Saying our farewells to Banos, we set off for the bus station where Lex led us astray again.....after re-routing we made it to the bus station with plenty of time to spare. When our bus was called we sat in our seats and typically waited for Sth America time so we could depart the terminal. However, this time it was quite important to get a move on as we had a connecting bus about an hour away. I had a couple of words with the ticket seller and 5 minutes later we were on our way......and of course we missed the connecting bus. A little frustrated we found a KFC to chill at while we waited 2 hours for the next bus.

Boarded and ready to go we were on our way to Cuenca!!! A beautiful city where we were to celebrate Christmas day!! So that night we checked into a gorgeous little hostel and skyped with Lex's parents Bruce and Neryl, who were celebrating Christmas in Korea with Lex's brother Paul, sister in law Danika and the newest member to the family, Rayden, Lex's gorgeous nephew. So after enjoying a nice chat with the fam we settled in for the night to enjoy our Christmas the following day.

A little sleep was on the cards, so when we finally woke up we got ready and set out for the super market to collect our feast for the day. Mariculously there was one HUGE shppoing centre open so we bought our necesaary ingrediants and headed home to prepare.

With our loot organised we headed down to the rivers edge and marvelled in the beauty of this small and handsome city. Before we headed out we downloaded a Best of Christmas album and enjoyed a few cheesy songs with the gurgle of the river in the background. The grassy area was incredibly green, lush and juicy and we relaxed in the sunshine taking in the serenity.

As usual, I filled up on nibbles and only managed to fit a small amount of lunch in, alas I always make room for desert....strawberries, chocolate and red wine!! 3 of lifes greatest indulgences! Deciding we needed more wine to indulge in, we headed off at sunset and had a great chat with an Ecuadorian lady who sold us another 2 bottles. Back in the room, we made it just in time to skype with my family who were enjoying the sun on boxing day!! Wow....weren't they in for a treat! After we both rapped to Lachie, had slurred conversations with the rest of the kids, being told by Mum "that she thinks it's time for us to go to bed", and having a few laughs with Loz and Konal, we said our goodbyes and sunk into a sweet and drunken sleep. ARRRHHH, I love Christamas!!

The following day, we enjoyed a nice hangover feast and set out to enjoy the modest yet gorgeous sites of Cuenca. A photography show here, another river there....yet most interesting was seeing the shrunken heads in the citys'museum. Unfortunately we couldn't take photos but we're both happy to forget about the grey, shrunken skin and lips and eyelids that were sewn together!! We could even see the small whiskers and eyelashes that had been preserved along with a full head of hair! Enough to make our sensitive stomachs churn!!

That evening we enjoyed an early dinner and movie and got some much needed sleep before our early morning bus trip to Peru!! All in all, absolutely loved the character and charm of Cuencar and was sad to say goodbye to the gorgeous Ecuador.