48 HOURS IN CUENCA (Things To Do + Piedra de Agua in Baños Azuay)

You have 48 hours to spend in Cuenca, Ecuador. What do you do? This is fantastic. From highs to lows and thrills to chills, let's discover Cuenca. It's just so incredible. Every year thousands of people flock to Ecuador for one reason. Oh God. So we met up with Carlos in Parque Paraíso at the crack of dawn for our first popular activity in Cuenca. My name is Carlos Lara. I'm a tour guide. And one of my favorite places to go birding is just in the city of Cuenca at the Paraíso Park. Here we have this beautiful area where we have two rivers coming together. Today we're going to do this birding trip and we'll try to find some birds and I hope you enjoy. Our friend Gail from New York City is an avid birder and Christina is our friend and our Spanish teacher. We all met at the park at sunrise with our binoculars to look up and listen. JP, I have to admit I thought I would be wiped out this morning, but I am ready to go and I think I may be running on a bit of adrenaline because I'm feeling like the caffeine kicked in really hard and really fast this morning. So I have to take it calm down and be tranquilo so I do not scare the birds away. Ecuador is home to more than 1,650 species of birds and 132 different types of hummingbirds. It has the highest bird density of any country on earth. I hope we don't disturb the birds. Unfortunately, small birds flitting through the trees are hard to film without the proper gear and a lot of patience. There are a lot of birds out here. We saw 20 different species of birds over the course of about two hours, including this little hummingbird. Thankfully, the ducks weren't as camera shy. We saw lots of waterfowl, including this prolific family. What do you think, Christina? Are you enjoying yourself? Yes, I'm really happy to be here. Yes? Did you see all kinds of birds? Yes, the good part is that I've seen them almost all the time when I'm going around the city, but I didn't know the names of most of them. So it's really good to be here. What do you think about the bird watching experience today? It's just so incredible. It's incredible. It's like being in heaven. We saw so many species in a small area and they're all right here. Gail was so excited she could barely speak. Huge thanks to Carlos for taking us on this bird watching tour, and if you would like us to connect you with him or any of our other tour guides, check below for a link. After a quick stop for some breakfast and dry socks, we headed back out for our next popular activity in Cuenca. Is that better? You've got to squat down a little bit. Up. Back. Forward. Up. Down. Side. El Museo del Sombrero de Paja Toquilla is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Cuenca. No toca. You probably know these straw hats by their more common name, the Panama Hat. However, these hats actually originated in Ecuador and were worn by the indigenous people for hundreds of years before they were taken to Panama in the early 1800s. Wow. Está calientito. Sí. The name Panama Hat was used as early as 1828 to indicate the point of international sale rather than the hat's origin. They became really popular during the California Gold Rush around 1849, but they gained true international fame when President Theodore Roosevelt was photographed wearing one during his visit to the construction site of the Panama Canal in 1906. Suave. Suavito. Suave. At the Hat Museum in Cuenca, you can learn about how the hats are made and play Elmer Fudd to see which one represents your true identity. You get new shoes, I get a new hat. That seems fair. Gail and I both picked our favorites, but we wanted a couple of changes. They can resize the hats, swap out the bands, or make you something custom while you wait. Do you guys want to go upstairs for cafe while we wait? Sí. All right, vámonos. The cafe upstairs is the perfect place to hang out while your hat is being customized. You can get some coffee or tea and enjoy the incredible views while you wait. Gail's hat needed a simple resizing, so they brought hers up first. Okay. Wow, it looks great. Do you like it? Mine took a little longer, but it was worth the wait. Salud. Oh my gosh, I love it. Do you like it? Yes, JP, it looks fantastic. Me gusta mucho. Yeah, it looks so good. I cannot remember. Cinta. Like cintarón. Sí. Like a seat belt. A belt. Oh, cinta. Wow. Nice. Gracias. I like it. It looks great. Gail and I bought our hats on the way out. Mine was $59. Christina knows how much we love our organic produce, so she suggested we visit a new market not far from the Hat Museum. Casa Yangoé sells a variety of things, including organic fruits and vegetables, sourdough bread, and delicious Ecuadorian chocolate. I know, from mash pie. Oh, yeah. Pimienta nigra. Wow. I think that's good. ¿Está bien? Mmm. Muy rico. Muy. Nothing puts a smile on everyone's face like a chocolate tasting. Casa Yangoé also sells handmade indigenous clothing. It goes with your hat. Oh, I love it. Yes, it does. It looks really good, JP. How does it feel? Me gusta mucho. Muy bien. This will be really nice because it gets chilly in the evenings now that we're back in the mountains. It does. And I've been wanting something to put over my shirt because I get cold. I know. I love the colors. I don't look too much like a peacock, do I? These are really peacock colors. No, you don't look like a peacock. You look really good in blues, JP. I know. I like this a lot. Can I have