With the thoughts fresh in my mind of how bad South American museums have been previously, I visited the Cuenca Pumapungo Museum with hopes not high. After a splendid welcome and introduction my optimism fell with the realisation that nothing was in English (and there was not much in Spanish either). There was some good shrunken heads and some Inca excavations outside but once again it was a bit dull.
In fact I was quite disappointed with most of Cuenca – the city's allure not helped by the constant reminders to be on your guard against pickpockets, muggers, thieves, rapists, rogues, raiders, ruffians, pilferers, plunderers, pirates, pillagers, bandits, brigands and all manner of ne'er-do-wells I failed to mention.
I hope this criminal underbelly doesn't spread to the smaller cities and islands. Gangs of heavily armed delinquent sea lions roaming the Galapagos would be a disaster for the economy, however, the sight of a giant tortoise leaping from a tree onto an unsuspecting backpacker would be very, very funny.
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