After just a few days here in Cuenca, I found myself noting all the ways that it is a much better city than Baltimore. For one, the full name is Santa Ana de los cuatro rios de Cuenca, and it lives up to its name. Cuenca is a very green city, filled with trees, parks/plazas, and four rivers surrounded by green banks and running paths. It is also filled with outdoor markets where you can by anything from fried plantain to hand-made jewelry to leggings. There seems to be no end to the exciting surprises waiting around every corner. All I could think about upon my arrival was how great it was to be out of Baltimore and how beautiful and amazing Cuenca must be.
However, I have now begin to see all the ways that Cuenca is not so different from Baltimore. It really hit me when la doctora I work with told me that I had to take a cab to the bus stop, because it wasn't a safe place to be after/at 8 pm. These two radically different and unique cities actually have some things, good and bad, in common:
1) Safety is an issue - there are places you cannot go at night, others you cannot visit during the day, and others where being a tourist makes you vulnerable.
2) The bus system has is pros...and cons - here in Cuenca, they are decently reliable and very cheap ($0.25 a ride), but you have no idea which buses go where until you ride them or find someone who can tell you. In Baltimore, you can look up all of the timestables, stops, and routes, but no guarantee the bus is going to follow them. And don't forget the congestion/pollution from both systems.
3) It is the less traveled, less appreciated of local cities - Both are often overshadowed by their larger or more appealing neighbors. Examples include Quito, Guayaquil, and Washington DC.
And I am sure that there are many more similarities between my two current lodgings that I have yet to discover.
However, I have now begin to see all the ways that Cuenca is not so different from Baltimore. It really hit me when la doctora I work with told me that I had to take a cab to the bus stop, because it wasn't a safe place to be after/at 8 pm. These two radically different and unique cities actually have some things, good and bad, in common:
1) Safety is an issue - there are places you cannot go at night, others you cannot visit during the day, and others where being a tourist makes you vulnerable.
2) The bus system has is pros...and cons - here in Cuenca, they are decently reliable and very cheap ($0.25 a ride), but you have no idea which buses go where until you ride them or find someone who can tell you. In Baltimore, you can look up all of the timestables, stops, and routes, but no guarantee the bus is going to follow them. And don't forget the congestion/pollution from both systems.
3) It is the less traveled, less appreciated of local cities - Both are often overshadowed by their larger or more appealing neighbors. Examples include Quito, Guayaquil, and Washington DC.
And I am sure that there are many more similarities between my two current lodgings that I have yet to discover.
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