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Saludos a todos,
We woke up about an hour and a half before the sun to take a fifteen hour train ride that ends in the same place it begins. Are we mad? Probably not. One would think we would be sick of sitting all day long on buses and trains, but we wanted to go on the Train to the Clouds. El Tren a las Nubes is a tourist attraction that runs from Salta on the eastern side of the Andes at about 1200 m (4000 ft) to the Viaducto La Polvorilla in the Puna, climbing to 4,220 m (13,776 ft) in the process.
At the beginning of the 20th Century, the northern provinces of Argentina were relatively isolated from the outside world. They petitioned the government in Buenos Aires to help them establish a connection to a port. The government reached an agreement with Chile whereby each country would build their portion of a rail line connecting northern Argentina with the Pacific Ocean via Chile. In 1921, the American engineer Richard F. Maury was hired to build the Argentine portion of this rail line. The only problem was that the rail line had to go over the
Puna. (Note: This is a rather simpliflied version of the historical events)
The Puna is a gigantic windswept desert plateau that averages about 4000 m (13000 ft) in elevation and covers much of western Bolivia (where it is called the Altiplano) as well as parts of northeastern Chile (where it is named the Puna de Atacama) and northwestern Argentina (where it is known as the Puna). The Puna contains some of the largest salt flats in the world. Although it is considered a plateau, its surface is not entirely flat. The Puna has volcanoes and mountains that rise up to over 6,000 m. Wildlife characteristic of the area includes llamas and vicuñas.
The 901 km line to the Pacific wasn´t completed until 1948, by which time it was already becoming obsolete due to roads in the area. The line was used for many decades but is currently served by only one freight train a week and the tourist Tren a las Nubes (also once a week), which only runs on the first 214 km of track up to Viaducto La Polvorilla. The track is famous because of the many engineering feats used by Maury. Our guidebook says that
One of the zig-zags
The train is backing up on the 2nd section of track. the line includes 21 tunnels, 13 viaducts, 31 bridges, 2 loops and 2 zig-zags.
Since we would be climbing over 3,000 m (9,000 ft) in one day, we were advised to get eat sparingly. So, the night before we went to the Mercado Municipal and purchased a dozen empanadas (Salta is supposed to be famous for the empanadas) and fruit for the trip. The train also had a doctor, 2 nurses and lots of oxygen aboard (which we got to see many people use).
The trip was quite good. Each passenger car had a guide who gave frequent commentary in English and Spanish. Considering it took 15 hours, they kept us entertained. The train traveled up the Quebrada del Toro. One of the first things we came to was the zig-zags. Here in order to gain about 50m (150 ft) of altitude over a short distance, the train climbs forward for a segment, then in reverse over a second section of track, and finally forward again on a third track. After the zig-zags, we passed a transitional zone that was characterised by cacti or cardones and dotted with populated oases. Another method Maury used to gain altitude over
Zig-Zag
Here you can see the 1st track to left, the 2nd track (the one we reversed on)to the right, and the train is now on the 3rd track. a short distance was the 360 degree loops where the train climbs about 20 m (50 ft).
When we reached the Viaducto La Polvorilla, we had the first stop of the day. Here we had about twenty minutes to get off the train, walk around, and be bombarded by the locals selling their wares. On the way back down, we stopped for thirty minutes at San Antonio de los Cobres (a town in the Puna) where we were once again bombarded by locals selling their wares.
On the way back down, we were handed a quiz on trivia about the trip. The papers were used to raffle off two prizes. Our guide walked through the train car having each passenger select a quiz sheet, read off the seat number and name of the person, and that passenger was then eliminated from the game. This process continued until of the 64 passengers, only 2 winners remained. Ryan still hadn´t had his named called. The guide had 2 prizes, a poster of the Tren a las Nubes, and a book about the train. Ryan won the poster! Unfortunately, we didn´t really have a way of transporting it. We decided to
Mountain Cemetery
We passed several cemeteries for the workers who died while building the railway line. give the prize to our neighbors across the aisle, Mariano and Ani, as a wedding present.
After the train ride, we went out to dinner with Mariano and Ani. They were a young couple from Buenos Aires and were honeymooning in Salta. We dined at a peña, which is a local type of restaurant where locals come to dine, hang out, and play music. There is not a formal show. Anyone can start playing or singing right from their table. We had a great time! Unfortunately, we had to get up early (6am) again the next day to catch our bus to Cafayate, but that´s another story.
Bye for now,
Ryan & Ana
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Silvia
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Amazing
Thank you for providing this Argentinean (yes, me) in New York with the beauty of her own country. Gracias. Silvia