"The Portland Of Ecuador"

So here I am, a little more than a week settled into my new life for the next three months in Cuenca. It has been kind of a blur but I love it. There's something about this city that is so relaxed and laid back yet I never feel like I'm lacking for things to do. It helps that I have 14 other Lewis and Clark students on the exact same schedule to explore the city with. Though very few of us knew each other very well before the trip, we're all getting very close, very fast (that especially might have come from surviving the near-death-experience of Mindo together, see previous post).

So like I said, we're never lacking in things to do or people to do them with. There's cute cheap little handicraft shops on every corner, more ice cream than you could ever eat in a lifetime, parks everywhere in the suburbs, and several beautiful rivers criss crossing the city.

And oh my goodness is there a nightlife. It's ridiculous. Bars are cheap, I have yet to spend more than two bucks on a drink, and bars are everywhere. But it's not just confined to the establishments, either. There's no laws against drinking in public, and no one seems to care about public intoxication or noise. You go downtown at midnight on a Friday or Saturday and the entire street is a party, filled young Cuencanos who seem to have far more energy than us boring Americans - the town is still buzzing by the time we call it a night at 1 or 2 am.

It's also tremendously easy to get around - I live pretty far from the center of town (luckily near 3 other students) and a taxi will cost the 4 of us three bucks all total. Ridiculous compared to the states.

The less luxurious option are the 25 cent buses which will get you ANYWHERE you need to go. You do, however, have to put up often with standing room only. And here in Ecuador, at least on public transit, there's no concept of "personal space" - at rush hour you're crammed into the bus with people pressed up against you on all sides, pushing you and leaning on you, fighting for space to hold on to something other than each other.

The crowd can sometimes be a blessing, because when there's no sardine effect to keep you upright these busses can be downright treacherous. Bouncy and jerky, the rough starts and stops (seemingly at random) test the balance of even the most seasoned Ecuadorean public transit commuters. I somewhat enjoy it - it's a nice challenge to see if I can center myself enough to fight the forces of physics that threaten to topple me into the lap of the nearest old woman.

Midway on my life's journey I find my center on a Cuencan bus in the hopes that not all balance and dignity will be lost.