Day 8: A tour of Cuenca and on to Guayaquil
Today we started with a tour of the historic center of Cuenca, another UNESCO World Heritage Site. Lots of old churches (53 of them) and colonial buildings. The Spanish settled Cuenca in 1557, but it had been inhabited since about 500 AD.
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| Catholic Church of Santo Domingo |
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| Inside the Church of Santo Domingo |
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| Church of El Carmen de la Asuncion Church, founded in 1682 |
After our walk around the center of town, we stopped at a candy store, where we encountered a Cadillac filled with chocolate.
We then ventured to the more modern part of Cuenca
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| Housing in the wealthier part of Cuenca |
Next we went to Mirador del Puente, which offered a nice view of Cuenca
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| A street in an area of Cuenca inhabited by lots of American retirees |
From Cuenca, we headed to Guayaquil, passing through
Parque Nacional Cajas, which would have offered some spectacular views, if it hadn't started raining.
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| In Parque Nacional Cajas |
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| Some sort of greenery that I haven't seen before |
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| American tourists in the park |
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| Remnants of a small landslide |
From the National Park, we descended to the city of Guayaquil, near the Pacific Coast. The scenery changed dramatically.
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| A banana plantation near Guayaquil |
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| Lots of fritada (fried pork) stands outside Guayaquil |
Eventually, we arrived in Guayaquil, which is Ecuador's largest city, and it's major port. We only had time for a quick drive through Guayaquil to our hotel.
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| Las Penas, the oldest neighborhood in Guayaquil |
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| A typical street in central Guayaquil |
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| Metropolitan Cathedral |
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| Central Guayaquil |
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| Our hotel in Guayaquil |
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| Near our hotel at night |
