Author Archives: twowhotrek

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About twowhotrek

The "About Two Who Trek" page at https://twowhotrek.com/about/ answers it all.

Overhead Considerations

Posted on January 27, 2013 by twowhotrek

Two Who Trek learn about hat tricks

Call it a hat or a sombrero but it is not a Panama Hat! Traditionally made from a high grade of straw called paja de toquilla, these hats are called Montecristi after the Ecuadorian town of the same name.  The misnomer referring to Panama dates back to the 1800s when the Spanish began exporting the hats from Ecuador via Panama.  In the 19th century, Panama Canal workers used these hats to protect themselves from the strong equatorial sun.

There are many excellent tallers or artisanal workshops creating sombreros del paja toquillas in Ecuador.  Two Who Trek visited two hat-related places in the Cuenca area.  Continue reading →

Categories: blog, Cuenca, displays, ecuador, hat, making, manufacturing, markets, panama hat, photos, straw, travel | Tags: , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Cuenca Apartments

Posted on January 26, 2013 by twowhotrek

As part of the Ecuador experience, the program hosts provide apartments for all the participants.  We will live in these apartments for the month we are here.  If we wish, we can use the cooking facilities to make meals or we may choose to eat at the many restaurants in Cuenca (and restaurant prices are so low here that dining out is a very attractive option).

Most of the program apartments are in the heart of the historic part of Cuenca, in centuries-old buildings that have been refurbished to meet American expectations.  Many of these apartments are quite small, and are described as studio apartments – one room with a separate, private bath room. Continue reading →

Categories: background, blog, Cuenca, ecuador, food preparation, lodging, photos, travel, Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Museo Pumapungo at the Banco Central in Cuenca

Posted on January 25, 2013 by twowhotrek

The Museo Pumapungo is large as life!  Located in Cuenca’s Banco Central complex, colorfully animated dioramas illustrate the varied cultures in Ecuador.  These displays cover an entire floor and show life-sized examples from the coast, highlands and jungle.  One exhibit features shrunken heads.

Other Pumapungo (“gate of the puma”) exhibits include photographs of early Cuenca life and a historical perspective on Ecuadorian currency.  A special section shows this first 80 years of bank history.  For a limited time, there is also an impressive exhibit called Oro y Plata.  Many pieces of gold, silver and copper artifacts, created by indigenous people throughout Ecuadorian history, are showcased.

Continue reading →

Categories: andean, archeological, blog, canaris, Cuenca, ecuador, inca, photos, ruins, travel | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

The Baños del Inca (Inca Baths) at Coyoctor

Posted on January 24, 2013 by twowhotrek

Several important Inca-era ruins are in the Cuenca area.  Two Who Trek took a bus trip to see one of these, the Baños del Inca (Inca Baths) at Coyoctor.  The Baños del Inca is a smaller but no less  historically significant archeological site, compared to others in this part of Ecuador.

The name is a bit misleading.  The site was actually created by the Cañari people, who settled in the area over one thousand years ago.  In the early 15th century, the Incas conquered the Cañaris and absorbed them and their way of life into the Incan culture.  The Incas then modified the Coyoctor site to meet the Inca ritual of water purification.  Collectively, the site includes worship of the moon deity of the Cañari and the sun deity of the Inca. Continue reading →

Categories: andean, archeological, blog, Cuenca, ecuador, photos, railroad, travel | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Flowers, flowers and more flowers

Posted on January 23, 2013 by twowhotrek

Two Who Trek has briefly mentioned the Flower Market in the heart of Cuenca before.  But this place is so special, we decided to give more detail and photos of the flower market.

The traditional Flower Market is on Calle Sucre, across from the new Cathedral.  The market is in a small open-air plaza in front of the Church of El Carmen, a colonial era church.  This square is adorned with the façade of the church and the church is made of carved stone.  Continue reading →

Categories: background, blog, Cuenca, ecuador, flowers, gualaceo, markets, photos, travel | Tags: , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Riding the Ecuadorian Railroad

Posted on January 21, 2013 by twowhotrek

Two Who Trek likes all forms of transportation, with railroads being a favorite.  So when we had an opportunity to ride an Ecuadorian train, we jumped at the chance.

Ecuador has a national railroad system called “Ferrocarriles de Ecuador”. There are ten train routes in Ecuador, primarily from Quito, and running up and down the western coastal area.  The longest route is 98 kilometers long (about 60 miles).  Two Who Trek had the opportunity to ride the shortest one roundtrip (3.5 kilometers or about 2.2 miles each way) from El Tambo to the pre-Incan ruins at Coyoctor.  We will be posting more on the ruins later, but because Joe likes trains, this post is focusing on the rail travel part.

Continue reading →

Categories: Cuenca, ecuador, photos, railroad, travel, Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , | Leave a comment

Making Music the Andean Way

Posted on January 20, 2013 by twowhotrek

The music of Ecuador is varied.  Listen to classic rock, jazz and salsa coming from taxis with open windows and no riders.  In this city of parades, marching band music abounds.  The local symphony orchestra hosted a recent concert, free of charge, which was wonderful.  (Two Who Trek think it is best described as South America’s version of the Boston Pops.) Continue reading →

Categories: andean, blog, celebrations, Cuenca, ecuador, festivals, photos, travel | Tags: , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Cuenca celebrates Christmas

Posted on January 19, 2013 by twowhotrek

UPDATE – 1-23-2013 — Two Who Trek attended a presentation yesterday and found there are many more Christmas-related celebrations.  For example, Cuenca holds a Christmas parade that is over 8 hours long.  Plus there is the Festival of the Wikis (no, not information sources.  In this case it is a native word for tears) that starts three days before and ends three days after Christmas.  Daily celebrations occur on the twelve days following Christmas.

Please consider this blog post as being just what Two Who Trek have seen during their stay.  It is not meant to be a complete listing of all the Cuenca celebrations.  If we provided that, WordPress might run out of server space!  Now the original story:

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As Two Who Trek wander through the streets of Cuenca today, the city seems a little less festive.  That’s because the Christmas lights and displays have been stored for another year.  But when we first arrived, we marveled at all the decorations Cuenca had throughout the town.  Continue reading →

Categories: blog, celebrations, Christmas, Cuenca, displays, ecuador, festivals, local, photos, travel | Tags: , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A Vacation within a Vacation

Posted on January 17, 2013 by twowhotrek

or Why has Two Who Trek been quiet so long?

The Spanish studies program in Cuenca offers a four day “spring break” halfway through the month-long stay.  The program organizers encourage students to explore new possibilities during this period.  About half the students in our group stayed in the Cuenca area; a few took advantage of day bus trips offered by the school to nearby towns.  A couple went by van with some Cuencanos to Baños, a resort town to the north, reached by driving through the “Avenue of the Volcanos”

Our program organizers took a van load of students to a coastal resort community in northern Peru.  One couple decided to venture to Macchu Piccu, the place where Two Who Trek made their first trip outside of North America in 2006.

Continue reading →

Categories: blog, classes, Cuenca, ecuador, galapagos national park, lessons, photos, preparation, travel | Tags: , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Almuerzo, anyone?

Posted on January 9, 2013 by twowhotrek

After a full morning of Spanish lesson classes, Two Who Trek either enjoy an almuerzo with friends or lunch on their own.  Almuerzos are a restaurant’s lunch special of the day. They include fresh juice, soup, meat, potato, rice and dessert. Portions often look small when compared to typical US servings but are perfect to fill a hungry student! Continue reading →

Categories: blog, Cuenca, dining, ecuador, food, food preparation, photos, restaurants, travel | Tags: , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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