Cuenca

I really enjoyed my month in Cuenca, but mostly because I wanted a chill place to focus on work and practice my Spanish. there isn't much to do, but it's very clean and safe and there's music everywhere. beautiful churches, people are very friendly (although very little English is spoke) and it's ridiculously cheap. they use the USD as official currency and it was easy to find a huge, hearty, multi-course lunch for $2.25. no joke. there are ice cream and pastry shops every few feet it seems. the park in the center of the city (Parque Calderon) is a nice place to sit and enjoy the atmosphere. not many gringos, although there is a decent population of american retirees. there's one street (Calle Larga) which has a few bars and restaurants that cater to americans and there are some touristy places around the park, but my advice is to avoid these and wander a few blocks away from the park for good, authentic, local food. one of my favorite dishes is a seafood and onion stew called encebolloado which is fantastic and costs about $5. the Airbnb I stayed is had 100mps internet which was great. the National Park (Cajas) is beautiful. I strongly recommend a guided tour (about $75) because the trails aren't marked well and the guides are full of useful and interesting information. be prepared though, Cuenca is 2500m (8000 feet) up and Cajas is 4000m (13000 feet) up so you'll definitely feel the altitude. I stupidly went on the hike less than a week after I arrived and it was brutal. I'd wait until you have more time to acclimate to the height.

A beautiful colonial medium size city in the mountains of Ecuador. Currently here in Dec and the highs are 70, lows are 45. Beautiful temperate weather all the way around.
Pros:
- walkable with great outdoor fitness
- diverse and high quality F&B scene. Great cocktails @ Madame
- good coffee culture and cafes.
- internet is fine. It’s stable. Not 1gb speed but not slow.
- lots of history and the city has some beautiful parts
- safe
Cons:
- smaller city. It isn’t a major metropolis.
- if you’re looking to party, Cuenca is a bit quite. There’s night life but it’s pretty chill.

It gets chilly at night and most places don't have a heater, so pack some extra thick socks!

Felt quite safe compared to other latinAm countries. This had a safer vibe than Guayaquil and all was very affordable. People are friendly. Went to the zoo, spa, a few hiking trails and such but otherwise not much to do. Great if you wanna hunker down for a few months and live cheaply in a quieter part of Ecuador.