Churches, Roses, and Gringoland

 I forgot to mention that Cajas NP includes a portion of the old Inca road, part of which went over the mountains to the coast.  This road- dangerous because of the cold weather and fog- was actually the primary route to the city of Guayquil on the coast until the 1970s when the modern road was built.  In any case, it is cool to think of hiking on the Inca trail-

Cuenca, as mentioned, as an astonishing number of churches for a mid sized city and many are truly impressive architectures-

But the so called 'new cathedral' (built in the late 1800s) is truly in a class of its own and has to be one of the largest cathedrals in the world.  It is just massive and seems almost to compare with St. Peter's in Rome for sheer size and outward magnifence-

The doors themselves are enormous-

Walking around the city, one sees a lot of people carrying things, including what this woman was carrying on her head.  I don't blame the little kid for chasing her-

Yes, those are ice cream cones sticking out of her head.   

I am not sure what these women are doing on their balconies, but they do seem a little stiff-

Ecuador is famous for its roses, which Ecuadorians will tell you are the best in the world and one of their leading exports (in addition to oil and bananas).  From what i saw, they have claim on that title-

Things tend to be very cheap in Ecuador and it is not unusual to pay $25 for an acceptable hotel room, or $3 for lunch or a haircut (and yes, I got one on my last day- it was truly one of the best haircuts I have ever gotten which some might say is not saying too much)-

So perhaps not surprisingly, there is an significant retired set from the U.S. in Cuenca, mostly in condos alongside the pretty river running through the town.  They call that area of Cuenca "Gringoland".  Probably beats snoozing in Revolution Square in Quito with the local retired crew.  

Ok, one wrap up post and that's it from Ecuador as I return home to the land of the $12 (and rising from the news) lunch (and not as good as in Ecuador either!)