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Three days of bussing from Lima and I finally arrived in Cuenca, Ecuador. It's the third largest city and said to be second in charm and architectural beauty. I stayed much longer than planned in Peru, and now I'm racing to see the places I hope to see in one week in Ecuador. So far since leaving my lovely Peru, the weather has not cooperated. Immediately after crossing the border into Ecuador, the world was transformed into the misty cloud forest of the southern highlands, and it rained. However this seemed fitting, and made it look all the more enchanting.
Cuenca is a charming colonial city with an extra step in the direction of sophistication. Each time it started raining I simply popped into one of the many cool cafes, stylish restaurants, and art galleries to stay dry and observe the town culture. After exploring a few plazas and handsome dome topped churches from the 1500's, I walked along the grassy banks of the currently raging Rio Tomebamba that cuts the city in half. The river is lined with red-tile roofed colonial buildings and a few Incan ruins, and the banks are decorated by the multi-colored clothing of the locals. I stayed in a pretty hostel right next to the river, with a roof top terrace overlooking the city, called Posada del Rio for a lovely $7 a night. The next morning I went down to the hat making stores and watched them make the wrongly named Panama Hats that Ecuador is famous for. Then off to the bus station again to make my way to Baños.
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