I usually take the bus to the supermarket, but then take a taxi back home because I have all of my groceries with me.
Other than the beach, which I’ve talked plenty about, my friends and I also visited a city called Cuenca. It has definitely been the most intriguing city I’ve visited in Ecuador so far! The architecture of the city feels very colonial and European. Cuenca feels European in other ways too. There are so many museums there (in English and Spanish) as well as restaurants and cafes with English-speaking staff. I was very taken aback one time when I went to a café and the waitress spoke to me in almost fluent English! The most interesting part about Cuenca though was how many Americans we saw around the city. I’ve been so used to speaking Spanish everyday that hearing English from people on the street was very strange to me!
I did a lot of traveling over Christmas and New Year’s, so here’s a quick summary: my friends (other American teachers like me) and I spent three days in Guayaquil, where one of my friends is living this year. Then, we were on the beach in Salinas for a couple days. Then, we went back to Guayaquil for a day. After that, we went to Cuenca for a couple days. Finally, I flew back to the capital city further north where I met up with some other friends to spend New Years before heading home to Ibarra!
