Quickie!

Day 5: Very quickly now... we have just come back from a trip to Ingapirca which is an Incan ruin near Cuenca. The ride there was, as expected, very uncomfortable. The objective in this country, it seems, is always to squeeze as many people as possible into the tiniest of cars.

The ruin itself is not very large and our trip could have turned very sour had we not found an English speaking tour guide who happened to be leading some Hollanders around. We could have had our own guided tour but alas, our poor planning led us to rely on our host, Diego´s many many connections. Private car ain´t so bad--if only it werent so small!

Currently feeling very stressed as I have to figure out a way to get to Lima. Me and only me. Eden and Bill did not bother learning any Spanish at all before coming (AHEM!), Mike is going to be taking off in another direction, so that leaves only pauvre moi to take the load. Already, I have had much trouble trying even to just make a call to Peru. I think the itinerary will be to head to the border town of Huaquillas (sp) and then take a long 18 hour (although luxurious) bus ride from Tumbes, Peru to Lima.

All right.. and now I leave you with some other photos:

Bird´s eye view of lovely Cuenca from our tour bus ride around the city.



Riding in the back of a bus is completely natural.


Andres, Eden, and Anthony (Maria Belen´s cousin and owner of the disco)


Ingapirca ruins


Bill, Eden, Moi, Mike at the ruins


Eden and Mike on the way to Cuenca from Guayaquil when we still had seats to sit in.


The adorable Isabella Crespo at the family´s gorgeous farm house (where we just ate guinea pig... yum!)

Thing I miss the most about the State´s so far: bathrooms! The bathrooms at our host family´s house here in Cuenca offer all the conveniences and luxuries of the west but the only downside is that the water flow here is just not comparable.

Also, always remember to collect some toilet paper before entering a stall at public restrooms. I´ve already made that error a few times. I think Eden has just been making herself susceptible to urinary cancer by holding her biznezz in for as long as humanly possible. Hah!