JR Hartley Indeed?

My mood wasn't improved by the weather, it was wet and relatively cold, I hadn't expected to use my hand warmers this close to the Equator, even if we were at 2,500 meters.

As seems to be the case with Ecuador (an expert in only two days!) the sun soon came out and it warmed up on the journey to Cuenca.

  

As I had left without breakfast it was nice to find a small cafe along the way. Freshly scrambled eggs and coffee all for $2, I also topped up the tank with higher octane fuel to try to make the big run a bit smoother (it worked). Price of a gallon - $2 (that is about 25 pence per litre).

Cuenca and the area generally gives the impression of greater wealth than Peru but (having looked it up) their GDP per capita is about 85% of that of their neighbours. Another fascinating pub quiz answer for you!

Cuenca (pronounced Kwen-ka) is an old colonial town and a UNESCO World Heritage site. The narrow cobbled streets don't lend itself to smooth flow of traffic and this is a third thing that is evidently different from their neighbours. It is the calm and thoughtful way they drive. The taxi drivers let people in and you seldom hear a horn (in Peru the Taxi's horns seem to sound perpetually).

I found the hotel relatively easily, I couldn't park the bike in the Car Park as they were repainting the entrance. The doorman wanted them to take the scaffolding down so I could get in straight away. He took some persuading that it really could wait until they had finished for the day.

After a shower I put my shorts and sun glasses on and set out to buy insurance for the bike. There is a quirk in the legislation which requires us foreigners to buy specific cover for Ecuador (& Colombia). There are many stories of people not bothering to buy it or trying to buy it & not finding a way through the system.  A quick dip into the internet set me off to a local bank. After a few false starts I finally found the correct office, was given a personal service by a very pretty girl (which was nice) and one month's insurance for $3.
At this rate of expenditure the kids should be happy!

After this success I went shopping for a sticker of the Ecuador flag for the bike. I must have tried 30 shops asking  " I don't suppose you have a ................" JR bloody Hartley indeed! I could not find one anywhere. I will redouble my efforts tomorrow but I am not hopeful.

All this wandering around was a good way to see, what is, a very attractive city with some fast flowing clean rivers.

These domes shine like silver when the sun hits them.

I didn't have any luck with a sticker but i did find somewhere to sew all my fabric patches (flags and such like) on to my Jacket. It wasn't until I got it back to the hotel I noticed that they have sewn the Chile flag on upside down! I will have to unpick it before I am accused of being rude to Chileans!

I watched the Olympic opening ceremony on TV with a beer in my hand. It was quite long wasn't it! I thought the theme was good but it went flat at times. The TV reports over here are all very positive so a good start, which is good.

I will head off tomorrow but I think Cuenca is one of the nicest places I have visited. There is nothing very special but it just has very nice feel to it.