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We arrived early Tuesday morning in Cuenca, which is the third largest city in Ecuador. It is another city located in the Andes, but much further south than Quito. The city is very wealthy, and is set up in the traditional Spanish colonial way. We are staying in a very nice colonial style hotel that is by far the nicest hotel we have stayed in. After we checked into the hotel, we toured the city. The city has four small rivers, and was taken over by the Incas just 30 years prior to Spanish invasion. Included in the tour was a visit to the largest church in South America. It was enormous! We had a wonderful lunch with garlic shrimp, potato soup, flaming bannans, and an alcoholic tea made from sugar cane. The weather is cold here, as I am comfortable in jeans, a long sleeve shirt, and a fleece. The schedule has changed a bit. Tomorrow we are heading to the pre-Incan ruins which are about two hours away. Thursday we are planning on heading up into the mountains (around 13,000-14,000 feet) and hiking in a reserve. Thursday evening we are having a traditional Ecuadorian dinner with guniea pig, which I have yet to try. There was some confusion a few weeks back, and come to find out it was pork not guniea pork! Anyway, Friday we are touring three indigenous communities around the city. Each of the communities specializes in a different craft. One community in particular makes the Panama hats, which are very important to the Ecuadorian community. Friday night we are flying back to Quito and Sunday we are flying home. I look forward to exploring the city and hearing more about the history. In particular, I´m interested in the contrast of the politics of Quito and Cuenca. Cuenca is considered the most conservative city in Ecuador. Hope everyone is well.

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