Nice post. I've been living in Cuenca for 6 years now. Your description of the country and life here seems on target to me. One thing I would add is that here in Cuenca there is something of a backlash against the gringo community.
This is not so much against people like me (many local friends, married to a woman from Zamora-Chinchipe) but against the gringos who come here and live apart. There are a lot of North Americans here who speak no Spanish, go only to known gringo hangouts, and generally want nothing to do with the Ecuadoreans. That causes much of the stress.
I don't know much about your lifestyle, but see backpackers mostly around Calle Larga and Presidente Borrero. There seem to be a lot of hostels and the like that cater to your crowd there.
Keep the posts coming!
You sound like me with being in both worlds. I have had a few incidents of anti-gringo sentiment aimed at me in the last 6 years. But most of the anti-gringo stuff I hear is from Ecuadorean friends bitching about those who live separate. I don't hear much about the backpacking crowd from anyone, which is probably good news for you guys.
I like the quality of your reporting. What you say describes very well what I see out there. Much better than a lot of the reporting out there. Example: this Breitbart writeup about Cuenca that talks about "Cuencans," a term I have never heard used by anyone (expat or Cuencano) who has actually spent time here.
Keep the quality content coming!