CUENCA, ECUADOR - AHI International

CONTACT A TRAVEL EXPERT: 800-323-7373INTERNATIONAL LIFESTYLES EXPLORATIONSCUENCA, ECUADORAn Extended Educational Travel OpportunityAHI Travel is pleased to present a new concept in educational travel: an authentic, extendedintroduction to living abroad. This first-of-its-kind opportunity features the old world beauty of Cuenca,Ecuador. One of South America’s most alluring and captivating colonial cities, Cuenca is a UNESCOWorld Heritage site and has been anointed by International Living Magazine as The World’s TopRetirement Haven.Cuenca is an artists’ community with all the modern conveniences. It is home to three universities,majestic cathedrals, fascinating museums and living history. Reside in your own apartment in Cuenca’shistoric center for four weeks with AHI staff always available to support and enhance your experience.Enjoy individual language instruction combined with an immersion in the lifestyle, customs, historyand cuisine of Cuenca, courtesy of your own accomplished and experienced Lifestyle Guide from theeminent Simon Bolivar Spanish School. From cooking classes and salsa lessons to shopping strollsthrough the vibrant mercado and the colorful flower market, each day rewards you with deepenedinsight and the joy of discovery and accomplishment.Discover Ecuador’s other treasures: her unspoiled Pacific coast, the magnificent Cajas NationalPark, charming Gualaceo, and the wondrous Galapagos Islands on optional excursions.The weather is delightful, the restaurants and cafes wonderful and diverse, the food delicious andfresh year-round. Cuenca offers an unbeatable combination of beauty, livability and a very low costof living, a fraction of that found in the U.S. and Canada. An added convenience: Ecuador’s officialcurrency is the U.S. dollar. Come to Cuenca and live life abroad.

Photo captionsPrevious page: The Cathedral and Central Plaza of Cuenca; Cathedral of TheImmaculate Conception; local market; Cajas National ParkAbove: Making the famous Panama hat; Inca ruins with trapezoidal niches;San Sebastian Church; colorful clothing and textiles in the market on PlazaSan FranciscoPROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS• Enjoy four weeks’ accommodations in a fullyfurnished, modernly appointed apartment in the colonialcenter of Cuenca; includes cable television and broadbandInternet access.• Live and learn with your personal Lifestyle Guide andinstructor from the Simon Bolivar Language School,providing private language instruction and immersionin Cuenca’s culture, people, history, art and cuisine fourdays each week.• Stay connected with friends, family and AHI Travel staffwith a complimentary Ecuadorean cell phone.• Rely upon AHI Travel’s experienced and professionalon-site staff to support you throughout this exclusiveprogram, from your initial orientation to Cuenca and yourapartment home to whatever assistance or guidance youmay require.• Experience life abroad, equip yourself to liveindependently in Latin America, learn about similaropportunities around the world.INCLUDED FEATURESAccommodations• Two nights in Quito at the Swissôtel Quito.• One night in Cuenca at Hotel Victoria.• Four weeks accommodations in central Cuenca in aprivate apartment.Transportation• Flights between Quito and Cuenca.• All airport transfers within Ecuador.Activities and Events• Festive Welcome Lunch, Dinner and MusicalPerformance.• Double-decker motor coach orientation tour ofCuenca.• Gala Farewell Reception, Graduation Ceremonyand Dinner.• Other meals as outlined in your program itinerary.• Professional language and Ecuadorean cultureinstruction provided by the Simon Bolivar SpanishSchool four days each week.MANY INCLUDED EXTRAS• Consultation services of a Passenger ServiceRepresentative prior to departure.• Detailed travel and destination information to assistin your planning.

