Getting to Cuenca

On Sunday, Caitlin and I explored Quito a bit and walked around searching for Parque Metropolitano, a beautiful park with lots of bike trails, recreational space, and plenty of opportunities to view the gorgeous Andes mountains. But, after realizing that very few streets in our area were properly marked, we decided to get a taxi. Taxi's are super cheap in Ecuador-our ride to the park (which ended up being about a 45 minute walk) was only $2. We arrived at the park and explored for a while. The park was very peaceful and calm despite the many families enjoying the atmosphere.

 Los Andes

The park was very popular among families and cyclists.

 

My $2.50 delicious lunch.



 

 

After lunch, we decided to head back to the hotel and attempt to figure out when we would get picked up to leave for the airport. Our drivers the night before did not know what time we were to leave and neither did the hotel staff. Although we were told someone would be at the hotel to pick us up and hand us our plane tickets, nobody seemed to know anything about that. After waiting several hours, we were told at about 4 pm that we were to get on the bus with some students from Rhodes University to go to Cuenca. We scrambled to board the bus, as all of the other students were already on it.

 

When we arrived at the Quito airport, we didn't have tickets, so Caitlin and I had to wait 10-15 minutes while the kind airport staff handwrote each of our tickets. We both felt bad because we were holding up line, which was growing by the minute. After sorting out that mess, we ventured on into the airport. When it was time to board, we took a bus from the gate onto the tarmac. After stopping near our plane, we got off the bus and literally walked on the tarmac to climb the stairs leading to our plane's entrance. The flight to Cuenca was quick and dark, as the sun sets everyday by 6:30 pm.

 

When we arrived in Cuenca, we were again to walk on the tarmac into the building to pick up our luggage. This was actually a really neat experience, as large airports in the United States rarely let their passengers venture onto the tarmac. Caitlin and I both grabbed our luggage, found our host families, and departed for the evening.

 

My host family consists of Maria, a special education teacher, and her son Mateo. Mateo hasn't been around much because he lives mostly with his dad. I'm also living with Sophia, a college student from New Jersey. She was a blessing to have the first night, as she explained to me the household procedures and what to expect. Sophia also attends my school and is in my two classes. Overall, our house is very peaceful and welcoming. Maria is a very kind woman who really truly cares about our happiness.