Leaving the hat thief of Cuenca we caught the bus to Riobamba, home of the famous Devils Nose railway. The town itself is nothing special or exciting but we obligingly checked out some churches before queuing for our rail tickets. The train ride down the 'Nariz del Diablo' is down some pretty hair raising switchbacks which have been cut into the mountain...and to make it even more exciting slash irresponsibly dangerous all the tourists get to ride on the roof! ...

Living up to its name as the country's prettiest city, Cuenca is like Cusco but without the hordes of snap happy tourists (ourselves included!). Cue lots of sunny plazas, ornate churches and architecture splendour. Checked into our lovely hostel with a fab courtyard garden and homecooked bread for breakfast and headed out to explore the sights. Spent an age visiting a panana hat factory watching how they are made and shaped - it takes a day for a normal hat t...

Our first stop in a new country and we stumbed across a big festival of the Virgin of the Cisne which meant the whole town was packed with Ecuadorian tourists and there was hardly any room at the inn for us little backpackers. After scouring the streets for ages we ended up having to check into a four star hotel at a stinging $65 night. Ouch! But not so bad, we had a comfy bed, mini bar and cable TV, we even managed to persuade the management into giving us a di...