I went to the Ali Baba café in Guayaquil, which was very basic. They had hardly anything vegetarian and I had a plate of hummus-type sauce with slices of thin pita bread. It wasn't enough for dinner so I had some pureed corn with cheese which was nicer. It came to $9 which was far too much for what I had so I wouldn't recommend the place to anybody. I went back to Las Peñas by the river in the evening which was quite nice. I just had one drink there and walked around a bit then went back to El Colonial which was livelier than the night before.
Guayaquil was nothing special from what I saw of it but I didn't expect that much as people had said it was nothing more than a big city.
The next day was my trip to Cuenca and I arrived after 4 hours, which wasn't bad. I found a cheap hostel in the centre and went up to a viewpoint where you can see the whole city.
Cuenca turned out to be much nicer. The colonial architecture gives it such a better feeling. It's like being in a different country (due to the Spanish history of it). I walked round the streets a lot and saw some parks and squares. It is undoubtedly one of the best places in Ecuador in terms of towns or cities.
I had dinner in an Indian restaurant, which was said to be more Arabic (according to the menu). The food was ok, but at least there were plenty of vegetarian options.
The next day was more sight-seeing and I took many photos.
I'm glad I spent two days here as there is so much to see. I found a very attractive restaurant which lots of pictures and objects decorating it and again they had many veggie things. I ate a patacón which is one variety of banana, fried, with beans and vegetables on top. I also found out that restaurants can't serve alcohol on Sundays due to the law yet bars can. Not much logic to that, in my opinion...
The next morning, I had breakfast in a nice café along the street from te hostel then took the bus to Riobamba. Even though, on the map, it doesn't look much further than my last journey, as it it back through the mountains, it took 6 hours but I slept, listened to music and read so it wasn't too bad.
I took a taxi to a hostel and the driver was a very friendly man, in his 50s. We chatted about my time in Ecuador and his son who lives in the states. It was genuinely nice to talk with him as he stopped to pick up his friend on the way!
The hostel again had plenty of rooms and was only $12. I had the quietest night of my time in this country. It was weird not to hear birds and insects or traffic and people on the street for the first time but at least I slept well!
However, I did have a walk around the centre a bit and felt quite comfortable here. It's not a great place to see but it is quite big and there's lots of activity around.
I went to El Rey de Burrito (Burrito King) and had a lovely veggie burrito gratin and a beer for $8.
As it was Monday, there wasn't anything to do at night so I just went back after walking past the empty bars.
In the morning, I planned to get a better look at the city but it was very disappointing. I saw a park that was in very bad condition and another one was closed so I just decided to go on my way to Baños.
And how good it felt to be back here! I love this village of 25,000 so much. I found a room at Hostel Transilvania again ($7.50 a night including breakfast) which was a great start. Then I heard music outside so went out to find a school children's procession going on. This was really nice. Different classes were doing different dances around the streets and I fell in love with the place even more!
I went to the handcrafts passage to buy some gifts and ate at a place that is ranked number one in the village. Agai, lots of veggie food and it was very good. The owner also paints and has lots of his works in the restaurant. I had to buy a small one to take back as a memory (the fourth from the left on the top row).
As there are thermal baths here and I'd never been to one before, I felt I had to go to one. It was a great experience in water that was something like 37ºC. After a few minutes in it, I kept going into the cold bath then back into the hot one which gave a burning sensation at first but it was interesting to do.
Afterwards, I felt so relaxed that I had to sit down for some minutes before I could get dried off and dressed!
I went back to the hostel to try to get some energy back before going out. Again, it was very quiet and I just had one beer at Mokambo before heading back.
I had breakfast for free then went out on a hike up a hill to see the view. It was said to be a 2 hour walk but I got to the top in 20 minutes. From there I saw the whole of the village and the surrounding mountains which was fantastic.
I then went to the other side of the river and walked some more, taking lots of beautiful photos.
After taking a shower, I went back to Meeting Point café which was closed. That was a shame as I enjoyed it last time. I looked through the window and German, the owner, saw me and let me in. He was re-doing the inside and said I could eat there and help him with some ideas, which I was glad to do. We chatted and tried some things out which he liked. I felt I knew him as a friend and his girlfriend came in to join us. He invited me to his flat which he is planning to turn into a hostel and we went to find somewhere to watch Bacelona play AC Milan in the Champion's League. They had it on in Mokambo so we watched it there. This was the first time this season I'd seen Barça play so the day was just getting better. Especially when they won 3-2!
I bought a few more gifts afterwards, including some things that German (pronounced like 'Hermán') was planning to sell in the café. He invited me to have dinner with him at his café later and I will go there after writing this.
This is the last time I will write from here and I have had a wonderful last few days in Ecuador. Tomorrow, I will go to Quito after breakfast. My flight is at 18.50, our time and I am due to land in Madrid the next day at 14.00 (13.00, UK time). I hope it's not late as my connecting flight is about 4 hours after I land.
I will send a message to you, Mom, when I get to Madrid as my phone should work again when I'm back in Europe.
I'll add some extra notes about the country when I get back to England and then it will be time to get ready to go to India (after I visit Portugal first!)
Hasta Luego!
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