A Walking Tour of Cuenca – A Journey of Self Discovery

I embraced the luxuries of the solo travelling lifestyle easily enough. I love to travel and take after my parents, who wander and wonder when on holiday. “Package holiday” is akin to a curse word in our house, eliciting shocked and horrified gasps and shaking of heads.

They have instilled a healthy sense of curiosity in me, simply because they have never lost theirs. A lifetime spent hiking has also given me a wondrous sense of direction, upon which I know I can rely.

Wandering off in a foreign city isn’t as scary as you would think. It’s all a matter of perspective. I didn’t, you see, just head off into the ether and hope for the best. I studied Google Maps, much handier and more portable than carrying paper maps of every place. BUT, technology has its limitations when it comes to Wi-Fi free zones abroad. Yes, you can buy local sim cards, but I never bothered. I like the unknown, I’ve come to feel it’s a familiar yet ever-exciting friend.

Not knowing incites a childlike wonder, something I think far too many of us are lacking in our ordinary lives. For when one wanders, there’s no telling what will be found – perhaps, like me, you will stumble upon the artists’ quarter, or handicraft market quite by chance. There is nothing as satisfying as discovering these treasures by yourself, as opposed to making lists and lists of places to visit.

Of course, the lists have their place, but I prefer the simple pleasures of allowing myself to wander through life. For it’s not often we get the chance.

• 

• 

• 

• 

Cuenca by Foot

During my time in Cuenca I took my first ever walking tour. Walking tours can be found the globe over and are usually free, operating on a tip basis for your guide. These guided tours allow for the solo traveller to happily snap away images, without having to worry about watching their back.

In Cuenca, I had booked myself onto the 11am tour, but truth be told was feeling a little miserable, borderline awful due to my bed bug bites. My entire arm was hurting, but since I am a Potter, I must travel and make the most of every single second. We are a notoriously curious bunch.

The tour itself turned out to be the start of a love affair for walking tours (not a surprise if you know anything at all about me!). In my subsequent experience of walking tours, the guides are all locals and they really know their stuff.

As a solo traveller, keen on packing as much in and living as much life as possible, I don’t like to make my way round with a guidebook glued to my side. Walking tours are informative, giving you enough information to help you understand the place you’re visiting, without overloading you. It’s a great way to spend your time, though it’s up to you whether you dive in first or leave it until the last moment. Solo travelling means you get to decide what you do and how you do it.

Back to Cuenca now, and here is a short(ish) rundown of what went down:

• The cathedral is definitely the stand-out of the city, but the architect clearly wasn’t up to the job as there is a huge crack down the middle when the central statue was put in – d’oh! Never fear though, because it wasn’t actually his fault, according to him. The heathens of the city did not believe in the lord and saviour Jesus Christ enough. The cathedral was never finished, it’s meant to have more towers and bells inside, and it holds the dubious accolade of being the only cathedral in Ecuador to be bell-less.

• 

• 

• 

• Oh, and while you’re there, you might want to try looking for a capsule. A capsule with the hair of a pope inside, which said pope hid somewhere in the building. Avid worshippers have searched for years, but to no avail, so you’ve still got a chance to make history here!
• One thing walking tours do, other than to provide information, is to let you experience exclusive little tid-bits of the place you’re visiting. After starting in the cathedral square, we headed over to the oldest pharmacy in the city and tried a fizzy strawberry drink, reputed to have cured many a Cuenconian’s hangover.
• From there we headed over to see the interior of a gorgeous building which now houses a law firm. Much too gorgeous for the average ‘blood sucking lawyer’ (Jurassic Park quote, anyone?) though a great photo opportunity.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• At the flower market we tasted a drink made from 50 herbs. The dark pink concoction wasn’t bad, but reminded me of medicine. The flowers from this very market are exported to Hollywood of all places, since Ecuador has the perfect growing conditions (my time in the jungle taught me that). There aren’t proper season on the equator, such as we are used to in the UK. It’s simply the wet season, or the dry season.

• 

• 

• 

• In the mercado 10, one of the big local markets, we saw the herbs used for medicines and tried jugo de coca (Coca Juice) which I have to say is incredible.

• 

• 

• We headed out to the oldest part of town to end the tour, learning about the river as we went. It used to destroy all the city bridges, until a priest renamed it to its current name and it calmed down. It’s now the Rio Tomebamba, but I didn’t note down it’s old name. It’s not a fact that exists on Google either, which for me speaks to the value of these tours.
• We also saw 1 of the 4 crosses that guard the old town, which legend says when people pass by, their bad energy dissipates. A wonderful myth by any means.

After the tour, accompanied by my friend Thomas, we devoured a local lunch in the mercado. We both ordered a native dish of corn, egg and cheese, with spring onions and a fried plantain. As a solo traveller, I cannot recommend embracing the local culture and food enough. The flavour was incredible and the price was only $2! Much cheaper than the tourist-trap places.

In a strange turn of events, considering I was sitting in the middle of an Ecuadorean city in the other side of world from my home, we ended up talking about Brexit. A dark shadow that still looms over my country, it was due to be instigated the next day. This was of course, before the endless delays that came with negotiating a new deal for us Brits. I’m not particularly happy with the outcome of that vote, but we shall see what the future brings.

After Thomas headed back to the hostel, I aimed my intrepid feet to the Yaw Ecuadorean café for a drink, having set my sights on it earlier in the day. There’s nothing like a Nutella frappe sipped in a strange city, in a strange country and thinking about my burgeoning travel adventures. Turns out even the most foreign of places isn’t all that strange when you get used to their rhythms.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Next time, hear about my trip to the Amaru Bioparque, which was the main reason I really wanted to spend time in Cuenca – to see the jaguars!

Let me know below if you’ve ever been on a walking tour and where you went. If you haven’t tried one, let me know whether you’d consider taking one now and where you want to go!

Until next time,

From me to you,

Jenni

🦋