An easy transit day down the Pan American.
Mostly through the level valleys. Absolutely
incredible looking when the sun comes out.
This is the last easy day for a long time,
the going gets rough from here.

Arrive at the old university town of Cuenca
in mid afternoon. The students are more
modern though, and are inciting riots,
over some social issue or another.

        The local police and militias respond in typical
        fashion with waterhoses, tear gas and a few
        rubber bullets. It's easy to run from one side
        to the other, in fact this is a normal
        occurrence here, a regular game played
        out by students and authorities. Not long
        ago the bullets would have been real and
        the survivors rounded up for the firing squad.