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I was up at 6:45am to get ready and catch a cab at 7:30an from the hostel to the Quitumbe terminal in the south of Quito. I had hoped to catch a bus at around 8am. Optimistic. Turns out the terminal is a full 45 minute drive from La Mariscal. Luckily cabs in Ecuador are dirt cheap and this only cost me $12. I arrived at the hige terminal and was helped by a security guard to find a ticket office for journeys to Cuenca. Annoyingly, the buses didn't leave nearly as often as I thought. The next bus was at 10:45am. I waited for 2 1/2 hours in the termnal before finally getting on the bus, and that wasn't before a small interrogation from an armed police officer! The bus left at 11am. It was a strange journey. It felt longer than the 29hrs I had spent getting from Managua to Panama City but at the same time it was beautiful. During one period, we were right up in the mountains. Literally in the clouds. The roads were winding, the hillsides were steep, green as green can be and tree-lined. The environment seened harsh and yet there were small communities dotted around. Every so often, a town appeared, nestled in the hills, concealed by a blanket of cloud. It wad genuinely magical. Finally, after about 9 hours, we arrived in Cuenca. I got some takeaway Seco de Pollo (chicken leg in gravy with rice and beans) and headed to the hostel (Hostal Turista del Mundo). I felt awful. My head was thumping, and I knocked out like a light. I woke up the next day to heavy rainfall. I had planned to spend the day in the nearby national park, which based on google images looked stunning, but this was a write-off. Instead, I strolled around the town, taking in the beautiful architecture of churches, cathedrals and various government buildings, whilst stopping off at cafes to do some blogging. I had a 10:30pm bus booked to get me to Mancora in Peru so I had a lot of time to kill. I have to be honest, I wasn't looking forward to the night time border crossing.
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