Life in Cuenca, Ecuador
What could make International Living magazine had listed Cuenca as one of the best retirement places in the world for ten consecutive years? 

Descriptions of "The City of Eternal Sprint", a UNESCO World Heritage Site, palm trees at 8400 feet, and an astounding, year-round abundance of fresh, just picked food, all at a remarkably low cost of living, intrigued us.  

​ So, we did our research, rented an apartment in the "Historic District", packed our bags and set off to see what life was like in the Ecuadorian Andes.

Cuenca means basin in Spanish.  The city sits 8,400 feet in the Andes, on a plateau surrounded by mountains.
​Frequently referred to as "The City of Eternal Spring".
Cuenca’s daytime temperatures rarely get much above highs in the 70s and lows in the 50s degrees Fahrenheit
( 25 - 10 degrees Celsius)
That said, nothing we read prepared us for the impact of palm trees at over 8,000 feet.​
Cuenca is Ecuador's third largest city and the capital of Azuay province.
Known for its rich intellectual, artistic and philosophical traditions as-well-as, dedication to maintaining its' 
​authentic state of preservation.

Cuenca is Ecuador's third largest city and the capital of Azuay province.
Known for its rich intellectual, artistic and philosophical traditions as-well-as, dedication to maintaining its' ​authentic state of preservation.
It's one of Ecuador's three UNESCO World Heritage sites.  
While Cuenca is a city with a population of over 600,000,
​it exudes a decidedly more leisurely ambience.
In the "Historic District" streets are paved with cut stone, there are no overhead electrical wires and buildings maintain the look and feel of the 1800's.

​If you could magically make the cars, trucks and buses disappear and replace them with horses and buggies, you might think you had slipped back in time to the 1800's.
Two buildings stand side-by-side, one built in the 1800s and the other built in the 2000s. The only way to tell which is which, is to see the sides of the buildings, which are sometimes left exposed.
​The building from the 1800s will display its' original red, mud-brick construction, while the building built in 2000 will be cinder block.  Otherwise, it's impossible to tell which is which.

The Heart of the City

​In the classic Spanish tradition, Parque Calderon is, literally and figuratively, the heart of the city.  To the east and west of the park are the "old" and "new" cathedrals.  To the north and south are government buildings. 

Park Calderon is where Cuencans meet friends, promenade and people watch. On park benches, old friends catch up on the latest events and lovers sit gazing into each other's eyes.
 One corner of the park is always filled with laughter from children dressed up in brightly colored sombreros, riding wooden horses while parents are busy snapping  photographs. 

The park provides a relaxed garden like atmosphere in the centre of the city, with something for young, old and all ages in between.   
ice cream lady
artist drawing a child
guitarist in park
Lovers in the Park
child in park
our feet in the park
From a bench in Parque Calderon, you can see two of Cuenca’s most historic and  beautiful churches. 
East of the park is “The Old Cathedral”, Iglesia de El Sagrario, built-in 1557.  Over time, Iglesia de El Sagrario became too small to accommodate the city's growing congregation.  The old cathedral, deconstructed in 1981 is now a museum.
​
Vertical Divider
​Metropolitana de la Immaculada Concepcion, "The New Cathedral" was started in 1885 and completed almost a century later, in 1975. 
Across the street and just south of the New Cathedral, is one of the city's oldest monasteries, Monastery of El Carmen de Asuncion, founded in 1682.  In its courtyard in the Plaza de las Flores, the city's famous flower market..
Quality of Life
The quality of life in Cuenca is remarkably good, with a surprisingly low cost of living. 

Cuenca has four modern shopping malls, cinemas, including first -run English language films and numerous restaraunts serving a wide variety of local and international cuisine. 
​
 Not to mention four universities, some of South America's best language schools, beautiful churches, parks, museums and open-air markets. 

We found the city to be like an onion, that continually served up new and pleasant surprises each day, as we peeled away its  layers.
Accommodations & an important note about Altitude
What does Altitude have to do with Accommodations?  Read On....

Our research made us aware of the potential challenges in adapting to life at high altitudes.  So, we planned to spend our first week in Ecuador in the capital, Quito at 9100 feet.  Following the recommendations for allowing our bodies to adapt to the altitude, we got plenty of rest, drank lots of water and took it easy for the first week. 
We then flew to Cuenca, thinking that, after spending a week following all the recommendations for acclimatizing - particularly at a higher altitude, we'd be fine.

