We woke early to hike to a lookout of the city and the sometimes active volcano above, however we were thwarted by clouds in both directions.
Next we hired bikes and headed down the famous waterfall road, an impressive 18km journey down the canyon, where we stopped to cross the canyon by cable car and got drenched in the devils cauldron waterfall! Thankfully we caught a ride in the back of a truck on the way back!
In the afternoon Sam went to have a go at zip lining but was stopped from doing the extreme version due to being too fat. Luckily he got to try a less intense option. We finished off the day by soaking in the hot baths.
The next day we headed to Cuenca via Mt Chimborazo, Ecuador's highest mountain, and Ingapirca, the remains of an Incan city. Climbing to the base camp of Chimborazo provided Sarah with an opportunity for redemption after Cotopaxi. It was hard work but we both made it over 5000m, and the view was spectacular. A highlight was seeing vicuñas (llama relatives) in the wild. The Ecuatorian perspective on the Incan conquests was cool to see at Ingapirca, with a lot more to come in Peru.
Today in Cuenca we visited the Panama hat factory, way cooler than it sounds! The hats are all hand woven and take from two days to six months to only weave, with at least another month required to complete. Future photos will show Sam sporting the classical style!
We capped off our time in Ecuador by visiting a local museum/ruins/zoo and a wander around the pretty streets of Cuenca. Tomorrow Peru!
Sam Fact: Panama hats in fact originated from Ecuador. They are called 'Panama' hats because they came into fashion during the construction of the Panama canal, where their light weight and good sun protection proved to be a hit with the American workers.
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