Closed roads and Cathedrals

Everyone must go to Baños. We enjoyed every second of our 3 days there and had marvelous adventures hiking, biking, and soaking hours away in the springs. On our last day we rented mountain bikes for a 4 hour excursion downhill towards the jungle. Along the way we passed some 20+ waterfalls, botanical gardens, and lush greenery everywhere.
We seemed to plan it just perfectly, and as the rain rolled in we found an empty, tin covered fruit stand and hailed a bus back to Baños. In town we lounged in the Casa Hood Cafe for 3 hours with nachos before gorging ourselves over an Argentinian grilled meat sampler plate (think sausage, pork, chicken, and beaf!) It was extremely hard to leave the hot mineral baths, but we tore ourselves away after one last soak for a 7 hour bus ride to Cuenca. Thanks to a mudslide and ensuing traffic jam the 7 hours turned into 11. With sore butts in tow we dragged ourselves to a hostel and passed out. In the morning light we realized the hostel was really a decaying, sloping building with disgusting bathrooms and electric green walls.
For $2 more we moved 12 rungs up the accomodation ladder to a different hotel and scored a 3rd story, sparkling clean room with private bath and views over the Saturday flower market. Today is Sunday, my favorite day in South America, when all the locals come out in their traditional best for church and slow walks around the city with family. Cuenca is lovely with cobbled streets, churchs on nearly every corner, clean sidewalks, parks, rivers, and a slow, relaxed nature. Tomorrow we head south to the mountain town of Vilcabamba for a few days of hiking and relaxation. Loving life.