04-10-13 & 04-11-13 Prep Work & Arrival in Cuenca

Wednesday: I had to return a third time to pick up my visa registration documents, so I got there about a half hour after they opened. The office was very crowded. According to my ticket, there were 76 people in front of me and my estimated wait time was 45 minutes :( An hour and 45 minutes later my number was finally called. And five minutes after that, I was out the door, documents in hand. Finally! :-)

Then it was home to finish packing and preparing food for the assembly. After calling at least a dozen taxi companies, we decided to just try to snag one on the street. We rushed to the bus station and arrived with ten minutes to spare. Enough time for a photo!

We had to fight with the bus driver to put our luggage in the storage area, apparently the passengers who were already on the bus (picked up at a northern stop) had already filled the space. After much insisting and pleading, they consented and shoved most of our bags inside. A few had to go on the bus.

It was a long night, but I listened to music and dozed off and on throughout the night.

After eight and a half hours, we arrived, safe and sound :-)

Thursday: We took a taxi to my roommate's friend's house. They were so nice to take us in. Their apartment was lovely and I found myself wishing for just such accommodations in Quito. They even had made breakfast (and coffee) for us!

After we all showered we met up with our other friends for lunch.

We then split up and a few of us went for ice cream and walked around Parque De Calderon and the surrounding market.

Later in the evening, we walked to a small restaurant and had grilled kabobs for dinner - they were so delicious (and only $1.25 each)!! We went to sleep pretty quickly after returning home because we were so exhausted from the bus ride the night before.