On Tuesday, July 21st, my grandmother, Monica, Becky, and I went to Cuenca. There is a spa there called Piedra de Agua that my grandma discovered recently. Since then, she’s been taking all visitors there. Naturally, I told her she had to take me. Since Becky’s birthday is in July, she got to come along too.

My grandma hired a driver that would take us to Cuenca in her car. It’s about a 4 hour drive. On the way, we stopped at a few lookouts and at Cajas National Park. Cajas reaches an altitude of 14,600 ft above sea level and I could feel it. It was beautiful though. Part of me wishes that we would have had time to hike there, but the other part of me is glad because I know that breathing would have been a struggle. We also stopped at the Shrine of Our Lady, Guardian of the Faith, which is in the park.

When we got to Cuenca, we went straight to lunch. Guinea pig is a traditional food in the Andes mountains. I had never tried it before and we ordered guinea pig empanadas as an appetizer. The meat was very seasoned, so I couldn’t tell the difference between guinea pig and any other meat they could have used. The empanadas were good as long as I wasn’t picturing a guinea pig while I ate them. After lunch, we went to the hotel to take a nap and then walked to dinner. Becky and I had been craving locro, a traditional potato soup, but the locro we had that night was disappointing. It was watery and didn’t have cilantro in it.

The next day was spa day! We got to the spa at around 10 am and were pampered for the next 4 hours. First up, was the red clay pool. We got in the pool and our guide gave us some red clay to spread on our bodies to exfoliate, detoxify, and strengthen the skin. Then, we moved to the blue clay pool. We spread the blue clay all over to soften, smooth, and polish the skin. Next, we moved to the hot and cold pools. We were supposed to stay in the hot pool for 4 minutes and then cold plunge for 1 minute. The first time in the cold pool was awful because it was so cold, especially after the nice hot pool. But once we knew what we were expecting, it was easier to do the cold plunge. Monica also kept telling us to focus on our breathing while we were in the cold pool and that helped too.

After the pools, we parted ways. Becky and my grandma left for their massages, while Monica and I went to the steam boxes. The steam was really hot and almost, but not quite, unbearable. It felt really good, like all the toxins were getting pulled out of us. Then, we went to sit by the regular thermal pools on the property and wait for our massages. In the meantime, we ordered our complimentary fruit plate and drink. They took a really long time bringing them to us and we had only taken a few bites before they called us for our massages. We had to scarf down the fruit. Luckily, they let us bring our drinks with us. The massage was amazing! When we were done, we met up with Becky and my grandma at the restaurant and had our complimentary lunch. We each picked a different dessert and had fun trying and rating all of them. The entire day cost less than a single massage costs in the US. So if you want a spa day, Cuenca is the place to go.

On the way back to the hotel, we stopped at the Mirador de Turi, a lookout that has great views of the city. Monica and I nearly gave my grandma a heart attack by sitting on the railing. Then, we all took naps. Before dinner, we walked to a rooftop restaurant that has a great view of the cathedral and the main plaza. We had drinks there and then walked to dinner. I ordered locro again and this one was exactly what I had been craving. It was delicious!

The next morning, Monica had clients. My grandmother, Becky, and I had churros and hot chocolate after breakfast and then they left to drive back to Guayaquil. Monica and I stayed behind, since we were flying to Quito that night. When Monica was done working, we walked around the city some more, saw a few churches, got to see the cathedral, which had been closed every other time we’d walked by, and we drank agua de pítimas, a medicinal herbal drink made by cloistered nuns. Monica was very confused about why I was making her drink a red liquid with a very interesting taste. It wasn’t bad but it also wasn’t good. It’s a cultural experience, so we had to do it. We ended the day with dinner in a courtyard next to the cathedral. We really got to see the cathedral from all angles on this trip. Then we went to the airport to fly to our next adventure.