Cuenca, Ecuador

After abreath of fresh air in Vilcabamba we made our way to Cuenca, famous for El Parque Nacional de las Cajas.

We arrived late at night had a wonderful dinner, after spending the majority of the day on the bus a good dinner is critical and a beer. At the hostel, we ran into some friends from Switzerland and Germany whom we spent a great deal of time with in Huaraz, Peru. The next day we went to the park. Little did we know the elevation of the park was at 3,000M, what did that mean, COLD and RAIN! Five other travelers were headed the same way so we all hiked accross the park todether. Let me tell you Noa and I must be bad luck. Out of 7 people none of us could find our way around the park, even with a map in hand! The park was great, clouds sourrounded us along with a mist, which eventually turned into a rain. The ground was boggy, everytime I took a step I sank in a little, good thing for water proof boots! By the end of the day we were FREEEEEZING! To make our way back to Cuenca we had to catch a bus that was susposed to pass by every hour, well who knew when it would come. Noa and I began to walk down the highway with our thumb out in the fridged air. After about 15 min of walking a nice Jeep pulled off the road and offered us a lift. We got in and were escorted down from the high land back to our hostel by a very nice man named Patrik. After an intensive day of hiking, we went out to eat with the crew. That night, we endulged in 'CUI' a traditional food of the regions. What is cui you may ask, well guinea pig! It was nice, very juicy, salty and tender!