[MartinSE]

Here, I am sitting at a small cafe in front of a shopping center I went to this morning. I had a ham and chees panini with guacamole, an Orange Mandrian Soda, A Grande Mocha Cappuccino, and a Blueberry muffin. With a generous tip, it came to $4.00. For Cuenca, that is an expensive meal, but it was "fast food" in front of a shopping center. Even though it was the equivalent of fast food, it was handmade, and I waited just a few minutes for me while I took a few photos.

This is the Av. de las Americas, a major road/loop around the city. The main subject is the bus. Two years ago, when I was here, their bus fleet was all diesel. It is a LARGE fleet of buses, a major component of their mass transit. You never have to wait more than a few minutes to catch the next bus, and as a senior, the cost is $0.25 to go anywhere in the city.

You will notice this bus is not spewing a cloud of black pollution. Two years ago, it would have been, but in just two years, they have replaced the entire (I am pretty sure) fleet with new modern natural gas buses. Before, it was not unusual to see many people wearing bandanas to cover their faces from the smog. Now the air is clean and fresh.