Week 7: Cuenca, American Expats' Paradise

Cuenca, Cuenca, Cuenca. Where to begin. Perhaps we should begin with the fact that we've been reading about this place for a long time, and how it is International Living's number one rated place to retire overseas for Americans. Perhaps we should let you know how the climate is almost perfect year-round; that there are no pesky bugs; there are 4 beautiful rivers that run through the city; most of the city is walkable; the Andes surround us on all sides; there are hot spring baths nearby; a major airport just a few kilometers away; and a very cosmopolitan and international city full of fashionable, professional people. The entire historic area that we are staying in is a UNESCO World Heritage Trust site due to the abundance of colonial buildings, churches, and plazas. It is very picturesque.

As tourists, this is a very tourist friendly town with plenty of sites, history, excursions, excellent restaurants, and hotels. For an expat residing in Cuenca, it is inexpensive with a great expat support system, and access to all the modern amenities and culture that any large city has to offer. No wonder we've met plenty of Americans who are living here, or who have been here multiple times to "check it out", and possibly move here for good. Apparently, $500/month rent can get you a 2000+ sq. ft. house near the center of town. If the average Ecuadorian income is $250-$350/month as we've been told, you would be living a very comfortable life on a typical American retiree's budget.

So, yet again, we find ourselves falling in love with a place and we don't want to leave. We gave Baños de Agua Santa an 8 (out of 10) on the "We can live here" scale. Cuenca is about the same. We need to get the heck out of Ecuador before we end up staying here! Oh, right...we ARE leaving Ecuador tomorrow for Peru...whew.

But, before we leave Cuenca, here's a few photos that capture the city.

There are LOTS of churches, every which way we look. [The domes of Catedral Nueva]


Interesting artwork on old buildings...


Lush plazas and parks to relax in.



Clear rivers that run through the city. [This is the main one, Río Tomebamba, where people have built communities around it since the ancient Incan times.]


Museo del Banco Central with an informative collection describing the various (and very different) regions of Ecuador (coast, sierras - Andes, and Amazons).



An Incan archeological site right in the heart of Cuenca by Río Tomebamba called Pumapungo - a former administrative and religious center of the Incan town of Tomebamba.


...and of course, the food. Viee the post on Cuenca Eatin' and Drinkin' for more.


Well, hasta luego, Cuenca! Until we meet again...

View the entire Ecuador Photo Album.

Summary of our Countdown List

INTRODUCTION: How does one go about planning for a career break? START A LIST! My indispensable 2Do iPhone app kept me on task. Now that we are transitioning from the Planning Phase to the actual Trip, I recently decided to go through and publish the list of things we accomplished over the past 6 months in the event that someone may find this information useful. I know there are things we forgot to ‘write’ down on our list, but here’s the general idea.

BACKGROUND: We are a married couple in our 40s with a furry child (aka. dog), living a relatively simple life in a quaint neighborhood of Kansas City. We have resigned from our jobs and are about to spend our savings on a trip around-the-world for 8 months. We have a house/dog-sitter and we will continue to pay our household expenses while on the road. Although we’ve been daydreaming about such a trip for a while, we started getting serious about 6 months ago.

Read further for our 6-month, 4-month, 2-month, 1-month, and 1-week checklists....

Curating My Travel Wardrobe

According to the dictionary, curate means "select, organize, and look after the items in (a collection or exhibition)", usually referring to a job responsibility of a curator in a museum or gallery.  My belongings don't come close to being artwork, but I believe I have taken the same meticulous process in selecting my travel wardrobe.

We are limiting ourselves to a small-frame, lightweight, backpack for the next 8 months.  This has generated more conversations of disbelief than I expected.  It also happens to be the number one reason most people say they can't take a trip like this; due to their inability to part with their large suitcases full of clothes, shoes, makeup, hair products, etc. Therefore, I thought that showing my "curated" travel wardrobe would be of interest to many.