Day 3: Cuenca
A 4:30 wake up call (yikes!) after our late night and we’re off to the airport for transport to our next stop, Cuenca. We arrived at the airport en mass to the most confusing and chaotic scene we have ever experienced in an airport. Everyone was given a group number, so first you lugged yourself to the first designated area. Next, you lined up to check your luggage. Then, it’s on to another line to get your boarding pass. And all this is happening in the midst of all the normal confusion and crowds during the early morning rush hour at an airport. Luckily, we had charter flights, or we would never have made our flights.
When we arrived in Cuenca, more confusion. The bags from both airlines arrived on one belt, and Mary Ann’s and my bags never arrived. The one time I didn’t carry an extra change of clothes in my carry on ---- I should have known this would happen. Oh well, these things happen. On to the hotel.
No, not yet. First we do our city tour. Cuenca is a colonial city of 400,000 inhabitants and we are now at about 8000 feet. The city has 30 churches, two convents and monasteries, and nine squares. There are 14 different Indian cultures represented here., and Spanish, French and Italian styles of architecture. We visited the main city square, and monastery which is now a museum (where we had a simple buffet lunch), and a church.
In the late afternoon, we toured three of the city’s boutique hotels. They all were originally private homes which have been converted to hotels. They all have center courtyards with skylights in the center and individual rooms and suites lining the surrounding balcony. We visited the Hotel Santa Lucia and the Hotel Inca Real. At this hotel, our guide was a woman who had grown up in the hotel when it was still a private home. She told a story of meeting a woman who was the great granddaughter of the original owner. She brought her grandmother (who had grown up in the house) for a visit, and when she arrived at the top of the stairs and saw the long white wall, she told them there used to be a beautiful mural there. So the present owners had the white paint removed to reveal the mural you can see there today.
The last hotel on our tour, the Mansion Alcazar, was the most beautiful --- and was ours! We were greeted with champagne and snacks, coffee and tea. I would recommend any of these three boutique hotels, they were all beautiful and centrally located.
After a short rest, it’s time for dinner and the evening festivities. We were taken to Quintana Lucretia, where various artisans were demonstrating their crafts in an outdoor patio area. It was quite chilly, so there was a fire to keep us toasty.. After cocktails and appetizers, we went inside to dinner.
After a long day, it’s finally back to our hotel, to find our beds covered with rose petals, and the biggest treat of all -- sliding into bed to find a hot water bottle at my feet! Ahhhhh….
A 4:30 wake up call (yikes!) after our late night and we’re off to the airport for transport to our next stop, Cuenca. We arrived at the airport en mass to the most confusing and chaotic scene we have ever experienced in an airport. Everyone was given a group number, so first you lugged yourself to the first designated area. Next, you lined up to check your luggage. Then, it’s on to another line to get your boarding pass. And all this is happening in the midst of all the normal confusion and crowds during the early morning rush hour at an airport. Luckily, we had charter flights, or we would never have made our flights.
When we arrived in Cuenca, more confusion. The bags from both airlines arrived on one belt, and Mary Ann’s and my bags never arrived. The one time I didn’t carry an extra change of clothes in my carry on ---- I should have known this would happen. Oh well, these things happen. On to the hotel.
No, not yet. First we do our city tour. Cuenca is a colonial city of 400,000 inhabitants and we are now at about 8000 feet. The city has 30 churches, two convents and monasteries, and nine squares. There are 14 different Indian cultures represented here., and Spanish, French and Italian styles of architecture. We visited the main city square, and monastery which is now a museum (where we had a simple buffet lunch), and a church.
In the late afternoon, we toured three of the city’s boutique hotels. They all were originally private homes which have been converted to hotels. They all have center courtyards with skylights in the center and individual rooms and suites lining the surrounding balcony. We visited the Hotel Santa Lucia and the Hotel Inca Real. At this hotel, our guide was a woman who had grown up in the hotel when it was still a private home. She told a story of meeting a woman who was the great granddaughter of the original owner. She brought her grandmother (who had grown up in the house) for a visit, and when she arrived at the top of the stairs and saw the long white wall, she told them there used to be a beautiful mural there. So the present owners had the white paint removed to reveal the mural you can see there today.
The last hotel on our tour, the Mansion Alcazar, was the most beautiful --- and was ours! We were greeted with champagne and snacks, coffee and tea. I would recommend any of these three boutique hotels, they were all beautiful and centrally located.
After a short rest, it’s time for dinner and the evening festivities. We were taken to Quintana Lucretia, where various artisans were demonstrating their crafts in an outdoor patio area. It was quite chilly, so there was a fire to keep us toasty.. After cocktails and appetizers, we went inside to dinner.
After a long day, it’s finally back to our hotel, to find our beds covered with rose petals, and the biggest treat of all -- sliding into bed to find a hot water bottle at my feet! Ahhhhh….
No comments:
Post a Comment