Cuenca is a large colonial city in Ecuador in the southern Andes Mountains. The population is around 750,000 people. Linda and I flew to Cuenca via Quito on October 16th 2009.
We wanted to investigate Cuenca, because of the fact that is was voted by International Living, the best retirement haven for 2009.
We stayed in the El Dorado Hotel in the Historic District for the weekend. We then moved into a 16th floor Condo on Ordonez Laso Avenido in the Cajas area of Cuenca, across the avenue from the Oro Verde Hotel the beginning of the next week. This is a nice area of the city with the Rio Tomebamba running nearby. We walked the riverwalk along the river on many occasions. We always referenced the Oro Verde Hotel when we gave the taxi driver the location of the condo.
Cuenca is a cosmopolitan city with many museums includong the Panama Hat museum, Museo del Sombrero de Paja Toquilla. The best museum in the city, Museo del Banco Central, is located in the historic district. The Inca ruins,Pumapungo is a part of this museum. This museum gives a comprehensive history of Ecuador which would include all of the peoples that make up the country of Ecuador.
We stayed in Cuenca for almost a month. We purchased some furniture and drapes for our new house in Manta while in Cuenca. Most of our time was spent walking around the historic district enjoying the sights and marcados of the city.
Cuenca is home to many Catholic churches including romanesque cathedral, Catedral de la Inmaculada Concepcion. This cathedral is a gorgeous church. This new cathedral took the place of the old cathedral, Iglesia del Sagrario, which dates from 1567. The construction of the new cathedral began in 1880 and took almost 100 years to complete. After the consecretion of the new cathedral, the old cathedral was restored and serves as the Museum for Religious Art.
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