it? Yes. Absolutely. Thank you. How much does it cost? Cuánto cuesta? I think it's only $35. Wow. It took 40 hours to make this. Wow, that's a lot. Hours de trabajo, 40, and it's only $35. That's wonderful. Easy. I don't see how that's wonderful for the person who spent 40 hours making this. That's like at least a dollar an hour. Oh, I guess you're right. All right, well. Well, I want it. Thanks for depressing me, Bob. JP, what are you getting? I'm getting way too much stuff. We also bought a gift for Eby's birthday and something for our little sobrina, Chinu and Eby's daughter. It's so cute. Oh, Kaylee, no. Thankfully, they take credit card because we bought a lot of stuff. The two hoodies, the little dress, the chocolate, and masa madre sourdough bread was $93.10. All that shopping and credit card swiping worked up quite an appetite. So we climbed the stairs above Casa Llangoy to La Maria Cocina Libre. We think Cuenca is the culinary capital of Ecuador, and La Maria is a perfect example. According to their menu, it was born as a tribute to the struggle of women who protect Ecuadorian culinary traditions. Oh, que bueno. I will react for all of this. Wow. This is amazing. Salud. We ordered veggie ceviche and some warm avocado and corn tacos for the table. And we ordered the pine mushroom and sweet corn with grilled leeks and spicy cassava sauce for our main dish. We also had some cool horchata tea, an aperitif, and a palate cleanser to top it all off. We were stuffed. The total bill with tax and tip came to $18 per person. Cuenca has a lot of museums, and we visited most of them when we lived here, but there was one that we were afraid to set foot in until now. Prohibido Centro Cultural is an extreme art gallery. The founder, Eduardo Moscoso, was constantly at odds with the more conservative town leadership in Cuenca. They did not appreciate his controversial art displays. What's that down there, Amelia? The pit of doom. So he created this museum to showcase the dark side of Cuenca's artistic imagination. So it's really interesting because when you think you have this kind of art, and then you have the Museum of Modern Art, and then you have the other, the more traditional religious arts. Of course, there are so many different things. The entry fee was $2 per person, and we were expecting a bit more for that price. But it was still interesting to see. It felt a little like a haunted house back in the United States. Right next door is another, more traditional art gallery. Casa de la Lira is a space where they feature different artists every couple of months. So right now we're enjoying the photography of Gabriela Parra. Is this the open space exhibit? Si. La Lira also hosts poetry and book readings and live music performances. Just outside may be the most significant point of interest in Cuenca, because without it, the city might not exist at all. So that gazebo right there is the founding point of Cuenca, and then the wooden bridge over there is Puente del Vado, which is the entrance of Cuenca. It's the first bridge where you enter Cuenca, and we are in El Vado neighborhood. Cuenca and its first neighborhood was founded by the Spanish in 1557. It was called El Vado, which translates to The Ford, because the first inhabitants had to wade across the Tomebamba River to enter the city. You'll also see the Palo Encebado sculpture in this area depicting a favorite traditional game. Cristina recounted fond memories of her childhood when she climbed the greasy pole to grab prizes dangling from the top. We were all tired after waking up at oh-dark-thirty to go birdwatching, so we decided that was enough for the day. We featured several other popular activities on our first day in Cuenca, including the city bus tour that starts in Parque Calderón and snakes its way south through Cuenca to the Turry Church. You may also want to take some pictures of the new cathedral, or climb up to the terrace for a close-up view of the iconic blue domes and amazing views of the city. And of course you can't miss San Francisco Plaza or the world-famous Cuenca Flower Market during your walk around El Centro. There's so much to do in Cuenca that you really need to budget a full week to see everything. Gail went back to New York City the next day and Cristina was busy teaching Spanish, so Emilia and I were left to entertain ourselves for the second half of our 48 hours in Cuenca. Alright, I'm ready for Puma Pungo! And our first stop was Emilia's favorite place. We are getting ready to go into Puma Pungo. Unfortunately we cannot film in the actual museum, but we can go and film the grounds. And that is part of my favorite part, part of my favorite part? Of this incredible park! Puma Pungo is a free museum that showcases ancient artifacts from the Inca Empire and from the first people to settle this area thousands of years ago. Wow, it's so beautiful and green and the history here is just fascinating. Inside you'll find an assortment of clay pots, ancient tools, art exhibits, and a few shrunken heads. But we usually just go there to walk around the grounds. Don't fall in! It's a really big oven. Wow, they're looking pretty healthy. These views are incredible. So much positive energy, I just feel like being a little kid again. The ruins in this area were built in the late 1400s, just before the Spanish invaded and conquered the Inca. Amelia keeps saying that she can't believe this is in the heart of the city and I reminded her that this was the heart, the