My New Favorite City - Cuenca

Our change from Guayaquil Temple missionaries to Guayaquil South Mission missionaries is experiencing a delay. So, our mission president told us to continue with our temple mission scheduled vacation after our meeting last Monday. UPDATE - The latest information is that we will fly to the Galapagos Islands (Santa Cruz) next Thursday, March 20th.

Monday, March 3rd we joined the Guayaquil South Mission Zone Leaders and Sister Training Leaders for an all day meeting. We loved spending time with the young missionaries. Whenever I get discouraged about the state of the world I try to remember the faith and energy of the young missionaries and remember we can accomplish whatever the Lord would have us do.

 

President and Sister Hansen (member of the mission presidency)

The next evening the Hansens were returning to Loja and invited us to travel with them as they wanted to stop in Cuenca on the way. The previous week we had been planning to go to Cuenca so we put a few things in our suitcases and went with them on Wednesday. I was happy to find that with a "sea sick pill" I made it without needing my zip lock plastic bags. You can't go very many places in Ecuador without curvy mountain roads. We traveled over the Cajas mountain range to get to Cuenca.

Cuenca is a city that has a great reputation. There are many North Americans who have retired there and others who want to raise their families there. It is also a popular tourist destination. We wanted to go and see what we think.

The Johnsons had recommended a hotel and gave us a few hints on what to see. We went to the hotel Posada Todos Santos and found that every room has a mural painted on the wall and there are murals on the interior patio as well. It is a delightful place. We were well cared for by Soledad and served a lovely breakfast in the mornings. The owners live above and rent out rooms on the ground floor.

With the Hansens, we enjoyed a great day, walking around the city, exploring the older sections, and visiting a large museum. I loved the sign below which says, "The Rumor of the River - old books and marvelous useless things".

Women at the flower market near the new cathedral.

Here we are acting like tourists.

This is the area around El Parque de Calderon across from the new cathedral - Catedral de la Inmaculada. It is in the oldest part of town. The government building above is recent. The building below is very old and painted to resemble marble.

Above is a view of the ceiling of the covered walkway in front of  the building above. The ceiling is made of sticks plastered with adobe and then painted. Below is one of the doors you can see behind the arches.

Parque Calderon across the street is a wonderful place for sitting in the shade and people watching.

 

 

 

The Hansens had to return to Loja the next morning so we continued making discoveries on our own. They will finish their mission on March 20th. So wish we had more time with them. They farm in Washington, raised 10 children and export specially compacted hay to Japan and other Asian countries. He is a great storyteller and shares my dislike of curvy roads and high waves. She is everyone's best friend, I'm sure, so kind and loving. 

The next day we took a tour bus and got an elevated view of several areas of the city and a sunburn.

Turi is on the top of one of the mountains that surround Cuenca.

 This is the church that was constructed in 1951.

This is the view from Turi down to the city below. See the cupolas on the right side of the photo below? They are on the top of the new cathedral next to Parque Calderon.

Below is the entrance to the parking lot of the new mall. Someone told us that Cuenca had everything except McDonalds until recently. Now there is a location at this mall and another near the university. 

Boise, Idaho may have a larger river running through it, but Cuenca has four rivers within the city--not large enough to tube but perfect for biking or running or walking. There are even "subdivisions" of homes along this river and small parks with playground equipment for the children. Seems very family friendly with lots of schools and churches. The city is very clean and well cared for. Our tour guide said there are enough churches in this city to make one for every two blocks. That may be more than near Nancy in American Fork, Utah.

 

Part of the beauty of the city is the red tile roofs and lots of brick and real stone. It must be less expensive here because almost all of the houses have red tile roofs. See the cupolas in the background?

This is the roof of a house in front of a brick wall on the property above. The colors and textures are beautiful. 

Below is the river that runs below the hotel we stayed in. There are walkways on both sides of the river, a big park, lots of bridges and a beautifully restored area of old impressive homes and hotels overlooking the Tomebamba River. 

 

Below is one of two French homes built in the city many years ago. This one is very near the old historic section and now used as an event center.

 Back to Parque Calderon with more indigenous ladies.

 

Sister Chiza was able to come and join us in Cuenca on Friday. We very much enjoyed our time with her as well. She loved Cuenca and may consider moving here at the end of her mission. The weather is wonderful. It is cool with bright sunny days. It rains often but only for a short time and then the sun is out again. Below are some more photos taken near the River Tomebamba. The words on the banner below mean, "First God and then us". Great motto.

 

 

 

That blue flower below we had in front of our house on Murray Ave in CA. A very large variety of plants grow here. The silver bushes were very attractive for contrast. The river is below.

Someone painted a smiling whale with teeth on this post. It is near stairs to climb up to Calle Larga, where our hotel is located.

Above is my plate of fried trout after I took several bites. Our meal cost $2.50 and included a big bowl of soup with a small plate of popcorn, this main course and fresh squeezed lemonaid. It was delicious. Lewis had a pork chop instead of the fish.

