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Published: December 31st 2005
On arriving in Riobamba we checked into the Hotel Estation... A large old hotel with paper thin walls and large wooden hallways which seemed to have been designed with a concert halls acoustic in mind and therefore made a great job of amplifying any noise in the building - most of which seemed to come from a large Equadorian male in the room next to ours......
At 5.00am the next day we rose, threw on our clothes and after a quick bite to eat headed for the train and ticket office.
The railway which incorporates the Devil´s Nose and Alausi Loop was built nearly 100 years ago and at its time was a major feat of engineering. It was built to connect Quito with Guayaquil on the coast, which meant starting the track at around 2800m above sea level and then after rising to its peak of around 3600m dropping away to sea level. After completion and the loss of many lives the train ran for many years, but after much distruption from natural disasters especially after El Nino in 1997 in which the lower section of the track was badly damaged, only the section between Riobamba and Sibamabe
is currently kept running -basically for the tourist doller, which is why it is also known as the gringo train!
Upon arrival we were greated by a number of men dressed in the same uniform of black railway cap, jacket and jeans. The fabled roof seating was already looking packed so after hiring a cushion (or two in my case) we quickly scrambled up the ladder to the roof and procured our perch in between a German couple and group of Norwegians and waited eagerly for the off.
The diesel engine reved and we slowly made our way directly through the town. Cars were stopped and Equadorians gazed on with that look that you come to recognise as "Crazy Gringos" and maybe this time they were right, a train packed with Gringos sitting on the corrigated iron roof.
Although the whole experience was a bit long, it did afforded us a new and unique way of seeing Equador. We gently rolled through fields accompanied by waving children and great views of Chimborazo the highest volcano in Ecuador at 6267m. It was a good experience and after completing the 'Devil´s Nose' section we headed back to Alausi where
Im not cold!
Wrapping up is advisablewe had decided to try and get to Guayaquill before sundown.
Admist talk of strikes we found a coach which claimed it was going the whole way. After buying a bag of 9 small mangos (60p!) we settled down for the journey.
The journey was spectacular and we spent four hours climbing over the top of a large mountain and wound our way back down through the cloud layer until we found ourselves at a town called Bucay where we were (un) welcomed by a picket line in full swing. We got turfed off the bus. We managed to jump on another bus, which unbeknown to us was driven by a complete nutter! He claimed he was going to break the picket line and then proceeded to drive in completley the opposite direction and picked up a number of mates. After he stopped to pickup a dude who got on board with a long straight gun sized thing wrapped in a coat, it was at this point we decided to make a sharp exit.
He finally returned to the picket line. I looked out the window to see a police man fingering a large silver grenade which,
Chimborazo
View of Chimborazo from the top of the train in my eyes could only contain tear gas or explosives - in either case i shouted "lets go" and we dashed out the door and continued through the picket line where men were hitting each other with large wooden sticks.
It was an interesting experience only to be rivalled by the bus journey - or should i say race to Guayaquil, I never knew buses could travel so fast - It was more full on than any roller coaster especially when he started playing chicken with large petrol tankers.
But we survived to fight another day and arrived in Guayaquil with all limbs intact. After this experience, we were even more excited about escaping to the Galapagos Islands.....
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