On my recent trip to Ecuador, I was greatly looking forward to Quito. I had heard and read so much about it I expected it to be wonderful. It did have its good points, don't get me wrong, but I was surprised at how much I fell in love with Cuenca, a virtual unknown to many people. Cuenca is such a great city! About 300,000 inhabitants, spread out over an entire valley. The colonial section is fairly big, and has the same feel as Antigua, Guatemala (only much bigger). A good amount of hostals, restaurants, internet cafes and artisan shops in the colonial heart. Most of the host families are situated in the modern part of the city. To me, if feels very Latin-American (something missing in much of Quito). Markets with indigenous women selling their vegetables and chickens (I also saw a pet store with chickens next to a butcher, it makes one wonder…), little craft stores, the typical Latin-American ´I love lycra´ cheap clothing stores, shoe shops next to tiny bakeries, streetvendors, and honking taxis. Overall, a nice little bit of organized chaos.
The city is very cozy, I love it. I also found the city to be very safe. (Of course you should still exercise common sense) The director of our partner school told me they have very little problems with their students.
By the end of my visit, I was sad to go. I will miss Cuenca a lot and was glad that I didn't 'miss out' like many people who don't give Cuenca a second thought compared to Quito. My advice is to take a second look when deciding where to go in Ecuador. You may be as pleasantly surprised as I was.