Below is the chapel of Todos Santos. It is just 1/2 block from our hotel. It is very old and is being restored and the convent behind now contains a bakery and a restaurant and space for more businesses. The tiny roofed structure in front has a plaque that has a painting of a rooster on it. It doesn't seem particularly religious to me but I like the painting. There must be more to the story than I know. It was the center of a religious community that was very self sufficient. 

 

This sign is on the side of the very long building. The building now contains a restaurant, a bakery, a room for exhibitions, a gallery, and a historic garden alongside the building on the slope than leads down to the river.  We were wise to go inside and we found people who were kind enough to answer all of Lewis' questions. We now know a great deal about their wood burning oven and Lewis is planning to build one when we get home.

We visited three times in order to view the whole process. Rigoberto and Juana were happy to share their knowledge. Wish I could have understood and remembered all that they told us.

Rigoberto is explaining how the oven was built nearly 200 years ago and why it is so appreciated today when other options are available. Below you can see the wood inside the oven. It will be lighted and will burn to ash in about 1/2 hour. The heat it generates will be absorbed into the many layers of brick, glass and stone beneath the floor and into the tile and clay above. The ash residue will be pushed to the side and the oven will be hot and capable of baking for the entire day. The oven was very warm even 24 hours after it was heated the day before. The oven is very wide and deep but the wood you see is all that is needed. The next day the ash of the previous day is consumed in the heat and they only need to clean it out about once a year. You can see the oven door to the left of the opening. The dome is the top of the oven. The hood is hollow and serves as a chimney. There is a hole through the roof of the building that lets heat and any fumes out.

Below you can see the cool tools Rigoberto has to manage the wood and the ashes and the paddle to insert and remove the baking sheets.

Here is the kitchen. I stepped through the door behind Rigoberto to take the photo below. 

Juana is helping by putting the baking sheets on the paddle for Rigoberto to place inside the oven. 

Rigoberto and Juana Pintado. We learned that Juana is doing an internship here to complete her culinary education. She is a member of the church and her parents were among the first members of the church in Cuenca.

These "quesadillas"  (no relation to what you are familiar with) are made with flour made from a grated root. (Not yucca but perhaps something similar. The flour looks gray and yucky but the rolls are heavenly.) The dough is filled with cheese and finely chopped onion. I loved them. We got one right out of the oven! You can see more pans still waiting further back in the oven.

Above is the view out of one of the windows of the restaurant. Below the window sill is the garden on the slope that goes down to the river you can see in the center of the photo.

The huge tray you can see on the shelf was used in the past to mix and kneed the bread dough.

Our appetizer. Little rolls with a buttery sauce to dip them in.

This is Locro de Papas. It was beautiful but I didn't get my camera out quickly enough. Lewis dunked the avocado. It is potato soup with finely chopped long skinny onions and cheese. Margarita and I were sure it had lots of cream in it but the waiter said that the creamy taste comes only from the special varieties of potatoes that they grow.

This was called Angelita's Favorite Plate. The golden disks are potato pancakes, the meat is pork and called sancocho, a fried egg, marinated onions on the salad and avocado. So good. The food was great and we loved the atmosphere. One waiter said it is the best kept secret in Cuenca. They wish it was not a secret. We are happy to spread the word. We paid about $20 for the three of us.

This is a cool old bell that was in the hallway.

I took a photo of the above advertisement for the BSU Bronco fans who live in Idaho. Below is a sign for the bike lane. Lots of pleasant exercise available in Cuenca. Only problem is that one must leave one's computer and go do it. 

An older church that reminds me of a California mission style.

Above sign says, "Tourist destination for Ecuador and the world. Together we take care of Cuenca". 

The famous cupolas from a distance above. Below is fast food Ecuadorian style. They are grilling a whole pig, cuy (guinea pig), and chicken. It smelled wonderful.

Sister Margarita Chiza at Turi with the city of Cuenca below.

 

 

Grandma and Sister Chiza at the end of our ride on the tour bus. Below we are posing in front of Feria Libre. It is the "Walmart" of Cuenca and where the natives shop. A hundred or more little stalls of most everything you would want to buy. Each space has its own owner/renter who sells their wares as they please. Great competition and low prices - clothing and food and tools and electronics and toys and household goods of all kinds.

 

Another pretty church.

A building that I found interesting.

The famous domes again.

On Sunday we went to church at the chapel near our hotel. It is a lovely chapel with a big cultural hall behind it in one building. Next to that are three skinny buildings that hold the offices, family history center and classrooms. They are open at the ends but covered between. Interesting. Below is one end of the building that holds the chapel. Every meeting house has a basketball hoop and soccer nets too.

There are three of these buildings lined up with a plexiglass cover between the overhangs. They even have art in frames hanging on the outside walls and benches as you can see below.

This is the chapel.

Sign on the front of the building. They must have a full time Seminary & Institute person here as well. 

We really enjoyed our time in Cuenca. Ecuador is a beautiful country with wonderful people. It's only problem is that none of my grandchildren live here.

Grandma and Grandpa Pettingill