Cuenca has a few different markets. We finally made our way to one on Thursday. Grocery shopping is tricky for a few reasons: first, we can only buy what we can carry. 2. There are different ingredients than from what I'm used to. 3. It takes a good chunk of time to walk to the Super-maxi or the market, buy the food and walk home. In Quito, I would often stop in at the market on our way home from school. That was really easy to do. Here, we have decided that on market days, we will eat a meal at the market while we are there. 

This market is three levels and as soon as we stepped foot onto the "food court" level, a couple of women were immediately holding out meat from their pigs in their bare hands, inviting us, kind of forcefully, to have a sample. After we sampled, I felt obligated to buy, and buying eliminated the decision making process. And so we ate pork, potatoes, corn, salad and juice. It was great! I love the market experience. Next time we go to the market, I want to spend more time checking out the venders set up outside of the market.

I'm gluten intolerant and so are my daughters. And honestly, traveling can be a bit of a pain with this difficulty. Fortunately, a lot of packages will list what common allergens they contain. But still... it would be easier if I could eat anything! 

It felt like heaven when we went to a place called, Muu Yogurt (a total hole in the wall, but apparently very popular as all the tables were filled), and bought yuca bread and yogurt. The yuca bread is so delicious. My friend, Brooke, made it for us in Texas right before we came to Ecuador. It's $0.20 for one piece. And, it's something I can make when I get home. I found a recipe! Yuca bread is made from tapioca flour, cheese, eggs and milk.

We live close to the Museo Pumapungo. We only had a short amount of time to walk through some parts of the museum. It has art as well as exhibits displaying the lives of indigenous people. The museum also has Incan Ruins. We need to go back to enjoy the whole museum, but in the meantime here are some photos!

Our apartment overlooks the Rio Tomebamba. It's beautiful to walk along the river. What is it about bodies of water that is so peaceful? 

Like just about every child in the world, my daughters love to throw rocks into water. We happily did that one afternoon. One thing I love about being here for an extended period of time instead of a 2 week vacation, is that we have time to sit on the side of the river and throw rocks. We aren't stressed to pack everything into a small amount of time. It's really great!

Our last Saturday in Quito...

Funny how I was so overwhelmed and crying when we arrived, but leaving was SO hard. We loved the people we met. We hope to make similar connections here in Cuenca.

Our last Saturday, we went to a park with our friends. It was wonderful and chill. Then we went and ate comida rapido (fast food), which may have made Conor sick... It was that or tap water.