Cuenca did not start well.

We arrived a bit early at 10.30pm, and rather than the bus dropping us off at the hostel, our guide hopped in a cab with us. All good so far. Then we got to the hostel, which did not have a name plate at all, and no one answered the door. After ringing the bell about 5 times and both the guide and Luke calling them, finally someone appeared about 10mins later. Apparently we woke her up... This was despite me warning in advance that we would be arriving between 11pm and midnight. Whilst I originally thought it was a bit silly that the guide came with us to the hostel, I was glad he did. I could have just imagined us standing on the doorstep not speaking Spanish until who knows when.

Anyway all checked in, it was time for bed and to wake up to Cuenca, a city that Lonely Planet describes as "after Quito, Ecuador's most beautiful colonial city". I think given the easy and safety of walking around, I preferred Cuenca much more than Quito.

There was quite a lot to see in Cuenca, and we were there for the day of the dead and Cuenca city day holidays, which meant that there were a lot of street markets and festivities going on. It was interesting to wander around.

We first stopped off at the free museum "Pumapungo" which provided an overview of the various cultural groups and regions in Ecuador, and even included some shrunken heads... outside the museum were some inca ruins (however the Spanish conquistadors took most of the stone), a botanical garden and a some aviaries for some injured/rescued birds. The cages could have been bigger, but at least the birds could fly around a bit. We spent a good morning wandering around, and if any of the exhibits had english explanations, evened could have spent even longer.

After wandering through massive craft markets, which lined both sides of the river and hiding from the rain, we hid from the rain a bit more.

Finally, after the rain had stopped (and I promptly got sun burnt) we started on the cathedrals. There are quite a few churches and cathedrals in the old town, however a lot of them you could only view through glass windows or were museums and we had to pay to get in. The exception to this was the "New Cathedral". Built in the latter part of the 19th Century, it is a massively impressive and overblown building on the inside and a weird unfinished mis-match of styles on the outside. The main body of the church is red brick and then has candy blue and white domes and unfinished belfries at the front. Apparently the design called for belfries at the front, which the supporting towers couldn't support, so they just left them without spires at all.

There is a particular marble/granite in Cuenca which is like a Neapolitan ice cream (pink, brown, white) swirl. It appeared in buildings, the pavement and in the churches. It was quite different and very interesting. At least in Cuenca you weren't warned not to stop and find things interesting! It was a lot more comfortable to walk around.

As it started to rain again, we went back to the hostel and escaped only to have some incredibly bad Chinese. Our only excuse was that it was literally across the road from the hostel.

Next day we had an evening flight back to Quito, so we had most of a day to keep wandering around Cuenca and go to another museum, this time the "Old Cathedral" which was deconsecrated and now serves as a religious museum. We decided to get an audio guide. I think in the past I have mentioned that some audioguides we have listened to, have been rather stale. This was the absolute opposite, with an incredibly passionate local explaining the different chapels and the statues which had "eyes made of glass!!!" (her emphasis not mine). She also had the best euphemism I have heard for the immaculate conception as she explained that God "entered Mary's sanctuary unnanounced" and she found she was pregnant. Amazing.

Anyway, we had a good, cheap set lunch and then an expensive coffee and hot chocolate at a posh chocolate shop. To give some comparison, a lunch cost as much as a coffee from the posh chocolate shop, and lunch consisted of soup, chicken, rice, salad and potatoes, juice and a tiny bit of cheese cake. The coffee and hot chocolate were very nice.

After getting help to call a taxi, it was off to the tiny airport and an easy flight back to Quito. Luke had woken up at 3am to watch the England v South Africa rugby semi final (and got up an hour earlier than necessary), so promptly fell asleep each time he sat down, including the plane flight.

We were just staying at a place near the airport for the night, as the following day we would be catching a public bus to Lago Agrio, the meeting point for our Amazon tour.