Cuenca is charming but it is very small. I visited it in a couple of hours, then I came back home and at night I met Christian and his friend Luis. They took me by car to a view point on the outskirts of the city, it was great but.... cold. Then we went to an Arabic restaurant to have a drink and banana shisha. I had a great time, we were talking about many things that are happening in Ecuador, for example speculations who wanted to kill the president or on the "lighter" side, how difficult it is to find a partner in Cuenca.

This morning I took a local bus to Cuenca National Park (in the picture). It was beautiful however there was a strong cold wind and it was very expensive to get in. So I just had a quick walk around and I came back to the city.
I had some spare malaria tablets and I wanted to get rid of them. I left some in my bag just in case I get malaria so I can take them quickly to cure the illness. I asked Mario what to do with the unwanted tablets. He took them for his... flowers. He said that flowers live much longer in a vase if you dissolve malaria tablets in the water, hmmm...

Tonight I am leaving Ecuador for Peru. I have spent 270 pounds in 3 weeks in Ecuador. It covers transport between 6 villages/towns/cities, 5 nights in hotels or hostels (there is no much difference apart from the name - you can find a very posh and expensive hostel and a very cheap hotel), 3 meals in cheap restaurants every day, travelling a lot by taxi, internet, bus from Cuenca to Trujillo in Peru.
If you don't have much time to visit Ecuador, I would recommend you to go only to Quito and Canoa (and with some spare time, to Guayaquil). Quito to visit the beautiful capital and Canoa to relax.
In some places in Ecuador you won't meet many people (but this has advantages as well). Ecuador is great for surfers and hikers, and for those who like to get drunk in a nice scenery.