Hotel Presidente Cuenca

... gate &#8211; the rest of the paddock was barbed wire with a drop to the road. Luckily nobody raced after us with pitchforks and we walked back through the village.<br><br>We got back to the guesthouse and lazed in the hammocks on the verandah for a while, taking in the view, when a hummingbird with a massive long tail came and buzzed around the flowers nearby, which was quite a sight. Too slow with the camera though&#8230;<br><br>Dinner was included so we ate in the small dining room ...

... end have resulted in what Christie kindly described as a Collectivo on rails. It was basically a single carriage driven by diesel with about forty seats on-board. There was no way of getting on the roof. There were two of these completely separately driven. It pulled in and offloaded a carriage full of locals who had made the journey from Riobambe. I don&#8217;t think any of them were tourists. Still I was determined to make the most of the journey. Sure enough the scenes were ...

... being a Sunday and we got caught in a huge downpour at one stage but had a great time nonetheless!<br><br>The next day we were up nice and early to go visit one of the Panama hat factories which is also a museum, Homero Ortega P &amp; Hijos. We were given a quick fire tour of the museum and factory with explanations how the hats are made, dyed, shaped and finished. The base of the hat is made by local villagers out ...

... and me responding with a completely blank and pitiful expression. Sorry little old lady!<br><br>Cuenca is another beautiful little town in Southern Ecuador, built along the river and again full of quaint cobbled streets and beautiful old buildings. As with most of South America it also has its fair share of churches! It also feels slightly more European then the other places I've visited in Ecuador so far. <br><br>My second day in Cuenca saw me heading off to ...

... following day we had a tour at 8:30 am of the Rio Muchacho Organic Farm. We met one of the coordinators, Ruben, and he was to escort us to the farm which was about 20 minutes from the beach. We meant to take a bus but after waiting for a substantial period of time he flagged a pick up going that direction and we hopped in. The farm is owned by a couple, Nicola and Dario. There is also a school on the property for the community in the area. They are taught the basics, reading, writing ...

... unlikelythe road is up and down twisting and turning following valley contours. Sometimes we travel 20km round a valley to go the 4 or 5 km across in a straight line, amazing views though.<br>The road conditions are getting more dangerous, serious potholes, lumps and bumps, sometimes no road at all, just dirt and gravel stones, plus it is starting to get dark.<br>We stop and refuel somewhere and decide to go no further than El ...

... Beautifully made instruments. Then stopped to look round Chordeleg, a place famous for jewellery making, particularly fine filigree work in silver and gold.<br><br>Then we went toGualaceo with its tremendous markets, an outdoor fruit and veg one and then the indoor food hall. Both were truly amazing places, as 'different' as anywhere we've been I think. Next up was an orchid centre where we ...

... looked and acted like 5 year olds to me) and they had taken over the joint. <br><br>Now, I´m all for allowing young people to experience new things, grow up etc etc. My only requirement is that they don´t do it around me. Is that so much to ask? I mean, come on. How is cooking a ****ing spaghetti bolognese a life changing experience? The only life changing I wanted to do was to end one particular little ****´s life so I could get to use the ...

... fireworks every night.. not bad for a religious festival.<br><br>The place was swarmed with sweet stalls, one thing we have found hilarious over in South America is that towns and cities are not very inventive when it comes to business; one city will be full of electrical ...

... for today.<br><br>We now plan on looking round Cuenca which is an awesome city. It´s by far the nicest place we´ve been to in Ecuador, with a large student population which meant the bar area was heaving last night. We´re then going to cross the border and move on to a Peruvian beach town where we hope to chill out on the beach and try our hand at some surfing. Can´t wait!<br><br>Take care everyone,<br><br>Scott<br><br>(p.s. photos are at the usual place)