Outside Cuenca (Ecuador)

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I had read that there were a couple of towns near Cuenca that were worth visiting so Anna and I hoped into a local bus and headed to three towns.

Our first stop: Sigsig!

This town is well known for the sombreros de paja Toquilla but we saw none. We got there on a sunday and the town was rather quiet so we just walked around.

We first visited its little church:

And then went to the market and grabbed something to eat: their staple food, platano con queso (plantain with cheese.)

The plantain was a little too dry and the cheese too salty!

And wandered around the market, as always!

Poor piggy!!!

As we walked it started raining and noticed that most of the people covered their hats with plastic bags! (It kind of reminded me of the ladies in Uganda that put a plastic bag on their head to protect their perm!) I thought it was strange so I asked the guy at the hat shop why people do that and he said that some of the hats that the older people wear are made the traditional way and are not of toquilla. He said that the hats are coated with sulphur and when in contact with water the sulphur starts dripping down their face!

So, I kept hearing people selling ice-cream but looking at these stuff on a cone that were not refrigerated and I couldn't figure it out. It turns out that they sell some kind of meringue with sprinkles on them... did not try!

We also stopped at the open air market

Another lady with a plastic bag!

And this guy was selling chickens and guinea pigs... can't believe people eat them!!

I was glad to walk by a school and look at their mural, it said things such: "Be the change you want to see" and "No to bullying."

2nd stop was: Chordeleg!
This town is very famous for its filigree jewellery so we walked around looking at all the stores selling all kinds of designs! (but didn't take any pictures!)

Our last stop: Gualaceo!
We read that this town was famous for its orchid but we saw no orchids anywhere!

To be honest these three little towns were nothing like we had in mind. The things that we thought we would see, we didn't. They weren't very exciting but we did have fun walking around, doing some people watching, trying new food, and just chilling in little Ecuadorian towns.

About Post Author

Andrea

Hi! It's me... Andrea! In 2016 I decided to drop everything and take a year to enrich my life and travel around the world. It turns out the world is just too big for 12 months! Still on the road and sharing my experience as a solo female traveler around the globe!