I’m told  by my sources  that Cuenca, is  as a whole city, a national treasure, due  to it’s incredibly  well-preserved colonial buildings, cathedrals  and  plazas,  I’m still  trying  to find out the details on the history of the city itself , but in general I think its lovely, 

 the city itself s basically  split in two with the  river running through it  a few old bridges  that double between  pedestrian/ traffic  go between , modern to  one side with sports arenas  and then you cross the  bridge  go up a series of  steps , and by series i mean   the mother of all stair masters   the rest of the city you’ll find has a few modern conviences like traffic lights and even occasionally indoor plumbing, although  you might find that the  “public” bathrooms are  a little too true  to form  for  some of  the more squirmy travelers out there. [ generally  you have an open  space , with a roof, in between two buildings   one or two stalls on one side , urinals opposite  the sinks , tp is about ten sheets for a dime  and the lady who sells the  tp, knits , concession snacks are generally available ] in general though the city  is a cultural  gem, and the inhabitants are well aware  of the fact, food is  well priced ,as is  lodging most hostels offer a clean bed for about seven bucks,   it has a little bit of everything except the  no llamas.