cuenca & el telefériqo

Two more exciting experiences! Amanda and I chose a random day last weekend and went to el Telefériqo, which is a cable car that takes you all the way up to the top of a mountain. From there, you have an INCREDIBLE view of Quito and the mountains surrounding the city. It is absolutely breathtaking and was more than worth the 10 dollars we spent. It was foggy and cloudy at first, but within a few minutes the sun came out and it was beautiful: almost sunset, so the light was all golden and pretty.


The view!


And again.

This past weekend, I went to Cuenca with Amanda and a new friend Vanessa. Cuenca is the 3rd biggest city in Ecuador and is about 10 hours by bus away from Quito. All the buildings are old and beautiful, and there are tons of churches that are absolutely gorgeous. We had a great time walking around, shopping, eating ice cream, and taking pictures. We went to the Panama Hat factory one day- because Panama hats are NOT made in Panama, they're made in Cuenca, Ecuador! It was a very neat experience and I really enjoyed learning about that.

We took a day trip from Cuenca to Ingapirca, which is the largest Inca ruins in the country. It was kind of neat to be standing in the ruins and look around and see the houses of people living nearby. I saw a LLAMA for the first time and got so close I could've touched it! But then it got angry and I had to run away...literally. Ha. Anyway, it was unlike anything I have ever seen before and I'm SO glad we decided to go!


One of the beautiful churches in Cuenca.


Another church.


The Panama Hat Factory!


The Panama Hat factory again.


My llama friend :)


Ingapirca!!


I think this is where they worshipped the sun.


Another view of the ruins.


Me, Amanda, and Vanessa!