First days, first friends in Ecuador

September 6 & 7, 2019

One thing is clear - the taxi driver I got into at the airport definitely did not become my first friend.

But back to the beginning: after my flights went smoothly, I arrived in Cuenca in the evening around 8 pm, completely exhausted and with very little sleep (I can't sleep on airplanes). The Cuenca airport is small and manageable, but I still managed to take the wrong exit and miss the taxis. After a short search, I found them and grabbed the nearest one. After using Google Maps to show the taxi driver where I wanted to go, we set off on the ride and I was already very excited. But since it was already dark, I didn't see much.

After a short drive, we arrived at the destination - but since my hostel is located on a large square, the driver couldn't drop me right in front of the door, but kindly showed me the direction. Well, what can I say, it was unfortunately the wrong one. So despite having GPS, I wandered around the square and couldn't find it. I started to get nervous, as I had been warned not to walk around alone in the dark at night - and I also had all my luggage with me and obviously looked lost. After walking back and forth a few times, I finally found it and sprinted towards the entrance in total relief.

The lady at the reception desk was very friendly and showed me to my room - on the stairs I noticed: my suitcase is definitely too full! I entered the room and the lady left me alone. The next disappointment followed - the bed was stained, it was cold and noisy. But luckily I had my sleeping bag with me, so I unpacked it and made myself comfortable in bed to finally sink into a well-deserved sleep.

Romy, whom I already knew from Bremen and who is also doing her semester abroad in Cuenca, had been in Cuenca for a few days longer. We had arranged to meet the next day to explore the city together - or rather, for her to show me what she had already explored. We met at 11 am in the morning and just walked around randomly. My thoughts were very mixed. Sometimes I thought 'oh how nice' and then I was a little scared again as the cables were hanging loosely, the buildings looked a bit shabby in places, or people coming too close to me made me afraid. As I said, I was advised to be careful, not to hold my phone in public, and to take care of myself. We started to get hungry and looked for a suitable café - not so easy, because most people don't understand that you're a vegetarian. 'But chicken is okay, right? No? But sausage? Not even that? But you eat fish, don't you?' Yes, there are many questions, many misunderstandings, and sometimes the sausage comes with it anyway. Finally, we found a nice French café in the Carré next to the cathedral.

We spent the afternoon on the rooftop terrace of Romy's hostel, as it was much nicer there than at my place and it is located in the same square. For the evening, the owner had planned a communal dinner, where his guests were allowed to bring someone else along. There was a vegetarian 5-course menu and a 'no cell phone' rule. Here I got to know Dominik, Lisa (who happened to be staying at the same hotel as me and didn't like it either), and Lisa (who is also studying tourism and is here for her semester abroad in Cuenca). I arranged to go hiking in the Cajas National Park with Dominik and Lisa 1 the next day. Then, with Romy and Lisa 2, I would go on a guided tour of the city on Monday to get to know the surroundings and partly the history of the city a little better.

Well-fed and excited about what's to come, Lisa 1 and I then made our way to our hotel together and fell into bed tired - this altitude really takes its toll in the beginning.