Cuenca

(I'm posting everything backwards). While I was on the Nariz del Diablo train, I met up with some friends I had made while on the Quilotoa Loop, and I also made friends with a young Dutch girl traveling by herself. We were both planning on going to Cuenca next, so we agreed to travel together. At Alusi, the last stop of the train, we found the bus to Cuenca but we couldn't figure out where to buy our tickets, so we would up standing on the bus for the entire 4 1/2 hour ride to Cuenca. Not fun. On the bus, she made friends with a couple of Dutch guys, who were traveling with a Canadian--who had made friends with a Swiss girl. In Cuenca, we all agreed to go to a hostel together. The one was went to was pretty bad, so the next day we all went elsewhere: the Dutch group and the Canadian went to an $11 a night place, and the Swiss girl and I went to a $6 a night place (which was quite nice--it was run by a man out of his family's home, and included breakfast).

Cuenca was quaint--Colonial architecture and cobblestone streets. I spent a day and a half wandering the city, and the Swiss girl and I also went to Parque Cajas. While in Cuenca, I got to see Elizabeth, the daughter of one of the professors at S. University. I also managed to catch a cold (there was a cold that had been making the rounds among the travelers, and I guess my name was up).

What else... oh, I got to see shrunken heads at the Museo de Banco Central in Cuenca. Well worth the $3 entrance fee...

Street in Cuenca.

Incan ruins behind the Museo.

Amazing lacework in another museum I went to.

The new cathedral in Cuenca.