After the Devil's Nose train ride in Riobamba a couple weeks ago, I split from my little travel group and returned to Baños alone to see more of the town and surrounding area. But after just long enough to get my laundry done and take some more photos, I got bored and took off for Cuenca, Ecuador's 3rd largest city and supposedly it's prettiest.
It definitely is a pleasant place, with cobblestoned streets and old Colonial architecture. Here, I met up with Zafrir and Laura (from the train ride) again. After exploring the historic district and checking out a museum, we decided the big city was not where we wanted to be and jumped on a bus to Vilcabamba... a small, super laid-back town in the southern highlands. Vilcabamba is quiet ... almost too quiet. The town is basically closed at 9 pm and there's not so much to do at night. Fortunately, we found a great hostel called Las Ruinas de Quinara.
It is almost like an all-inclusive resort for the ridiculously poor. In a way, we never even had to leave the hostel for entertainment. For $6 a night with breakfast included, they offered a swimming pool, jacuzzi with cable TV and DVD, pool and ping-pong tables, self-service bar... just write down what you take and pay at the end of your stay, and a restaurant. So, basically, I have only one complaint and it is not related to the hostel or their amenities. I came up with the brilliant idea to rent horses for a scenic trip through the river valley to a waterfall. Let's just say the after effects of this experience are quite painful. I now officially hate two methods of transportation employed by our ancestors... horses and sailboats(recall my crossing of the Caribbean Sea to Colombia). As much as I like them on TV and the movies, I have come to the conclusion that horses are stupid. Although my horse, Vampiro(Vampire), was pretty good compared to some of the others, he still ran when the others ran for no reason, and then stopped when the others stopped .. again for no reason I could figure. In the end, I think they had no interest in being there or carrying us anywhere. But I think we showed them who was boss, sort of, and eventually completed our 5 hour round trip journey.

I think I will head to the Pacific coast next and see what's going on over there.