The main languages spoken here are Spanish and Kichwa. Many people also speak English -- especially in Cuenca, because there are a lot of exchange students and retired Americans who live here.
In Ecuador they use the American dollar (USD). This is because in the early 2000s, the Ecuadorian Sucre (their previous currency) became very unstable. The value of the sucre changed so frequently and drastically, shop owners had to change the prices of their merchandise several times a day. So, Ecuador switched using to the USD, which is a stronger currency. Sadly, many people lost their entire life savings when the goverment made this switch.
A bottle of water costs about $0.60. Cuenca is one of the only cities in Ecuador where you can drink the tap water, so luckily I rarely have to buy bottled water.
Cuenca is known for it's hornado, which is roasted pork eaten with llapingoches (mashed potato patties) and mote (a variety of corn that is essentially huge boiled corn kernels). On Saturday, the city put on a hornado fest, so I went to a local market and shared a $4 plate of hornado with my friend!
