Roaming South America

Cuenca, Ecuador

January 3, 2023

Cuenca, Ecuador: The area of Cuenca has been inhabited all the way back to 8060 BC. Yeah, there is archeological evidence of inhabitants in this area, specifically in the cave called Chopsi. That culture was most evident around 5585 BC. Beginning around 2000 BC the people started organizing their society with delegated responsibilities, administration, and religious authorities (shamans). From around 500 AD until around 1500 the Cañri and Tacalshapa III people were absorbed into the Inca civilization. Archeologists believe Cuenca was founded around 500 AD. The Spanish settled the area and called it Cuenca in 1557. It became an independent city in 1820. Now, the city has a population of around a half-million, with around 5000-7000 expatriates of all nations living in Cuenca.

Cuenca sits at about 2500 meters (8000 feet) elevation, so it's quite cold. And as is typical in this part of the world, people do not have heaters or heating systems in their homes or offices. The major industries include forestry, farming, mining, and tourism. The city has at least a dozen old cathedrals/churches, check my photo album for pics of most of them. I didn't have time to see all of them. There are four rivers that run through here - the Tomebamba (named after the Inca culture), Yanuncay, Tarqui, and Machangara. Again, see the pics in the photo album.

The climate here is classified as subtropical highland climate. Rainfall averages 878mm per year (34.5 inches). The monthly average high-temperature isn 22° C (71° F), and the monthly average low temp is 10° C (51° F). I can tell you, it's cold here, too cold for my preference. I'll be glad to visit warmer areas.

So, my impressions: On my first day here I met only one group of 3 people from the US. Other than them, I met no other English-speaking people. On my second day, I met several men from the US, three of whom lived in Washington state, and were just about neighbors of mine when I lived there. There was also a man from Montana. And I met a couple of Ecuadorians who spoke English. Cuenca has a fantastic historic center, again, see the many pics in the photo album. The historic center is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The churches date back as far as 1557. It also has many parks, and the rivers are lined by park space all the way through the city. The park call El Paraiso is particularly beautiful, see the pics in the photo album. As beautiful as the city is, I could not live here, it's simply too cold.

This is my goal: to find a new place to live. So to reach that goal I am traveling most of South America, visiting the countries of Ecuador, Perú, Bolivia, and Chile, passing through Argentina, visiting Paraguay, passing through a bit of Brazil, and finally visiting Uruguay. I have a list of towns, about 70 towns, that meet these qualifications: Cities with average day temperatures of 22-28° C (72-83° F) and night temps of 14° C (57° F) and higher; and a population between 28,000-300,000. I analyzed climate and population data of around 700 towns in the above-mentioned countries and then pulled out the ones that meet the previously mentioned criteria, which leaves about 70. My preference leans towards towns of less than 100,000 people. Of the 70 towns, about 20 have populations of 100,000 - 300,000. And, now that I have visited more than 20 towns/cities, I've decided I will probably want an inland town. I love the beach and walking in the warm water, but, getting sunburned is just too easy, even on a cloudy day. At least, here in Ecuador. I've also decided that any town with more than 100,000 population will be too big. I've decided that any small town that meets the temp specifications and has a supermarket and ATM is one worth considering to live in.

At this point in my journey I have one town on my top-20 list - Puyo. So far, in my travels of Ecuador, I have visited 23 towns/cities. Puyo is the only one I would choose to live in. I still have 3 more to visit, though.

Next up: Santa Isabel.