D AY- BY-DAYDAY 1 ~ SATURDAYIN TRANSIT/QUITODepart your gateway city for Quito, Ecuador, aboardscheduled jet service.* Upon arrival, transfer to theSwissôtel Quito.Tonight, enjoy refreshments at a Welcome Reception.CUENCADAY 2 ~ SUNDAYFly from Quito to Cuenca, and transfer to the HotelVictoria.At a group welcome and briefing, you will be introduced toan English-speaking doctor and dentist, in case the need forservices arises. In addition, you will be given an Ecuadoreancell phone to use throughout your stay.Then enjoy an Ecuadorean Welcome Lunch, followed by adouble-decker bus excursion through Cuenca.Dinner is served at a local restaurant, followed by a WelcomeReception with live music.DAYS 3 – 7 ~ MONDAY - FRIDAYTransfer to your apartment. Participate in your firstlanguage lesson at the Simon Bolivar Spanish School.This evening, enjoy a group dinner with Lifestyle Guides at alocal restaurant.Throughout your stay, from Monday through Thursday, youwill experience Cuenca through your language lessons,excursions through the city with your Lifestyle Guide andon your own, and other cultural experiences presentedby the Bolivar School, including lectures about history,music, art and politics; cooking classes; and salsa andmerengue lessons.In addition, twice each week, participants enjoy lunch withgroups of local university students, wonderful opportunitiesto learn more about the people and culture of Ecuador.Each Thursday night you are invited to enjoy live music andenergetic conversations mixing your new found Spanishwith your new found Ecuadorean friends at La Parola, awonderful rooftop café packed with Cuencanoes enjoying anearly start to the weekend.Friday begins each three-day weekend at the traditional“Gringo Night” of the very popular Eucalyptus Restaurantgiving you the opportunity to socialize and compare noteswith your fellow travelers and members of the U.S. andCanadian communities who now live in Cuenca.DAYS 8 & 9 ~ SATURDAY & SUNDAYThe weekend is free for you to explore and enjoy Cuenca.On Sunday, you may choose to join an optional excursion tothe villages of Gualaceo, featuring a lively Sunday morningmarket, and Chordeleg, noted for its ceramics, gold andsilver filigree jewelry, Panama hats and pre-Inca ruins.I TINERARYDAYS 10 – 14 ~ MONDAY - FRIDAYMonday is highlighted by a visit to Cuenca’s Museum ofIndigenous Cultures and its fascinating collection of pre-Columbian finds. Immersion into the language and cultureof Ecuador continues.DAYS 15 & 16 ~ SATURDAY & SUNDAYTwo optional excursions are offered this weekend.On Saturday you may discover the scenic trails,peaceful blue lagoons and other natural wonders ofCajas National Park.On Sunday, explore the Shabalula Ruins, extensiveruins of the administrative and military center of theCañaris, the predominant indigenous, pre-Incan powerin southern Ecuador.DAYS 17 – 20 ~ MONDAY - THURSDAYThrough your on-going lectures, classes and encounters withdaily life in Cuenca, continue to broaden your awareness andappreciation of the culture.DAYS 21 – 24 ~ FRIDAY - MONDAYSpring Break arrives, and with it a three-night optionalexcursion to Ecuador’s stunning Pacific coast. With yearroundair and water temperatures in the mid 80s, Ecuador’sPacific beaches, backed by spectacular cliffs, resemble awarm La Jolla, California, in the 1940s. Enjoy surfing, shellcollecting, horseback riding, sea-kayaking, mangrove tours,parasailing, and ubiquitous hammocks for those lessinclined to move beyond the shade of the palms and palapas.DAYS 25 – 28 ~ TUESDAY - FRIDAYConclude your Simon Bolivar language and culture program.Thursday evening join your fellow participants for dinner atRestaurant Tiesto.DAY 29 ~ SATURDAYCelebrate your Ecuadorean adventure, and all you haveexperienced and accomplished, with a Graduation Ceremonywith lunch at the elegant La Mansión Alcázar.DAY 30 ~ SUNDAYIN TRANSIT/QUITOFly to Quito for an overnight stay at the Swissôtel Quito.DAY 31 ~ MONDAYIN TRANSIT/GATEWAY CITYToday, fly home aboard scheduled jet service*, or join us ona five-night optional extension to the wonders of Ecuador’sincredible Galapagos Islands.* Provided for Air Program participants.NOTE: Itinerary sequence and/or scheduled events may change.Many excursions in this program involve an element of walking.From $2,995 per personCall for more details: 800-323-7373

Cuenca,Ecuador’s MostBeautiful CityA CCOMMODATIONSLovers of old world beauty reverecentral Cuenca’s buildings and plazasas a virtual open air museum of thehighest achievements of LatinAmerican colonial architecture.Cuenca is served by no fewer than52 churches, each a pleasingarchitectural combination of religiousmotifs, Andean designs and Arabicinfluences. The Spaniards foundedCuenca in the 16th century on the siteof the second-largest city in the Incaempire, Tomebamba. The city wasdeclared a UNESCO World HeritageSite in 1999.Cuenca produces Ecuador’s finestcrafts, including ceramics, textiles,silver and gold jewelry, furnitureand Panama hats. Situated almost onthe equator in a fertile valleycrisscrossed by four beautiful rivers,Cuenca’s altitude, 8,000 feet, resultsin weather that is ideal year-round;the crisp mountain air is never toohot or too cold, allowing Cuenca’smarkets to feature a constant,colorful abundance of fresh fruitsand vegetables.The official currency of Cuenca isthe U.S. dollar, and visitors soondiscover that each goes a long way.Each day, the city’s restaurants offeran ever-changing four-course lunchspecial for around $2. Twenty-fivelong-stemmed roses to enliven one’sapartment cost $4 at the aromaticflower market.Along side her gardens, parks,indigenous markets, and abundantnatural beauty, Cuenca features allof the niceties of modern living,from shopping centers to deliciousrestaurants, from movies to livetheater and music.SWISSÔTELSÔTEL QUITOQuitoThe Swissôtel Quito offers deluxe accommodations,a convenient location andgracious service. Unwind in the Amritaspa or a swim in one of the hotel’s twopools. Enjoy international cuisine at yourchoice of six restaurants. Relax in yourluxurious guest room, elegantly appointedwith modern amenities and conveniences.HOTELVICTORIACuencaAdmire views of the Tomebamba Riverfrom the first-class Hotel Victoria. This17th-century home built on a bluff alongthe river is decorated in the colonial style.Savor delicious meals in El Jardin, thehotel’s highly praised restaurant. Retire toa comfortably appointed guest room. Eachof the guest rooms have unique decor, butall share panoramic views of Cuenca.PRIVATEAPARTMENTSCentral CuencaPropel your overseas living experienceto the authentic by living in apartmentsinspected and leased by AHI Travel forthis program. Studios and one-, two- orthree-bedroom apartments are available.All are located in the colonial center ofCuenca and are within easy walkingdistance of the Simon Boliver SpanishSchool and all of Cuenca’s colonialtreasures. All apartments are fullyfurnished and equipped, and they arewired for cable television and broadbandInternet access. AHI staff will orient youto your home and will be available aroundthe clock to assist you as needed.Above: Apartment interiors; all apartments will varyAHI Travel6400 Shafer CourtRosemont, IL 600182011