​Then reality kicked in.
​Our first apartment in Cuenca's Historic District was on the third floor of a walk-up.  the first time we climbed the stairs, we thought we were about to die.

It was like trying to breathe through jello.  My chest hurt and it took ten minutes to finally catch my breath.  
​
We got used to the thin air and climbed the stairs several times a day without breaking a sweat.  But, that took another week or so.
​​Plan and take your time.  It may take longer than you think to acclimatized for life in the Andes.
​
Our apartment was on Gaspar Sangurima near Estevez de Toral, eight blocks (7 minute walk) to Parque Calderon.
​   
​Rent for our modern three bedroom - two bath, fully furnished apartment (including washer and dryer) was $589.00 per month.  Wi-fi internet access was included.  One problem, there wasn't any wifi when we arrived.

​If you spend much time in Ecuador you will hear the phrase - manana doesn't necessarily mean tomorrow, it just doesn't mean today.  The owner of the apartment tried very hard for a month to get the service that had been promised to us.  But we made it clear that if she couldn't provide the service within a month we would have to move
​Buildings were cheek to jowl in this area of Cuenca and the apartment compound was behind a gated and locked wall.  We were across the street from the monastery Hemanitas de los Ancianos Desamparados Hagar Cristo Rey.  Directly across from our apartment was a two-story statue of Christ, mounted on the monastery wall, blessing passers-by.  ​The monastery was huge, taking up an entire city block. 

​Each morning we were awakened at 8 o'clock by bells, calling the faithful to early morning service.  One morning the priest responsible for ringing the bells for the early morning service, must have overslept.   ​Rather than the dignified melodic call to worship we become accustomed to, we were awakened by hurried, chaotic bell banging at 8:!5.  That only happened once in the month we were in the apartment.
The view from our apartment overlooking the old city.
Seventy five percent of Cuenca's population live outside the historic centre.  The newer districts feature a mixture of the city's first suburbs plus many modern mid-rise condominiums. 

​Our second apartment was just outside ofthe Old city, in a six-year-old condominium on Avenida Ordonez Lasso, in an area nick-named "Gringo Gulch" because of the large ex -pat community.​
Our view from the balcony.

Rent for our two-bedroom, two-bath condo on the 10th floor of a six-year-old building complete with utilities, a round-the-clock concierge, an exercise room and a parking space was $618.00 per month
BY THE NUMBERS
Wondering what the currency is?   Ecuador uses the US Dollar as the domestic currency and it is used for all financial transactions.  If you've ever wondered where the US One Dollar Coins wen.  You'll find them in Ecuador. 

We used cash for everything while in Ecuador, except when we paid for our apartments (having gone through an agency and booked prior to leaving for the country.
Ecuador switched from their currency (the sucre) to the US dollar in 2000 to stabilize the economy because their own currency took a nosedive and banks were failing. 

​Was the population happy about the switch - it depended on who you asked.  
Despite its size, Cuenca is pedestrian friendly.  We didn't need a car.  We walked, took taxis or buses.  Almost every day, Teri and I followed the park that paralleled the Rio Tomebamba, on of the four mountain rivers that meander through the city, the 2 1/2 miles, into the city centre. 

We generally took a taxi home which cost, at the time, $1.25.  Oh, by the way, the bus fare to anywhere in the city was $.025.
After a leisurely stroll in Parque Calderon, we always found ourselves heading to our favorite gelato parlor -  Tutto Fredo's. 

Tubs of delectable gelato are made fresh daily.  Teri's favorite is hazelnut, topped with strawberries or hot chocolate.  We weren't Tutto Fredo's only fans.  Most days the line to place your order wound around the store and out onto the sidewalk.

Their wonderful gelato was like a siren call to our palettes, encouraging us to make this a daily treat!
It was clear to us that Ecuadorians were lovers of good food.  One of our benchmarks for a place for us is that culture's relationship with food.  We can tell you that Cuenca did not disappoint.  And you have to love a place that loves good ice cream. 
We went everyday, we did not gain weight, In fact we lost weight in Cuenca.  Was it the altitude, the fresh non industrialized food, the exercise?  Whatever it was we were in foodie heaven.