It was a full days driving to Cuenca and we stopped only briefly in Loja for lunch immediately regretting turing off the engine. Luckily though it coughed into life on the first attempt and once again we were on the road. In Cuenca we struggled to find cheap accommodation with parking in the city, as many places were full. Just as we were about to pay up for the more expensive hotel Italia we found a budget place on the opposite corner that was adequate with parking for $20us and the shower was hot. After checking in we left the hotel on foot to explore the city and found a $5 double decker bus tour. Despite the impending dark clouds and our lack of warm clothing we climbed aboard and really enjoyed the two hour tour. Seeing all the buildings from the top floor of the bus enabled us to appreciate the old Spanish archetecture without the clutter of the modern street signage and bustle of people in the way. By the time the tour was over it was dark and time for dinner so we found a little restaurant and had huge cream sundays for dessert.
We spent another night at the hostel and then walked around the city a bit enjoying the views from the river frontage. Before long we hit the road again towards Volcan Chimborazo for some acclimatisation and a summit attempt.
Rochelle & Will