Cuenca

After Quito we moved on to Banos, a place that everyone has told us is amazing and we were very excited. Instead it rained continually for three days which made hiring a very cool buggy a little bit pointless, neither could we walk up to any of the miradors as it was too foggy to see anything. After some very disappointing days we eventually cut our loss and made our way to Cuenca. Below the weather in Banos.

Cuenca is a pretty colonial town with a river running through it which made all the difference to Matt. We spent some time wandering around and browsing through markets before I eventually gave in and bought a Panama Hat. Panama Hats come from Ecuador not Panama like everyone thinks. I didn't exactly buy a traditional one but I have a lovely hat for Henley! Matt decided against getting one and he thinks he looks stupid, I think he is just embarrassed about needing an XXXL size hat. Once we had decided on or not a hat we realised that we needed our hair cut. After not having my hair cut for nearly a year now and it having been treated to travelling, I was not looking my best, so the decision was made to lop half of it off. I now have hair touching (just) my shoulders and very badly painted pink nails with silver bits on them. (The hairdressers' 14 year old daughter wants to be a beautician and it was free and she wanted to practice her English, I haven't yet found nail varnish remover so I'm regretting being a guinea pig!)

Cuenca's cathedral above and flower market below.