Cuenca
We visit the museums closed yesterday.
* Pumapungo Museum
It is the best known museum in Cuenca. Several exhibitions are presented. The exhibition on indigenous cultures is the most important with beautiful pottery. The temporary exhibition is organized around textiles in indigenous culture.
* Church of Todos Los Santos
At the time of colonization there was a temporary chapel on this site where the first mass was celebrated after the arrival of the Spanish. The present church was built in 1924.
* Sombrero or Panama Museum
And yes, the famous Panama, is in fact hand-woven by the Ecuadorians and more precisely in Cuenca. Small museum retracing the making of the famous hat.
Return to the campsite to prepare the rest of our trip.
Cuenca
In addition to being the third largest city in Ecuador, Cuenca is also the cultural center of the country. It is a colonial city steeped in history.
The first inhabitants of the Cuenca region lived in the region for the first time during the pre-ceramic period. These inhabitants were nomadic hunters and food gatherers. The town of Cuenca was officially founded in 1557.
During the colonial period, the Cuenca region was an important source for agricultural production, mining and weaving. But after the battle for Ecuador’s independence in 1820, its economy began to decline.
Guide in hand, we go to visit the city center:
* Inmaculada Concepcion Catedral:
It is the most majestic monument of Cuenca with its stone and marble facade. The two towers on both sides are not finished! In fact it is a miscalculation of the architect, so to be sure that they do not collapse he preferred not to finish them. Its pretty blue and white domes cover the entire building. The marble-covered interior is immense but cold.
* The Church of Sagrario:
It is the old cathedral. Its interior is painted with pastel colors representing a multitude of flowers, original and delicate.
* Museum of Aboriginal Cultures
It is a private museum that presents fossils, ceramics and jewellery from pre-Inca cultures (Valdivia, Cañari, etc.) and Inca. There is such a profusion of objects that the most beautiful pieces are not highlighted.
We have lunch in a French restaurant. The menu is very well supplied and only composed of French dishes. Christophe orders a tartiflette and chocolate profiteroles and Jean Pierre orders a cassoulet and a vanilla éclair ... We had a great time.
Return to the motorhome for the rest of the day.
Cuenca
At 7 o'clock in the morning, the outside temperature is 6° and it’s 12° in the motorhome ... Immediately we turn on the heating.
We program our GPS for Cuenca and the course what is displayed amazes us.
We check with bus drivers who confirm that the road is paved.
Good pickaxe; the road criss-crosses a beautiful landscape of mountains and plateaux where agriculture and cattle breeding is practised.
We then drive on the double-lane highway to Cuenca ... Of course we are entitled to tolls!!!
After a stop in a supermarket, we set up a campsite.
The afternoon is devoted to a first visit of the city .... Which is empty ... It is Sunday, all the shops and most of the monuments are closed ... We are inhabited by a mixed feeling.
We have good weather with a spring temperature .. Phew a little heat
Of course the temperatures drop in the evening ... We are at 2,568 m
Ingapirca
We begin our descent to the peruvian border.
Since the road network is not always in good condition, we ask for advice from one of the bus drivers present in our bivouac.
We explain our program for the next few days, and he advises us on our itinerary ... it’s very convenient!!!
Our next stop will be "Ingapirca" by a road that climbs to 3,200 m on a gentle slope. We make the 3/4 climb in a thick fog.
We have no visibility and fortunately the two trucks in front of us are driving at a good speed.
Arriving on the plateau at 3,000 m the weather is clear, it is very beautiful: blue sky and sun above clouds ... We discover the surrounding landscape ... We have the fealing of being in the Jura!!!
Ingapirca is an Inca archaeological site located on the slopes of a mountain that overlooks a few houses and vast plots dedicated to agriculture and livestock.
The story goes that Huayna Cápac had the honor of having built Ingapirca. The archaeological site of Ingapirca was once a remarkable place where both the influence of the Cañaris, the Amerindians who once lived on these lands, and that of the Incas, who settled there a little later.
The ruins are built around a central platform that was probably used as a place of worship and for this reason is called the Temple of the Sun. All around are the ruins of many buildings.
We spend the night in the parking lot ... The night promise to be very cool.
ROAD BOOK 136
MAVROS ODYSSEE