Cuenca architecture

We do a lot of walking here. We are about a 15-20 minute to "el Centro", which is the historic part of Cuenca. As we mentioned before, pedestrians have NO rights here and pedestrian crossings with lights are few and far between. We have to wait and wait and then make a mad dash across the street.

Cuenca is called the Athens of Ecuador because of its cobblestone streets, beautiful architecture and colonial homes with ironwork balconies. Here are a few of the buildings in Cuenca. You can really see the European influence.

There is also a lot of new construction, from high rises to town houses. You can buy a brand new townhouse for $50,000. An apt like ours with 3 bedrooms and 3 baths goes for around $80,000 but you can rent it for around $300 per month, but you have to buy your appliances and of course furnish it.

When this church was built in the 1880s, 9,000 of the 10,000 Cuenca residents could fit inside.