http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Ecuador/Centre/Riobamba/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from South America , Ecuador , Centre , Riobamba en-us Sun, 03 Jan 2010 20:38:57 +0000 Sun, 03 Jan 2010 20:38:57 +0000 12.12.20091410viajando...Gluecklich angekommen in Riobamba wo ich mich erstmal bei einer grossen Tasse Kaffee von der Busfahrt aus Baos erholeMittlerweile bin ich ja Busfahren hier gewoehnt die zum Bersten ueberfuellten Klappergestelle die mit Heiligenbildern tapezierten Cockpits die gackernden Huehner auf dem Schoss der Mitreisenden die bruellend laute Musikbeschallung und die Haudegen vo http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Ecuador/Centre/Riobamba/blog-461725.html After only five hours on a bus from Quito I threw in the towel and said forget Cuenca I felt awful and it just didn't seem worth it to continue another 4 hours. We stopped in Riobamba and got a little hotel room right down the street from the bus station. And you know what It was AWESOME The room was the cleanest yet and we laid around watching tv and eating chocolate icecream cake for dinne http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Ecuador/Centre/Riobamba/blog-458020.html So unlike Butch Cassidy the Sundance Kid and Che Guevara we made it out of Bolivia alive. Just. As Ed said lucky we didnt try to rob a bank or start a revolution.So where was it Sucre we left you Well let us see if youre all sitting comfortably... We rolled our way out of beautiful Sucre on the misery of a Bolivian nightbus to the Capital of Bolivia La Paz. Busy dirty full of old http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Ecuador/Centre/Riobamba/blog-457764.html LrsquoEquateur se partage en trois secteurs la Costa llsquoouest la Sierra au centre et lrsquoOriente llsquoest. Ils se distinguent les uns des autres tant par leur climat que par leur vgtation leurs habitations et par les hommes bien videmment. Notre voyage ne nous mnera pas en Oriente la jungle les forts humides et les rios en cano ce ne sera donc pas pour cette fois. D http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Ecuador/Centre/Riobamba/blog-447952.html SO...my second day in Banos was full of...nothing really Spent the morning wandering around looking at the twon and the arts and crafts and things and then went on a long walk across a rickety bridge and along a pretty river with waterfalls with an English guy and Maria and smoked a bit of weed whilst looking at the mountains it was rather nice actuallyc We didnt make it to he baths becuase app http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Ecuador/Centre/Riobamba/blog-433612.html The beach at Zorritos Peru was great just what we needed. After that we headed north into Ecuador and after changing buses four times got to Cuenca which is another nice colonial city yawn. The Sunday markets at Sig Sig Chordeleg and Galaceo are supposed to be interesting they're not but the countryside getting to and from them is very nice. Although it's quite high 2500m because we're http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Ecuador/Centre/Riobamba/blog-426282.html This adventure began from the moment we left Banos.... Grabbed a bus bound for Riobamba where we had intended to spend a night before heading on down towards Ecuadors main Inca ruins at ngapirca Our 1 hour bus ride turned into 2 hours and an hour in to the journey we decided to change our destination slightly to include the very touristy El Nariz Del Diablo The nose of the devil train rid http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Ecuador/Centre/Riobamba/blog-424012.html SCROLL DOWN FOR ENGLISH.Un gros salut depuis Riobamba Apres Guayaquil j'ai pris un bus pour Riobamba situee a environ 5 heures de Guayaquil. La premiere journee ici je me suis juste promene un peu partout pour connaitre la ville. Je me suis promene d'un parc a un autre lisant mon livre profitant de la vie La ville est situee a environ 2700 metres mais il y a beaucoup de montagnes plus gr http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Ecuador/Centre/Riobamba/blog-422423.html After working a 2 hour shift on Saturday morning we have the weekends to ourselves so a group of us from the centre decided to do something touristy. This was how we found out about the Devils Nose Train Nariz del Diablo Riobamba. We had heard Riobamba was one of Ecuadors liveliest cities with old colonial charm with cobbled streets pastelcolored buildings stately squares and an overflow http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Ecuador/Centre/Riobamba/blog-406213.html Day 761 29.04.09We'd come to Riobamba to travel on the famous section of railway between here and Sibambe. Usually this route is served by a large steam train and until recently you could ride on the roof of the train to enjoy the stunning scenery along the route. We'd had many mixed reports throughout the country as to whether the train was running whether the track was open and whether