December 1, 2016

Today we did the Cuenca City Tour on a double decker bus. 


We met up with Larry and Dona at 10:00 a.m., but before that we had the chance to take a peek inside the New Cathedral in El Centro.







There was a service going on, so we didn't take pictures, but thanks to the internet I was able to snag this one for the blog.

It is huge and quite spectacular.... 

Then it was time to board the bus!  There were only six of us on the bus so seating wasn't a problem!

We toured around the south end of Cuenca for two hours looking at the points of interest. The guide spoke in both English and Spanish, but Larry and Dona were better guides for us, as they've done this tour a few times and have gotten to know Cuenca quite well.....

This is Mirador Turi by daylight.

This is the inside of the Chruch

And this is the view from Mirador Turi by daylight. 

While we were up at Turi we visited the studio of Eduardo Vega, who is a reknown ceramic artist here in Ecuador. In this picture you can see him in the back working at his art....

Here is an up-close look at some of his pottery.

Dona and Larry in front of Vega's studio - this is also more of his work.

And this is the walkway into his studio - flowers and vines - absolutely beautiful!

This was the only stop-off on the tour; they gave us a half hour to look around before heading back down the hill. 

The rest of the tour was driving - but it was great to see areas of Cuenca we've not yet explored and to make a point to go back and explore again on our own. 

After the tour we hung around El Centro for a while shopping- there are so many vendors!! Then after a nice lunch we parted ways with Larry and Dona - they went their way home and we hopped a bus and made our way back home.

The day sped on by - it's late afternoon, and we had another great day in Cuenca!