Hotel Tomebamba Cuenca

... road of scenery and villages we had heard about recently through some Australian friends in Vancouver.<br><br>The most difficult part of the loop is that the transport is very irregular, as there is only one bus a day in each direction. The bus for Chugchilan, anticlockwise from Latacunga, followed a bumpy road due to construction so the going was slow and we saw one vehicle that had started to slide down the valley which didn´t instill us with confidence. About an hour into the journey ...

... br><br>We arrived at Plaza de San Sebastian, it was yet another attractive plaza, the church was closed but we eyed a Pakistani Restaurant and we decided to return later for dinner. When we were about to leave we eyed on one side of the Plaza, Cuencas own Gallery of Modern art. It was free entry so in we went.<br><br>There wasn&#8217;t a huge display of artefacts but we were quite impressed by some of the exhibits. In one room a series of paintings depicted the seven ...

... heritage site due to its old colonial buildings. Cuenca used to be an old Incan site called Tumebamba, and is considered a candidate for the mythical city of gold, El Dorado, El Dorado is believed to have been burned by the inhabitants when rumors arose of Spanish conquests. Tuembamba fits with the story as it was nothing but a ruin by the time the Spanish arrived in the 1550´s.<br><br>We spent the following day ...

... up at the bus terminal to find that all the buses we wanted were sold out and that the only bus going close to where we wanted to go was the 8pm bus to Cuenca. So we hopped aboard and here I sit on the floor of an open air and very chilly bus station with Kristen trying to sleep on my lap and both of us hoping that we can get a bus to take us to Riobamba so that we can catch a bus to Baños. Here´s hoping!!!<br>

... the Galapagos Islands (and we are poor) we opted for this instead. We took about a 2 hour boat ride, which I was slightly nervous about. I realized in the recent past that I have a slight fear of boats for some reason. However, the ride was relatively smooth and I suffered very little anxiety even though we were in the front of the boat :) We saw 2 whales breach on the way! It was so amazing. We were not fast enough with the camera but it was really beautiful...they were completely out ...

A nice lazy day in Cuenca, we get a coffee and continue our exploration.<br>We go to the hat museum and I get a Panama, sorry mustn´t say that word here it is a Sombrero de paja toquilla ( toquilla straw hat) as they are called in Ecuador where they originated. I pop it in the post and hope it arrives.<br>I also go looking for a new rear tyre, it is getting low on tread and we have heard the policia in north Peru are a pain and a bit corrupt looking for any excuse to "fine ...

... our first lessons are tomorrow and are daily for 2 weeks. We have to take Abby back to the hospital for a check up tomorrow too. <br><br>Today is the 200th anniversary (Bicentanario) of Ecuadorian independence. As soon as I get home, and if the kids are well enough, we plan to head out for the 15 minute walk to the main square where hopefully we will take in celebrations. Cuenca´s Centro area is absolutely lovely, with cobblestone ...

... br><br>Hell no. You´re here (are you here, or have you finally got bored of reading my foul-mouthed diatribe?) to have another distraction from the daily grind. So here goes....<br><br>Cuenca, the beautiful colonial city in southern Ecuador which, while being a mere spec on the map compared to Guayaquil and Quito, manages to knock them both into a cocked hat when it comes to beauty, quaintness and relative tranquility (it´s a city). And, based ...

... on his friends was walking over to us at a pretty fast rate. The guy went to grab me, and not knowing what to do (and very conscious of the camera and iPod in my pocket) I knocked the guy out and a taxi pulled up just as his friend was about to reach us. Impeccable timing. I think I tipped the cabbie more than the actual fare. <br><br>I went to Finns, go the jacket and was asleep in bed by 3am, only to wake up at 6:30a for some more goodbye&#8217;s before out flight to ...

... a bit of a dive but we agreed to stay. After half an hour in the room we had discovered that the place was just dangerous. No plugs seemed to work, one even sparked when Keir tried to use it, and that one was in the bathroom! The place was a nightmare. It was my fault we´d gone in there so I went to get the owner in order to get our money back and move on. This took AGES. He first sent his wife who spoke no English and seemed very distressed by the ...