Hello From Cuenca

So Lindsay and I decided that Quito wasn’t for us and high tailed it to Cuenca. It was a pretty fun experience because we weren’t able to buy plane tickets ahead of time due to erratic internet service. So Monday morning we packed up, paid our hostel owner, and took a taxi to the airport hoping that we would be able to buy tickets on the spot. Believe it or not, it was really easy and an hour later we were in Guayaquil and 30 minutes after that, Cuenca. The plane ride was so short they literally started the descent one minute after they finished ascending. So in a little over 2 hours we were here. It would’ve taken 12 hours by bus but it also would’ve been a beautiful mountainous drive. We didn’t get to see any volcanoes piercing through the clouds during our flight (which we heard was a common view), but we did see an amazing mountain range coming out of the sea of clouds.

Cuenca is much more our cup of tea. It is a smaller more manageable size and it has a lot of art. We are currently staying at ‘EL Cafecito’ hostel and bar, but tomorrow we move into our own apartment. We found an apartment for rent right along the river and close to downtown. It’s nothing special but it is big and cheap. We also didn’t need to sign a year long lease which is really nice because it is looking like we might not be here that long.

That brings me to another realization that we have had. It being that we might have a harder time finding a job then we expected. It sounds like it is really hard and expensive to get a work visa in Ecuador and they don’t allow the border jumping for a couple days to renew tourist visas. Who knew? But that doesn’t mean that we will be home any sooner. Now we are thinking of spending 1-3 months exploring Ecuador and then continuing south. Travel Peru, manage the mountains through Chile, and ultimately make it to/near Mendoza. Wine anyone? We’ll be in touch soon. Hope everyone is doing well and braced for the snow that I hear is coming.

-Jeff (Beacon)