The Dance of the Devil and his Wife

Cuenca, the city in which I will be based for the next five months, is a truly fascinating place. Nestled within the longest mountain range in the world, it's as though this seemingly quaint colonial city has forgotten that anyone outside Ecuador knows of its existence; or perhaps more likely, that it's actively challenging the wider world's perceptions of it. Steeped in history and tradition, Cuenca certainly lives up to its popularized description, but beneath the standard guidebook entry it is possibly the most capricious city I've ever come across. The fusion of traditional and modern, locals and expatriates and, most notably, of sunshine and storm clouds make it commonplace to remark that the devil is surely dancing with his wife.