11/01/2018

We crave Banana Pancakes! Unfortunately, it's not that easy to find a shop in Cuenca that is open and can give us change of 20 dollars, especially in the 'early' morning (at 8:30 AM!!!). After an eternity, we find both in combination and stock up. So, what was supposed to be a hearty breakfast turns into more of a lunch. But we're enjoying ourselves.

However, we don't see much of Cuenca on this day. Our Avianca drama has to be dealt with first, after all, our flight to Panama leaves in 10 days from Bogota and we're not even in Colombia anymore. There doesn't seem to be a solution in sight on this day. Nobody has responded to our countless emails, we can't find any additional contacts on the internet, and our attempts to call England are inexplicably failing. We have no choice but to ask Annika's dad in Germany for help and wait it out.

But we won't let that stop us from strolling through the streets of Cuenca. The city is home to over 330,000 inhabitants and is clearly influenced by its colonial past.



In the city center, people gather around the 'Plaza Abdón Calderón'. Cuenca is currently celebrating a big festival and its independence from the Spaniards on November 3rd. Unfortunately, we'll miss the upcoming grand parade on that day because all accommodations have been booked for weeks. So, we can't extend our stay in Cuenca and decide to take a night bus across the border to Peru the next day.




Ecuadorians seem to have a fondness for mascots and street performers these days. Son Goku and Hulk rub shoulders with Chucky the Killer Doll and the Predator.



In the evening, Massimo, who is also in Cuenca, comes to visit us. Our hostel 'Mi Casa' lives up to its name. The whole house gathers in the large kitchen. We cook oven-roasted vegetables together in a big group and end the day with ice cream.



11/02/2018

Our plan for today is a hike through Cajas National Park. One hour by bus lies the tundra landscape with over 270 lagoons at around 3800 meters above sea level. Our travel companions on this day are Anna, one of our hostel roommates from Menorca, and the familiar Massimo.


We start our hike from one of the largest lagoons, the 'Toreadora'. Our 7-hour tour takes us 13 kilometers through breathtaking landscapes around a larger mountain range. We constantly have the image of armies of orcs approaching over the next mountain ridge in our minds. We doubt that the camera shots from Lord of the Rings were actually filmed in New Zealand. And if they were, this should definitely be the scenery for the xth Hobbit movie.



Past countless small and large gloomy lakes, wind-whipped grass steppes, and mythical Polylepis forests. Despite the seemingly endless expanse of the national park, we only spotted one (not wild!) alpaca and a few birds. However, the many dung heaps testify to a rich fauna. Nevertheless, this is one of the most beautiful hikes of our entire journey!






Unfortunately, Anna couldn't enjoy this natural spectacle very much. For her, it's her first tour at such an altitude without proper acclimatization. From headaches to rapid heartbeat and chills, she experiences it all. However, despite her insistence, it's hard for us to leave her alone in this state at the refuge where she wants to spend the night.

The three of us set off on the journey back to Cuenca and replenish ourselves with New York-style pizza before boarding the night bus across the border to Peru.






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