Ecuador, finally!: First impressions of Cuenca

Cuenca is a very old and beautiful city. So different from anything I have ever been accustomed to seeing. And so much cooler than Phoenix, Arizona. Average temp.in Cuenca year round is 75 degrees during the day and 50 degrees at night. The sun is very intense when it comes out - so close to the equator. It is cloudy part of almost every day.

Our apartment has no heat or A/C. We live on the 3rd floor of a new 18 story building with indoor pool. Furnished with contemporary furniture and lots of dishes/cooking utensils /and linens. We did bring our own linens/towels as I had read other blogs saying that would be a good idea. Glad we did.

The kitchen is beautiful with lots of cupboard space.

Laundry room at end of kitchen - very different washing machine,

I have to use google translate when it comes to figuring out how to use

the appliances.

I have learned to keep my eyes closed while riding in a taxi!

Stop signs and speed limit signs are merely suggestions.

The sky is so blue - bluer than I have ever seen.
It seems you could reach out and touch the clouds.
We are at 8,000+ feet above sea level in the Andes Mts.

The bread here is wonderful - bakeries all over.
Nothing real sweet in the bakeries, just sweet enough.

We now have our own taxi driver "Manny". Whenever we call, he comes.
He speaks some English and smiles all the time.
Doesn't charge us Gringo prices.
$2.50 to go to El Centro ($3.00 the first time we used him).

Our housekeeper came for the first time yesterday.
Tiny little lady with big smiles.
Came at 8AM left at 5:30 PM after the last load of laundry was finished.
Changed sheets, on knees washing the wood baseboards, did the dishes every time we used a spoon!
House sparkles.
$20.00 day.