The flight from Puerto Baquerizo Moreno in San Cristobal island to Guayaquil went without any incidents. I spent one short nicht in Guayaquil and continued the next morning to Cuenca by bus, back to the heights of the south-american Andes. Cuenca is the shorter, most commonly used name of the city. It is Ecuador's third largest city and is located at 2.500 meters over the sea level. Cuenca was founded on April 12, 1557 as Spanish settlement by order of Andrés Hurtado de Mendoza, then Viceroy of Peru who wanted the city named after his home town of Cuenca, Spain.
The city is located at the confluence of 4 rivers (thus its name) all of them part of the Amazon watershed.
The historic area, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is one the major touristic attractions. The city has a mild and subtropical highland climate all year-round.
The ruins of Igapirca, about an hour drive away from Cuenca, are some remains of the Inca presence in this part of south-america.
In Cuenca we end June and start into July. Time flew during this trip as it always does when you're enjoying it. It is just two weeks until my return flight to Europe and still so much I would like to see in Ecuador and north Peru. I'll have to make compromises and leave some spots for a next trip. Next stop is Lambayeque where I want to visit the tomb of the Lord of Sipan.
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