original heart of the city when the Inca lived here. Yes. Are you having fun? Yes I am. You are like a kid when we're here. I know, I love Cuenca. Remember last time we filmed here it was so windy we couldn't even stand up straight let alone film audio. I do remember. Today is perfect. The gardens feature a variety of different native plants and flowers, including amaranth which the locals call sangorache and the Inca ancestors call ataco in their native Quichua language. This is the plant that gives horchata its pink color. It's a pumpkin. Zapallo. It's huge. Zapallo grande. Here, put your head down there so we can get an idea of how big it is. That's okay. Lay your head on the pumpkin. No thank you. Wow, those are balconies. We learned about them in El Jardino Lado and also on our balcony in Manta. And it's raining again. One of the reasons we haven't been posting as many videos is because La Nina is ruining our plans to film. We've had to cancel a whole bunch of trips for filming because of rain and this week when we've been filming here in Cuenca it's rained on us almost every day. Amelia, it's raining. Oh, it's just a little sprinkle. Hopefully it doesn't get much worse. I'm going to melt. This tree is our nature's umbrella right now. They smell beautiful. It's a very delicate scent. You might have hallucinogens if you smell too deeply though. I don't think so. I think you have to consume it. Don't inhale. This flowering tree is called Angel's Trumpet. It can be used to make a powerful drug that causes hallucinations and amnesia. Thankfully, smelling these flowers doesn't have any effect because you'll find them all over Ecuador. Plan to spend at least an hour walking around the grounds and taking pictures. Hola. Let's hurry up so we beat the rain. That's a good idea. Well, we did not beat the rain but there is a nice break and now the sun is really strong. My umbrella, as per usual, is doing double duty. After a quick stop at our Airbnb for lunch, we hopped in a cab to my favorite place in Cuenca. It takes about 15 minutes to get there from El Centro and costs about $5 by taxi but it's one of the most popular activities in Cuenca and a great way to end your 48 hours here. Volcanic rocks. I'm not sure if they're volcanic. What do you do with those? I guess you heat them and use them for your massage. But I would not want to have to take those back on the airplane with us. They'd be too heavy. Piedra de Agua is our favorite hot spring spa in Baños Azuai. The owner heard that we were filming a video so he came out to meet us and arranged a tour with Carlos. He also treated us to an incredibly relaxing and pampered afternoon. The first step was to change into something a little more spa-appropriate before enjoying a refreshing beverage. They look very refreshing. Which one is which? This one's by mine. I have no idea. They both look good. They do. It's made with alcohol. These are detox drinks. Salud, mi amor. Cheers, mi amor. Hi, my name is Carlos. Welcome to Piedra de Agua. Piedra de Agua opened in 2008. Carlos told us they were a finalist in a competition for best spa in all of North and South America. And in the time since we filmed this video, they won! Muy, muy felicidades. You really deserve it. So what do you think about your refreshing drink? It was very tasty. It was tart, which I really like. JP, I don't know if you would have liked it so much. He said it was a combination of strawberry and aloe. I drank all mine already. It was a combination of carrot and lemon. And the carrots here are so sweet and it was, it was sweet. And muy riquisimo. We've been here, what, in our robes for like 10 minutes and I'm already uber relaxed. This place is incredible. It is so relaxing here. It is. It's so peaceful. It's quiet and there are birds chirping and lots of greenery and water fountain sounds. Yep. I hear dogs barking, but that's me. I don't even hear them, I'm so used to dogs barking. It makes me think of Daisy, though. I miss our girl. Yeah. But I'm really glad to be here. Sorry, Daisy. Carlos gave us a quick tour on the way to the Cave Experience. They have a Japanese thermal pool that's for adults only and another thermal pool and hot tub that's also available to kids. They also have steam rooms as well as a therapeutic red and blue mud pool. Carlos explained that all that hot water comes from a spring that's 4,000 meters or 13,000 feet deep. We've had massages here before and they were incredible, but today is all about the Cave Experience. Watch my head. Yes. Watch everything. Step up. You rub. Give it to me. It's dark in here, Amelia. It is dark. It's romantic. There you go. Oh, it's so warm. It's warm. Yay. So it's going to like a natural exfoliant cleaning the oil on your skin. So put on and let dry for three to five minutes. Okay. And then remove the mud inside with the same water. Rub it in, Amelia. Amelia, I'm worried about dropping the camera in this water. That would not be good. The mud water. JP, I'm a dirty girl. I can't take her anywhere. So how long do we have to let this dry? Three to five minutes to absorb all of the minerals and exfoliate our skin. Gotta get the mud off. So I can be a clean girl again. And that will never happen. There is not enough water in the world. Ha ha ha. No privacy. Please enter in this second pool. And here you use a blue volcanic mud. And I like mud. So this is a good thing. Are you sufficiently blue mudded? I think so. It feels good. It's very coarse. It is. There's rocks