Following our cruise in the Galápagos, we were tired. We returned to our home base in Quito for a couple nights, but we made up our minds that we’d be leaving soon to spend our final few days in Cuenca, an hour flight to the South.
Our hotel was right in the heart of historic Cuenca. Keeping with the theme of our trip, the center of the city is a UNESCO World Heritage Site due to its myriad of well-preserved, Spanish Colonial style buildings.
Similar to our stay in Baños a couple weeks prior, our visit to Cuenca was tranquil. In fact, at one point, over a bottle of wine in our hotel garden, Elizabeth uncontrollably proclaimed, “this is the most tranquil place in the world.” The whole town just had an easygoing vibe about it.
A few things stand out above the rest:
The city center is super close to the airport.
Upon arrival, the cab ride to our hotel took about 15 minutes, and it only cost a few bucks. For perspective, that’s less than half the time it took to get to the airport in Quito. Huge deal!
Walking (or biking) the Rio Tomebamba.
There’s a clean and not-too-busy trail that highlighted our time in Cuenca – we spent an hour or so each day strolling along the picturesque riverwalk. We were told that biking was the way to go, so we tried to rent bikes from a local hostel. Unfortunately, we learned they recently did away with their day bike rental offering, so we decided to lace up our sneakers and stay on foot. Here’s a photo of Elizabeth loving it all:
Dinner at Tiestos (link).
This spot was the bomb. Highly recommended by an American chef we met in Quito, we ate here on our last night. It took us about 30 seconds to decide on the pre fixe option #1 on the menu, and it proved to be the best meal we had in Ecuador. Here’s what we got, to split:
Sopa de Camarones (shrimp soup)
Langostinos al Tiesto (prawns cooked in melted butter, served with potatoes)
Pollo al Curry con Macadamias (curry chicken w/ thin macadamia nuts)
Lomo Fino a la Crema y Tomate (beef tenderloin)
Postre (dessert: the most beautifully-plated chocolate cake imaginable)
Copa de vino blanco (glass of white wine x2)
Copa de vino tinto (glass of red wine x2)
And last but not least – our hotel was stunning.
After a rather exhausting trip to the Galápagos, we opted for a balcony suite in an upscale boutique hotel called Mansión Alcázar. The rates seemed as reasonable as any 4+ star hotel back in the States, and the location was perfect, so we went for it. Upon arrival, the kind folks at the front desk informed us that we’d been upgraded to a bigger suite built just two months prior (check!). After a short walk through lush private gardens rivaled only by Elizabeth’s parents’ garden back in Indianapolis (aka our wedding venue), we stepped into our suite, which was complete with climate-controlled (heated) tile floors, a stainless steel kitchenette, a king bed (duh) and a master bathroom the size of our old studio apartment back in New York City. Photos can’t do the place justice, but here’s one anyways:
It was a short, three-night visit, but it didn’t take long to decide that we’d be back one day. A beautiful little town nestled between multiple rivers, Cuenca felt far cleaner and better-preserved than Quito. We highly recommend visiting to see for yourself!