you we http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Ecuador/Centre/Riobamba/blog-396520.html Riobamba was the starting point for our descent south into Peru. The town is famous for the spectacular train ride to Sibambe stopping in Alausi before making its way down to the world famous Nariz del Diablo or Devils NoseWe didnt do a whole lot in Riobamba except wait for a few hours for the train tickets to go on sale. We stayed here one night and set off early the following morningNeil an http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Ecuador/Centre/Riobamba/blog-349456.html I am exhausted thoroughly worn out which is too bad because I have to say I really dig Riobamba its a really interesting energized Metropolis with lots to see do and most definitely to buy.Let me start with yesterday which turned out to be a suprisingly beautiful and long bike ride. Having ridden thousands of miles in the past couple years of my life I can now truly appreciate my biking shor http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Ecuador/Centre/Riobamba/blog-348870.html After packing up our backpack and putting our other stuff in storage we moved out of our apartment and hopped on the bus 6 hour bus to Riobamba the fourth largest city in the center of Ecuador. We got there in the late afternoon and had hopped to go to a soccer game that night only to find out that it was actually an afternoon game and it was already over. I was extremely disappointed but it http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Ecuador/Centre/Riobamba/blog-346662.html The good thing about being here is definitely the weekends. On Friday we didnt really feel like having class so we played cards quaranta with the teachers and 3 other students. Yes money well spent. Then we left to the bus station. Same people as last weekend minus Marc. It was a complete mess soooooo many people trying to get out of town. We got on the bus and it poured the whole way. Same c http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Ecuador/Centre/Riobamba/blog-341662.html Gisteren zijn we naar Parc Nacional Cajas geweesteen uitgestrekt natuurgebied met 235 meren in de Andes.Een zware tocht waarbij we hebben gehiked op 4200 meter hoogte samen met een gids en 5 andere backpackers.We lagen al vroeg onder de wol.Vandaag hebben we 6 uur in de bus gezeten naar Riobambaeen schitterende rit dwars door de Andes.Nu zijn we aan het plannen voor de komende dagendownhil biki http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Ecuador/Centre/Riobamba/blog-335227.html As the title suggests we having been cramming a lot in and so for everyones sanity we will keep this one to the point We have also been trying to download all our photos for this entry but technology in Per has proven a headache so more photos to follow...Up in the Mountains we went to a a place called Papallacta which is a beautiful area but due to its location also generally very wet and grey http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Ecuador/Centre/Riobamba/blog-334843.html Dear all... May we continue the story...when we last spoke I was clinging to the roof of a train... Surviving the Devils Nose... Fear not I survived to tell the tale In fact it was not the James Bond style escapade I was imagining. We queued as instructed at 6am it was a cold and drizzly Andean morning and only the brave boarded the roof. They rented seat pads for 1 a piece much needed b http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Ecuador/Centre/Riobamba/blog-326099.html Day 39 Thursday 7th August A day with a few twists and turnsAs I awake today I'm planning to cyyle the 60km from Banos to Puyo on the edge of the Amazon jungle. I'm planning to do this with a guy in my dorm and then catch a bus late in the day to Riobamba to ride on the famous train ride that goes from there. However its a wet morning and I'm still feeling the effects of Cotopaxi so decide to http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Ecuador/Centre/Riobamba/blog-310196.html The bus from Cuenca dropped us off on the highway overlooking Asuasi and after feeling lost for a few minutes we trudged down the hillside to try and find the hostal Europa that we were booked into. Alausi is a small town with its fair share of gringo visitors as the Devils nose train ride was running from here instead of Riobamba due to a mudslide or something There was a great Chineese restua http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Ecuador/Centre/Riobamba/blog-301994.html Our last few days volunteering at Arutam were probably the best. Linda who cooked our food promised us she would teach us how to make Chicha the Shuar drink I briefly described in the previous entry. Good to her word on Monday we just the girlies headed over to Ernestos the daddy house. Crouched on the floor in the kitchen hut Linda whipped out a giant pot of boiled yuca that she place http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Ecuador/Centre/Riobamba/blog-301978.html