After a cracking few days in Cuenca, one of the most beautiful cities I've been too, Jenn and I are now in Vilcabamba for a spot of hiking and relaxation. It's a beautiful little place from what we've seen so far, nestled in the green lower slopes of the Andes in the south of Ecuador.
But back to Cuenca. We ended up going it alone in Cajas National Park, rising bright and early to get the bus out there at 7. Which wasn't really necessary, as we only ended up walking for about two and a half hours and were back in the city shortly after 12. The area is stunningly beautiful, very rugged and open. Just what I like. There are few better things, I find, than to stand somewhere high up with the wind in your face and a warm glow in your legs, and be able to see for miles and miles with nothing but nature around you. The warm glow didn't last for long once we stopped moving though, as it was only around 4ºC up there. But then that's only to be expected on a cloudy day at 4,000 m above sea level. The park holds 235 lakes, of which we saw a handful. We also saw a group of llamas, who looked as surprised to see us as we were to see them. Following the sporadically marked trail with our topographical map, we came to the road and set out to find another little path around one of the smaller lakes. Our attempts merely took us back to halfway along the trail we had just done, however. After stopping for sandwiches, we decided to call it a day, as it had begun to rain and the brief pause had chilled us all thoroughly. Plus it's a little difficult to catch your breath at that altitude, and I had tummy ache. Still, the trip was definitely worth it, even if we didn't get to walk as much as I would have liked. A free trip to the cinema to see a Spanish film as part of a European film festival nicely rounded off the evening, although by then my stomach was really causing me a lot of discomfort. It's fine now though.
Whilst in Cuenca, we also took in a free piano recital, which was very good in parts and an atrocious assault on the aural faculties in others. I am now convinced that contemporary Ecuadorian composers have absolutely nothing to offer the world, at least in terms of music. Other than that, I just enjoyed wandering around the streets and taking in the atmosphere. There are bakeries and cake shops eeeeeeverywhere, and we sampled a lot of the local specialities.
Oh, and I turned thirty. Which was nice. The day started with a nice breakfast in the hostel with the girls (Nicol and Lisa arrived in Cuenca on Thursday morning having taken the night bus from Quito). Then we faffed around until lunchtime, ate a 3-course lunch at a fantastic veggie restaurant for just $1.50, and went to the Banco Central national museum in the afternoon. It was fabulous, but far too big to see all in one day, so I concentrated on the ethnology section, which had wonderful displays and dioramas all about the different indigenous groups in Ecuador. There are so many of them! On the way back to the hostel, we picked up some supplies and made the best sandwiches in Ecuador, which were washed down with a couple of bottles of wine before heading out into town. Our first stop was Cafecito, where there was an improvised birthday cake consisting of a huge slab of chocolate cake with a candle stuck in it. The lovely waitress then presented me with a flaming shot glass of brown liquid and a straw, instructing me to drink it all in one go while it was still alight. So I did. It would have been rude not to. And very tasty my birthday cocktail turned out to be. Then it was off to another bar overlooking the river and the new town before turning in. We didn't go dancing unfortunately, so I'll have to make up for that when I get home. Although I had a good day, I really missed all my friends and can't wait to celebrate properly with you all when I get back. You have been warned!
So now we're in Vilcabamba. I was sad to say goodbye to Lisa, Nicol and Natasha yesterday. It's going to be strange travelling without them after having lived in such close quarters for the last two months. And then Jenn will be leaving on Tuesday and I'll be all on my tod. Ready to meet lots more new people for the last leg of my journey in Peru!
Much love to you all and I'll see you again soon, d xxx
