Ingapirca

In the morning we extended for another night in the hotel and then had breakfast at a cute little café next to our hotel. Afterwards we walked to the terrestrial terminal to catch the bus to the Ingapirca ruins. This turned to be a little bit confusing, because we were told there are no direct buses but after we had bought a ticket we found a bus that went directly 🥴😤 So we bought the ticket for the direct bus... It wasn't very far but the bus still needed more than 2 hours.
So we got off at 11:30 and were trying to get in but the ticket office was closed and people queued at the entrance. We did the same and chatted a bit with the other foreigners waiting there. After 15 minutes Julia asked someone what's happening and apparently we were waiting for a guide. For another 15 minutes nothing happened and then they said we can go in with a private guide but it costs 3$ per person additionally. We only had until 1:30 because then the bus returned to Cuenca, so we did that despite being pissed about it. Others were even more and said that it's robbery and that they're going to call the police on them. The Inca and Cañari ruins were interesting but pretty small and mostly reconstructed. Also the main building was not accessible due to renovations. The museum was well made but we were overall a little disappointed with the ruins... The highlight were definitely the llamas grazing in the middle of the complex. When we went back to the bus there was an alpaca right next to the entrance, so we made a little photoshoot 😍🦙📸

After coming back to Cuenca we quickly stopped at the hotel and then went on the suggested walking tour around the historic center. This was a 6km loop with the highlights along the way. Unfortunately the churches were already closed by the time we came by but at least we saw them in daylight. The Catedral de la Inmaculada Concepción is without a question the highlight in the center of the city with its unique 3 blue domes. After every corner there appeared beautiful buildings that weren't even noted on our map 😍 As it started to get dark we went to have dinner right next to the cathedral which was pretty decent. Then we took a few more pictures with the cathedral illuminated.
For the end of the day we treated ourselves to the chocolateria Dos Chorreras for a hot chocolate and dessert 🎂🍪🥰 They had amazing and pretty cheap options which all sounded delicious so it was pretty difficult to make a choice. I ordered a volcano with nata ice cream and Julia fig ice cream with a cheesecake. When mine came it had a cloud of cotton candy on top 😍 The desserts and hot drinks were incredibly delicious but super sweet 😬Read more