“Let the beauty we love be what we do.” — Rumi
Cuenca charmed me quietly, then all at once. I stayed with family in a 300-year-old house that creaked like it was telling secrets. The stairs had a full percussion section—no thief could sneak in without a solo. Every room wore bold colors, and the rain-soaked garden practically joined us for breakfast. It rained daily. The plants were delighted. Little Lora was not stopped; she collected flowers like it was her job.
Breakfast room with kitchen and garden.
Dining room, which was a former interior court
One of many bedrooms with a loft
One of the doors with beautiful patterns done by woodworms
My daughter Anna-Sophie and her partner Max looking down from their bedroom and brushing teeth
Nearby, the Tomebamba River divided old and new Cuenca with dramatic flair, lined with great food and better views.
Even crumbling walls were painted with life—proof that in Cuenca, beauty shows up everywhere, especially where you least expect it.
A nearly collapsing old house painted with beautiful images of flowers
Roasted Guinea pigs, a specialty in Ecuador
We discovered this writing on one of the houses – water is more worth than gold. In the nearby mountains of Cuenca, the Cajas, a company wanted to excavate gold. The citizins of Cuenca went on the streets, resisted and were successful.
We visited two museums: one devoted to exquisite pre-Inca art, the other telling Cuenca’s history from start to finish. Both were captivating.
All the objects shown in the museum of pre- Incan art where used for ceremonies. Everyday objects are hardly found because of the wet weather.
Cuenca is a city of dialogue—and disagreement. Local tribes remain fiercely proud of their heritage, especially the Cañari. In 1471, an Inca emperor attempted diplomacy. He married a Cañari princess and built his palace in Cuenca. The ruins are still there. Romance, however, proved short-lived. The Cañari fiercely resisted Inca rule and, a century later, sided with the Spanish conquistadors under Pizarro. The Incas fell, only for everyone to discover that colonial domination was no happy ending either.
In the museum they showed how the Cañari tribe did agriculture – in a circular way. The Incas used terraces. he Cañari later resisted Inca rule and, a century on, sided with Pizarro’s Spanish conquistadors. The Incas fell—but soon everyone found themselves under colonial rule. History, it seems, has a sense of irony.
Cuenca, a town of about 330 000 inhabitants, has 71 churches. The three massive cupolas in the background belong to the biggest church of Cuenca, the Cathedral of Immaculate Perception.
