and he walked us back to their beautiful condo. Carl took us up to the top of the city to overlook all of Cuenca.

After seeing the beauty of the city, we went to dinner at an Italian restaurant. After dinner, we parted ways and once again the three of us just headed back to the hostel. I had to get ready for my Skype RA interview. I Skyped Clair to test out my internet and it was such a treat to hear from her. Luckily the internet worked great so I knew the interview call wouldn’t drop.

After my interview, we all pretty much just went to bed.

The next morning we woke up and headed to the bus station. We caught the next bus to Guayaquil where our long journey begins.

This is the first city I have been unhappy in. It is dirty and smelly. We just hung out in our hostel for a couple hours and then walked to the nearest super market. Here, we bought food to cook for ourselves. We can't drink the water in any of the places we have been because of the different bacteria. For this same reason, we can't eat the vegetables here and can only eat fruits that can be peeled. This has left us all craving some fresh food and I can really feel the lack of these nutrients taking a toll on my body.

Solid dinner of grilled cheese and canned corn and fruit cocktail (the closet to fruits and veggies I've had since I left).

After dinner, we headed back to our room and played cribbage. 

It actually has been really nice to just explore these cities and hang out. I know there are bigger things we could be doing here to fully experience each city but in our own way, we are taking something special from these places.

Tomorrow starts our 3 days of travel. We will leave here on a 28 hour bus ride from Lima, Peru. When we arrive in Lima, we will have 3 hours and then we will load another bus for a 16 hour ride to Arequipa, Peru. When we get there we will have to find a bus that will get us to Puno, Peru. If we get to Puno before 2, we can take a bus to Copacabana but if we arrive later we will have to stay in a hostel and take a bus the next day. My missionary friends, Jeff and Debbie are graciously going to meet us at the Bolivian border. I am so excited to see them! If all goes right, we will be in Copacabana on Sunday or Monday!