Long weekend in Cuenca

We travelled to Cuenca (12 hours on coaches) on Sunday 1st, leaving at 4am to arrive with some of the day left. Cuenca is cold! Which was actually quite a nice change, although I hadn't got enough clothes and brushed up my bartering skills a bit in the market.  We were there for the 2 national holidays - Day of the Dead, and Cuenca's Independence Day.  Unfortuantely I was ill for quite a lot of the trip – too much rich food after existing on yuca for a week I think – and so came back a day early.  But we did manage to see quite a lot of the Old Town, see some bands playing for the fiesta, go to the cinema and eat popcorn (we found this disproportionately exciting).  I also managed to meet up with and have dinner with Samuel, one of my friends from Peru 6 years ago – he’s moved to Ecuador to work and lives near Cuenca.