28th October – 3rd November
Monday was a travel day, and a long one. We packed up in Riobamba and then headed to the bus station where we met Alex from the previous week, and discovered that the next bus to Cuenca wasn't for another couple of hours, so we sat together in a café. After the six hour bus ride, we arrived to see our somewhat fancy rented apartment in a building that was only half finished, and in which we would be the only residents. At least we could be assured it'd be quiet. Or so we thought.
We spent Tuesday morning sorting out a few things with the owner of our apartment then cleaning up (floor cleanliness is never up to our standards in South America!) before working a little. In the afternoon, we went out to meet Janneke and Marlie for coffee, two Dutch girls who we'd climbed up to Cotopaxi's base camp with the previous week, which turned into dinner. It was lovely.
On Wednesday, Zab decided it was time for him to have a haircut, after which we worked in a pleasant café for a few hours before Carribean food for lunch. The afternoon was work at home, and in the evening, Alex came over for dinner.
We tried to visit the modern art gallery on Thursday morning, but it was closed for rehanging, so we went again on Friday instead. On both days, we ate lunch/second breakfast out and worked at home in the afternoons. Saturday was much the same.
Sunday was somewhat derailed by being woken up at 4am by a party going on directly below our apartment. I angry-texted the owner who quickly put a end to it, but we then had trouble getting back to sleep. In the morning, I spoke to a friend on Skype while Zab went out to watch some dancing in celebration of Cuenca’s independence day (which was apparently the reason for the party). We spent the afternoon in a café and wandering around the bustling city, poking around the artisanal market along the very pretty river-side area.
