Cuenca is beautiful...with its blue-domed cathedral, red-tiled roofs and neatly kept parks

In Cuenca, Ecuador, your senses gorge themselves. It’s beautiful…with its blue-domed cathedral, red-tiled roofs and neatly kept parks.

The local markets overflow with every fruit and vegetable you can imagine, and the flower market stalls heave under the variety of blossoms that adorn them. The air here is fresh and crisp. It’s a wonderful place to relax and simply wander. But there’s plenty to keep you occupied, too…

1. Buy 100 roses—not as crazy as it seems. You can buy bundles of 25 beautiful long-stemmed roses for $4 almost anywhere. With a little haggling, you may get 100 for $10. A vase called a florero can be had for just $2 more. Enjoy the amazing colors and delicious scent every time you walk in your room.

2. Watch the latest Hollywood offering at the Multicine in the Millenium Mall: an eight-minute walk from the Calle Larga. Head down the steps at Hermano Miguel, cross the Rio Tomebamba and then slalom through the runners and walkers in the always-busy health-nut paradise of Parque de la Madre, turn left at the Planetarium, and cross the street to the Millenium Mall.

Movies open—either translated or with subtitles—the same day they start in the U.S. Don’t faint when the ushers open the doors and thank you warmly for coming.

3. Have an English wool jacket tailor-made for you. Call into any tailor in the central area and gesture to him that you want a new suit. He will show you all kinds of materials. You choose one and then get measured. Most can have your new jacket or suit done in two days. English cashmere will be $20 to $40 per yard and the tailoring will be $60 for a sports coat.

4. Go bowling at Mall del Rio. This big mall on the Tarqui River—three miles or a $2.50 taxi ride from the center of town—has a fun bowling alley and scores of restaurants and shops. The bowling alley is hidden in the Fun Zone and is exactly like what you would find anywhere in the U.S.—except the price is $1.99 a game, and everyone around you will be yelling “Strike!” But in Spanish.

5. Go ahead: Drink the water and eat the incredibly ripe and delicious fruits in the restaurants and hotels. Enjoy the amazing salads—unlike any you have ever had in the U.S.—and feel safe while you do it, because Cuenca has the same water standards as the U.S.

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