A cluster of practical updates from Ecuador's southern highlands is worth knowing if Cuenca or its surroundings are on your list.

First, water. Two of the four rural water systems serving Cuenca Canton — Baños and Nero — have started rationing because of low river flows at their treatment plants. Baños, which covers roughly 10,200 users, began shutting valves overnight between 22:00 and 04:00 for about 3,000 customers in areas like Narancay and El Arenal so tanks can refill; the Proyecto Nero system, serving over 7,000 users, has cut service during similar night windows, hitting neighbourhoods such as San Antonio de Gapal and San Juan Loma. Daytime supply is meant to continue everywhere, though pressure can be weak even where no cuts apply. If you're staying in a rural guesthouse around Baños de Cuenca, expect it — and don't be surprised if hosts ask you to go easy on long showers.

Second, flying. Ecuador's National Assembly has passed a new Civil Aviation Law, its first major overhaul in over two decades, and some of it directly benefits passengers. Airlines must now compensate travellers for cancellations and delays unless they can prove they did everything possible to avoid them. The law also drops restrictions that kept foreign carriers out of the domestic market — international airlines will no longer need a local domicile or an all-Ecuadorian crew to fly internal routes, which could mean more competition on the Quito–Guayaquil–Cuenca triangle. Of the country's 22 airports, only three are municipally run (Quito's Mariscal Sucre, Guayaquil's José Joaquín Olmedo, and Cuenca's Mariscal La Mar), and those will need fresh joint-management agreements under the new rules. Drones, for the first time, must be registered.

Third, ground travel. Long-distance cooperatives out of Cuenca's Terminal Terrestre are adding busetas — smaller minibuses — on interprovincial routes at the same fares as full-size buses. The Loja cooperative now runs 12 busetas on the Cuenca–Loja route, departing at 12:00 and 17:00 with returns at 15:30 and 04:30, while applications are pending for more on the Cuenca–Machala route. It's a handy, cheaper alternative to private van shuttles if you're heading to Loja, Machala, or the El Oro coast.

Two more notes for visitors: a large US military transport aircraft landed in Guayaquil and US troops have been participating in anti-cartel operations alongside Ecuadorian police across Guayas, El Oro, Los Ríos and Manabí — mostly relevant near the coast rather than the highlands, but worth following if your route passes through Guayaquil. And in Cuenca itself, the city's Ruta 600 campaign is pushing waste sorting: blue bags for recycling, black for general rubbish, green for compost (trade them in for compost at the EMAC centre). Doing the same in your rental keeps you on the right side of neighbours.