[Donna Stiteler]

Hi Doug. I would try reaching out directly to airlines as sometimes they have tickets left. If for some reason you can not get a flight, you can always take a 3 hour van ride through the mountains from Guayquil to Cuenca. Across from the airport in Guayquil is around 4 – 5 companies with vans that make regular runs to Cuenca.

You are welcome to contact me at cuenca@internationalliving.com for questions. I am not sure what your budget is, but there are many hotels downtown to stay in — I’ve stayed at http://www.hotelcasaordonez.com/ in downtown’s El Centro. But there are plenty of places around downtown as well.

Have a good journey and I’m happy to help!
donna

[Donna Stiteler]

Hi Doug. You will be pleasantly surprised by how cosmopolitan Cuenca is, and if you are considering retiring in Ecuador, it’s worth putting it into your plans. I agree with Jim, that your calendar is ambitious, and to really get the feel of Cuenca would take several days. In Cuenca, you can quickly get to know expats especially on Tuesday (playing trivia at the Vegetable Bar and see one of the expat enclaves) and Thursdays/Saturdays (great breakfasts at Sunrise Cafe and play some cribbage) — where locals are happy to chat and give you information. By reading Gringopost.com, you can get a feel of activities going on. Sunday things tend to close as this is a largely catholic society. The things to put on a priority is to ride the double decker to see the town (it only takes a few hours), spend time at Parque de Calderon – the bustling centerpiece of the historic downtown, and spend times walking down the colonial streets admiring the 16th and 17th century Spanish-Colonial and French Republic architecture which made Cuenca a World Heritage Site. Cuenca’s El Centro is filled with cafes and bars some with music as it is a the cultural center of Ecuador with many art studios, symphonies and operas, and street musicians. Visit uptown (within walking distance of 20 minutes) and see the Super-maxi (one of many located around town and compares to upscale American grocers) and tree-lined neighborhoods around Solano with American-like homes, Gringolandia to see modern condos housing expats, and familiarize with places you may like to settle. Cuenca has a urban population of around 700,000 filled with cultural and architectural nuances. Not too small, not too big, just right. And springlike temperatures everyday. And the locals and expats are very friendly. Obviously I’m smitten – with all of Ecuador.
Feel free to contact me at cuenca@internationalliving.com.

[Donna Stiteler]

I also found this link about transportation to the Cajas. It’s not the blue route specifically but it does present ways to get to the mountains. I have taken a bus and cab to the Cajas and caught the bus back to Cuenca but it can be a bit hard to get a ride back depending on time of day and weather. Hope this helps! Here’s the link: http://www.kellyilenemitchell.com/2017/01/17/how-to-do-cajas-national-park/

Donna

[Donna Stiteler]

Hi Gretchen. Donna Stiteler here. I’m the Cuenca correspondent for International Living. There are two places that gringas get there hair done on a regular basis here in Cuenca and both speak english. Arturo worked in New York many years.

ARamirez – is on doce de abril 2-11 y Arirumba and his email is: maria.arturo@gmail.com
Vicky Andrade, Berenice Hair Salon
Vicky speaks fluent English and the shop uses US and European hair products.
Address: Paucarbamba 5-16 y Tomillos, Cuenca Ecuador
Contact information: 098 963 9264

Hope this helps! I’m glad you are enjoying Cuenca, welcome!
donna

[Donna Stiteler]

Hi Charles. I like to walk in the mornings myself. We usually walk by 9am, but rule of thumb here is that it’s best to walk in daylight. The sun comes up at 6:30am every morning, so I’d say by 8am people are up and out. I’ll ask around to people who exercise early to see if I can get other opinions. Hope this helps. Donna

[Donna Stiteler]

HI Donna Stiteler here. Cuenca Correspondent for International Living. I live in Cuenca and do not have an Ecuadorian land line. I have excellent internet, telephone service (international calls via internet OOma or MagicJack and Skype line and a local ecuadorian cell phone for country-wide use). Because navigating the internet here can be complex because of the choices, I personally used an expat who runs a business specializing in making internet arrangements and in my area I use Puntonet fiber optics with a backup provider – Etapa or CableTV because we both work at home. There are several people in town that help expats with this. It’s the one area I recommend getting someone who speaks english and is familiar with the system to help. Hope this helps!

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