in it. But it's good for the skin. And the soul. My skin is so smooth. I love being in the cave. It's so peaceful down here. And it doesn't matter what the weather is outside. Because in here, it is perfect. This one is hot. And there is with cold water. Amelia, you're just going to skip to the cold pool, right? Yeah. So here you stay for eight minutes in hot water. And then you move on in the cold water. Spring for one minute. Maybe you want to drink something here? Champagne? Red wine? White wine? What do you want, Amelia? Can we have champagne? Yeah, sure. Do you have champagne? You too? Oh, yes. He does. So please, I come back with the champagne and tell you for the change, okay? Gracias. You're welcome. See, we haven't been drinking. So let's add in some champagne and hot water and see what happens. It will be comatose. Maybe we better finish the video before then. Here is your champagne. Wow. Where's mine? I thought there was a stuff there. You missed the stool. But notice how I did not spill a drop. Yes, that's good. Salud. All right, JP. Time for cold water. Oh, my God. It's hot now. That is like ice water. Oh, my God. That is cold. It is so cold. I know. I don't know if I'm going to be able to do it. All right. I'm going. All right. You got this. I'm very proud of you right now. Oh, my God. That's cold. You're supposed to stay in there for a minute. Oh, it feels good now. Does it? Yeah, it's hard to get in, but once you're in, it feels good. Really? I don't know if I believe you. You get used to it really fast. Oh, my God. You're right. It does take your breath away. Okay. Can you breathe? Just take a deep breath. All right. Breathe. How many seconds has it been? It has been 15 seconds. Okay. I can do 30. I can do 30 seconds. 30? I did a full minute, you know. Didn't have to wait a minute. Can you breathe? It's hard to breathe, isn't it? It's getting better. How many seconds? You've been in 30 seconds. Okay. I think I can do it. Can you do a full minute? I don't know. This is the first time I've ever actually done this. I'm pretty proud of myself. 40 seconds. Amelia really hates being cold. And if we weren't filming a video, there is no way I could have convinced her to get in that ice water bath. 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. All right. Get out. Oh, my gosh. Wow. So, I have a new appreciation for people who do that polar plunge. Because I'm really proud of myself that I lasted a minute. But I don't know if I'm going to ever repeat that experience. It is like an ice bath. It really is. Oh, my gosh. Got to watch my head, Amelia. Yes. Be careful. Okay. So, this is a steam bath. How are you doing, JP? Apparently better than you are. I know. I'm really heated. Amelia is light-headed. Yeah. Now, what are you rubbing on yourself? We are doing a salt scrub for further exfoliation. I'm going to have newborn skin after this. I'm not going to have any skin after this. All right, JP. What's next? All right. So, this is coffee, I guess. So, this should make Amelia love me more. This is like one of those magic potions. It smells incredible. And she said you can put it on your face, too. It's a good exfoliator for the whole body. Give her a bar of chocolate. And I'm pretty sure this would be Amelia's version of heaven. I hope that you enjoy. How are you feeling? How is your skin? Oh, my gosh. It is amazing. I feel incredible. My skin is so soft and smooth. Like a baby, right? Yes. Like a baby. Increíble. Oh, my gosh. Increíble. Muchas, muchas gracias. I was really looking forward to relaxing in the Japanese thermal pool, but Mother Nature had a different plan. It's raining like it has been every afternoon, but I don't care. I feel so good. Yeesh, I think that was lightning. It is actually raining quite hard now, and we just heard some thunder and lightning, or we saw the lightning. So now we're a little concerned about getting in the pool up here on top of a mountain when there's lightning. So I think we're going to wait a few minutes and see if there's any more lightning before we get in to the Japanese pool. And then they have something really special waiting for us. Normally, I wouldn't think you could get rained out of a spa experience. Well, we didn't because we were able to enjoy the caves, and I don't mind sitting right here and enjoying the rain as well. JP, my hands, my whole body is so smooth, and I smell like delicious coffee. All right, what are we going to do? We're going to go have some delicious lunch or early dinner. It's nice that they have the umbrellas. It certainly is. Gracias. The restaurant at Piedra de Agua has a full food and drink menu, but they prepared a special plant-based entree for us. If you have special dietary requirements, just call ahead to let them know. So good. Oh, my gosh. Riquísimo. Huge thanks to Mr. Duran, Carlos, and everyone else at Piedra de Agua for arranging this unforgettable afternoon. If you would like to visit Piedra de Agua, check below for a link and be sure to tell them that you saw our video. What a great way to end 48 hours in Cuenca at Piedra de Agua in Baños. Yes, I am so relaxed. There is so much to do in Cuenca. Cuenca is such an amazing city. I feel like we barely scratched the surface. Let us know what your favorite things to do are in the comments below. Yeah, maybe we'll do them in our next video. All right, guys, I think that's all we have for this one. If you enjoyed it, leave us a like, and we will see you all in our next video. Ciao.