Concluding Days & Return to US

We enjoy the concluding days of this Cuenca trip.

On Sunday we relax in the Airbnb with some coffee and tea then take a taxi to Cafe San Sebas on Parque San Sebastián.  During our 10 minute ride it begins pouring rain the drops off to a pleasant shower.  We dash from the taxi to the restaurant and are pleased to find a table for two on the second floor.  The breakfast is very good and during our meal the rain slows to a light sputter.

We leave Cafe San Sebas, setting the Mercado de Artesianes Rotary as our destination.  It’s a 21 minute walk according to Google Maps.  The streets are glistening due to the rain and are quiet due to the timing, a late Sunday morning.  It’s a perfect time for a stroll.

Mercado de Artesianes Rotary is a local crafts and home goods market, with perhaps 40 outdoor booths and a dozen or so storefronts on the perimeter.  Local women are selling fruits and vegetables on the sidewalk.  The assortment of baskets, kitchen and outdoor tools, and ironwork are seemingly hand-made.  There’s some booths with clothing of various quality and origin.  We spot several grills designed for preparing cuy, a popular festive entree of guinea pig.

Monday afternoon we think we’ll enjoy Museo Pumapungo.  The sky is threatening rain, but that is very common during our visit in the rainy season.  I check Google for the hours of operation - yes, it’s open.  However, when we arrive at the museum we are told that it is closed on Monday’s.  Bummer.  We talk about options and agree to just return to our Airbnb, a 20-30 minute walk.  Less than three minutes into our return the sky opens up in a downpour.  William has a compact umbrella and I have a hip-length rain jacket.  Needless to say when we arrive at the Airbnb we are mostly soaked.  We change and throw our clothes and running shoes into the dryer.  For dinner we stay nearby, trying out a very local restaurant, La Casona Del Puente Roto.  It has mixed reviews on Google, but it is open on a Monday at 5:30 pm and is less than 3 minutes away.  The owner is delighted that he has customers and we find that the service is great (we are the only people in a restaurant that holds 100) and the food is decent.  A good option for a wet night.

Tuesday we pack and then have dinner with friends David and JJ at Capitan’s restaurant.  We order a bottle of good white wine as a bit of celebration and each of us has an entree.  The food is generous, beautifully presented, delicious, and the company of our friends is even better.  William laughs out loud when the bill arrives.  It is only $105.  He knows the check would be almost double if we were in the US.  The owner presents JJ and myself with chocolates and flowers in honor of International Women’s Day.

Wednesday and Thursday are travel days.  Javier picks us up on Wednesday at 9 am in his taxi.  We discuss the mudslides that have been occurring on the highway through the Cajas and agree to take the longer route to the north, which makes it a 4.5-5 hour drive to Guayaquil.  We spend the night at the Courtyard hotel and the next morning the hotel transports us to the airport.  We arrive back at our US home at midnight after connecting through Miami.  A long day.

Our bed feels soooo good!