Yunguilla and Cuenca Days

The past few weeks have been very different for us in Cuenca because of Cuenca’s Holiday that took place. We found out last Tuesday, October 26, that the students did not have school for the rest of the week and Monday-Wednesday the following week. We knew we had November 1 – November 3 off but the three days we had off the week before were a shock to all of us, even the directors at CEDEI. Since the students were gone we only had meetings from 9 am – 12 pm on Wednesday and Thursday and then we got Friday off. For us, that meant sleep-time! Not having to be to the bus-stop until 8:45am was amazing for us! We still had classes in the evening all three days but it was a nice break. We of course got some shopping in on Friday without teaching in the morning! J

This is our little cabin in Yunguilla!

Since we knew we had a long weekend the Whitewater girls planned a little getaway. We went to a little town in the valley about an hour from Cuenca called Yunguilla. Since it was in the valley it is much warmer and more humid; perfect for laying out all day by the pool. Don’t worry, that is exactly what we did! We were there from Saturday evening until Monday morning so Sunday was spent entirely laying out in the sun. Don’t worry, with my wonderful relationship with the sun I was not out the whole time. I enjoyed the shade a great deal as well as coated on sunblock regularly. It was just nice to have some warm weather for a while! (Except I instead got attacked by tons of mosquitoes L I had 20 bites when I got home and everyone else had 2 at most. Just my luck!)

The hotel with the mountains in the background...beautiful

Here is how our relaxing trip started, though... First, we had to figure out how to take a bus to another town, which was an adventure in itself. We got it all taken care of but we had to wait a couple hours just hanging out at the bus station because the earlier buses were already sold out. Once on the bus we were dropped off along the side of the road in the middle of nowhere as our final destination. Literally all that was around us was a little restaurant along the road and a sign that pointed in the direction of our hotel. We had to walk 10 minutes down a gravel road before we got to our hotel. I felt like I was in the movie “The Holiday” when Cameron Diaz had to walk down the long driveway to get to the house she was renting.

  

Soaking up the sun!



Happy Halloween!

When we got to the hotel we felt like we were literally the only people there besides the workers; and I’m pretty sure we might have been. We just sat outside playing games until retreating into our cozy little cabin for the evening. The hotel was much livelier the next day, though, so we didn’t feel so alone. Haha Like I said, we were outside enjoying the sun and pool from 8 am til 4:30 pm, when it started to cool down. The best part was that it was Halloween! Happy Halloween!! I can definitely say I’ve never spent Halloween outside in my swimsuit! J

Beautiful sunset!



Our big hike back up the hill!



It was cloudy and much cooler Monday morning so no soaking up the sun before leaving but it was still a successful trip. Remember the gravel road I mentioned walking down to get to the hotel, now we got to walk back UP it. It was so steep! We made it just in time to catch a bus back to Cuenca. What a great end to a relaxing weekend...at least we thought. Halfway home a little girl on the bus got sick and the made the bus smell just lovely. We're lucky we all got home without adding to the mess. Nothing could ruin our sun and fun though.

Then when we got home the festivities continued! After resting up during the day we headed out to Fiestas de Cuenca with our family. Our older sister who has been at college in Quito, Ecuador, was home for the week because of the holiday so we went to a fair downtown with our host parents and sisters. It was super fun to spend time with them. It made me feel more of the family and was a great evening. The fair had lots of vendors, food, a few rides, and some animals. It was kind of similar to a fair in the U.S. but to a smaller scale. Don’t worry, they had one of their finest foods all around though; guinea pig! It is called cuy and is a delicacy here and I’m not kidding, they must feed them something special because they are HUGE! We saw lots of cuy, both alive and roasting on sticks. I wouldn’t have felt like my experience in Ecuador was complete if I wouldn’t have gotten to see cuy so I was content! Then we went out to eat as a family so it was just a great family evening. It was great having our older sister home for a few days, too. She was super sweet and we talked to her a lot and really enjoyed having her around.

Cuy before...

Cuy after...

A moving statue at the fair!

We didn’t have any plans for our next two days off of school so we did what we know best, shop! We all ventured out together to find some of the other fairs and market-type areas that we heard so much about. Our first day of shopping on Tuesday we went to two areas along the river and saw some neat stuff. There was a lot of the same stuff we’d seen before here but lots more of it. Sadly my day got cut short because I wasn’t feeling well, though. I was in bed the rest of the afternoon and evening L I’m not sure if it was food we’d eaten or what but it wasn’t fun. I got very dehydrated and had to drink lots of water the next day to recoop.

I was feeling a little better on Wednesday so we headed out to find another fair. This time we hit the jackpot. There were three blocks full of vendors and artwork and jewelry, and everything you could imagine! It was a wonderful afternoon shopping. I sadly (or luckily) ran out of money too early and had to behave myself a little but it was successful nonetheless! Just being down there was fun too. There were people everywhere! Random little acts started in the middle of the streets and people swarmed around them. It was a lot of fun to see. I’m very glad I got to experience it.

A random act in the middle of the fair downtown

Cuenca Days are huge down here and people come from all over so the city was packed all week! There were small firework shows every night and things going on all over town every day. There were events all day long and concerts at night every night. Since I didn’t feel well I wasn’t able to go to a concert but we saw the stages everywhere and could hear the music. I am so glad I was able to be in Cuenca to experience something like this!

Our little week-long vacation was a lot of fun and a great break to experience more of Ecuador. I am definitely having a once-in-a-lifetime experience that I will never forget! J

My family while in Ecuador! Aimee, dad, Maria Rosa, mom,
Carlos, Cristina, and me! :)