After our day of homework we did a beautiful hike to a waterfall. The trail itself wasn’t too long but the first part was a steep up hill that just about killed us. We got amazing valley views again. Some of the paths go through private property so we had lots of company from chickens, cows and dogs and we had to go through a few fences. The waterfall was kind of hidden down a hill and then covered by trees, so it was neat to walk into it from above.

We brought a lunch with us so we ate it at the bottom of the waterfall with nothing but the crashing water around us. Since the waterfall was a bit of a hike to get to it meant we were the only ones there aside from one other person who was just leaving as we arrived. The hike back was just as nice and we ended up walking back all the way to our hostel (we took a taxi to get to the trail starting point). The rest if the night didn’t consist of much because we were tired from the hiking.

The next day was another day of working on our applications. We managed to make time for a break to walk into town (about a 25 min walk) to at least get a bit of exercise. It was too easy to forget how amazingly beautiful the area was since it was a constant backdrop everywhere we went. But when we had to finally leave this morning I realized how much I would miss waking up to the sound of birds and such beautiful scenery.

We arrived in Cuenca this afternoon after a 6 hour bus ride. It is the second biggest city in Ecuador and much nicer than I expected. Although we still have over a month left we are running out of time, so we aren’t going to spend more than two nights here. We found a nice hostel near the river that runs through town and we have booked ourselves a day trip for tomorrow to Cajas National Park that is just outside of the city. Parts of our itinerary in Ecuador is based off of the advice I received from a girl I met earlier in my travels who is from Ecuador, and this was recommended by her. The tour includes more hiking tomorrow which will be nice after a day on the bus!