Cuenca

I am in Cuenca (3rd largest city) right now tryping in an internet cafe next to our beautiful hostal. I am with Nora, her parents and her brother for our week-long spring break before the internships. We went first to Baños for a couple of nights to hike and go to the hot srings. On the bus I sat next to an indigenous woman, Eva, and she offered to teach me Quichua if I would teach her English. She wanted to listen to some of my music, so I played her some Los Lobos, which she said she loved. Eva is from a town called Salasaca, famous for weaving, and she is studying economics in Quito so she can run her own business. She invited me to visit her when mom comes. In Baños we took a night bus ride up to see the active volcano, but it was so foggy that we could not see much of anything. On the way back a couple of guys were trying to ask us what we were doing that night, but I thought they asked why I was looking straight ahead in the bus, so I responded "i am not so good with the altitude" which is now an ongoing joke on the trip. Basically, that phrase works for just about anything. The seven hour bus ride to Cuenca was breathtaking - winding dirt roads through the Andes with indigenous women getting on and off and people jumping on in towns to sell all sorts of snacks. Cuenca is a colonial city with a beautiful river, flower market and huge churches.