From Cuenca

Another comment about the buses here. Because it is winter here, or in other words the wet season, we have alot of rain to contend with. I understand, they are experiencing another el niño again. This means the roads were torturous. I think, if they had this kind of condition in Canada, they just would have closed her down, but not here. These rogue cowboys, they call bus drivers, get snaps for bravado and sheer steel will. There were at least 7 major washouts on the main highway going straight up the mountain with sheer cliff on the other side. The road workers did the best they could with backhoes and trucks but yikes. In one spot there was at least a foot and a bit of this slurry like mud-clay-rock all over the road. So they created a detour, they built up a road made of rock right next to the afficted area, this means the only place to go is closer to the cliff. I had another talk with another saint posted on the wall. Unfortunately, due to my terror state I forgot to get her name. I feel like I used her a bit, I hope I didn´t make her feel cheap. There were very large rocks on the road and several parts of the road were closed down for a while. All is well, we got here didn´t we.
Right in the bus terminal in Guyaquil, we were immediately taken in and sent to the correct bus company, personally escorted to the bus, then onto the crazy ride. Then when we landed in Cuenca, we were again picked up by the owners of the hostel Americano and driven directly to the hostel. This was great because there was a heck of alot of rain coming down and searching for a hostel in the rain isn´t what I would call fun.
In the next day or so we are going to try Cuyo. For those faint of heart do not read on. Cuyo is Guinea Pig. Over all, on the food thing, we are a bit disappointed because although these people have access to the best veggies and spices in the world, they prefer deep fried foods, with potatoes and rice with salt and their pastries are bready and sugary. We found a restuarant in Puerto Lopez that is run by gringoes (The Whale Cafe) and they had all kind of veggies, thank god. I thought I was going to bung up my colon and harden my arteries on this trip. I was envisioning in my dreams, doing that cleanse I did just before I got here just to loosen up a bit. I am going to do it again when we get back to Canada just as a precaution. Here in Cuenca, we had a lunch that happilly included veggies.
Right away we noticed that it is very different here. First the people are not as friendly as in other parts, there is way more affluence (money not the other thing), new cars, better houses (beautiful houses) and the cost of everything is higher. (Again, I think the people of Puerto Lopez win the prize for great people.) I guess you can´t have it all. The buildings are way nicer in Quito for heritage and style but the upkeep is much better here. We are planning on visiting an orchid garden, it has to beat the orchid garden in Quito. We are also planning on visiting the art museums ( they have painters and sculptures here).
We were just heavily rained out so I am taking this time to write and keep up with things. Talk with you all later.
Robin