Loja

Wednesday, September 17th, 2008

Forenote: Perhaps more pictures will be added later or I will be sad that you haven't been able to see all that we've seen! We just have to find good internet first!

Day [1(June)+31(July)+31(August)+17(September)]= Day 80 on The Big Trip.

Cuenca: 5.5 ***. This town has a marketplace surrounded by hostels and comfortable streets lined with panaderías and little stores.

So we stayed in Cuenca for a day and it treated us well. Getting a feel for the layout of a city is not always a fun process, but it is when you like what you have found. We learned where the different markets were and what we might want to get from each; we learned where the panaderías put themselves and we found the hottest, most bustling of them all along with the quietest and coldest! They both had great breads! We got to watch the city or garbage disposal company employees work tirelessly through the night with orange suits and miraculous efficiency through teamwork from six stories above, every other light on the street making them larger than life.

The only real downside for visitors and street vendors in the mercado San Francisco was the weather. Rain and drizzles took turns forcing visitors inside and vendors to put plastic sheets over their clothes-for-sale. Luckily, we were able to make our first long walk out and back before the first drizzle began on this two-day weather-tease-saga.

Cuenca to Loja: 5.4 II. A six-hour bus ride for US$7 is worth it for Loja and beyond (See Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay, Argentina, Chile). Enough said.

Alisa and I were lucky enough to grab the first two seats, which allowed us to put our bags on the floor in front of us, stretch out our legs and enjoy the ride. This is opposed to sitting with our heavy bags on our laps and legs the entire ride and dealing with the passengers in front of us. The scenario we experienced was far more comfortable.

Now in Loja for a night and a morning, we like it so far. We have enjoyed its streets and the people here. Cuenca and Loja have both been happy comfy places for us.

Our plan right now is this: 1) Go to a mirador in Loja for a great view tomorrow morning, 2) catch a taxi colectivo (for US$1.20, 45 minutes) to Vilcabamba and stay there for the rest of the day and then the night and then some of the day, 3) head back to Loja for the rest of that day and the night, 4) wake up early (e.g. 7am) to catch a bus (US$8, 8 hour) that will bring us to Peru’s border and across to a town.

Note to self: remember to do a video log (vlog) tomorrow in Loja before leaving for Vilcabamba. I have to get this thing started! Also, I hope to find a hostel with internet in Vilcabamba because the place here in Loja does not have internet and I haven’t posted since partway through Baños! Yikes!