Cuenca was the northern capital of the Inca Empire in the 1400s and was known as Tumebamba. Impressive buildings were constructed with 1,500 pound stones being brought from Cuzco in Peru almost 1,000 miles away. Brought by hand labor (no draft animals or wheeled conveyance in the Empire) through the Andes, it was an arduous task. The important Temple of the Sun was covered in gold and silver with turquoise and emeralds. Today, all that is left is the outer parts of the old capital, Pumapunku and Todos Santos. An Incan civil war destroyed much of the city and when the Spanish arrived, they used the impressive stones for building the current Cuenca and thus, most of the imperial city lies underneath the modern city.
Kathy and I spent a good part of the day exploring what remains of the ruins of the imperial city and the magnificent gardens surrounding it on the River Tomebamba. We had a magnificent time. It is sobering to realize the great empire that once existed and the grand history that shaped our American experience. The remains are extensive and so the mind imagines how large and grand the imperial capital must have been!
Kathy loves gardens and so this was a special day for her, since the gardens by the ruins were beautiful. An aviary in the gardens contained Ecuadorian birds: parrots, parakeets (big ones–not our little birds), eagles, etc. A tranquil lake was surrounded by lush greenery and flowering trees. The ruins and the gardens intermingled, and we often stopped to sit and contemplate.
Once we had walked ourselves silly, we realized we had a long walk back to our hotel and I told Kathy, “Just remember, it is good for us!” We could have hailed a taxi, but then we would not have been able to walk along the rushing river in the cool afternoon/early evening. So we walked and stopped along the way for a respite at a riverside cafe for a beer for me and a mojito for Kathy. Refreshing. That gave us the umpf we needed to make the rest of the way home to our wonderful Cuenca Suites, where the owners had washed and dried our clothes while we were away for the day. Couldn’t ask for more! WEG
kgraumann
wgraumann
gofarther.me 