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Published: November 4th 2008
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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 craziness on the bus. In Riobamba, it was pouring again. We found a cab and the guy kept telling us to be careful. The town didnt look so good, and neither did our hotel. I shared a room with Martin and the other 2 girls shared a room. It said 4 star hotel, now that´s very funny. It was really dirty. Anyways, we went out for dinner and they all wanted chinese, nothing like chinese in ecuador. Horrible. They said they wanted to do some mountain biking on Saturday. I was freaking out, I´m already not in a great shape but at this altitude, I´m about to die just from moving my body. So, we find a biking agency and they tell us that they have
tours where they take us to the volcano Chimborazo (highest point in Ecuador) in a jeep and we bike down for about 30 miles. Now, I´m really freking out, biking at 4800 meters high, not for me. But they convince me. We try our bikes on the street, which was very life threatening with the traffic. Our guide tells us to go to the supermarket and get sweet stuff for energy and stuff for lunch. We buy food for like a week and come back to the hotel where they are going to pick us up. The drive to the volcano is very beautiful and our guide speaks perfect english cause he studied in the US. As we approach to the last refuge before the professionals start climbing the volcanoes, it´s snowing, veru windy and so foggy that the guide gives us a radio so that we don´t get lost. We put on all the clothes we have with us. In my mind there is no way we can bike in this mess but everybody seems confident. So we start biking down and after about 3 miles, I cant move my hands. I can´t see the jeep anywhere, nor my
little biking friends. I decide to go on for a little bit and I finally find Sarah whose hands are as bad as mine. The jeep finally arrives and we decide we can´t do this. I take my gloves off and my hands are completely blue. Sarah is panicking because it´s so painful and the heat is not helpful. I´m done with this biking shit. So we ride in the jeep for a little bit and after a few miles the weather is much better again. So, we get back on our bikes. It was incredible, the most beautiful landscapes I had ever seen. We crossed some villages and the view of Chimborazo was unbelievable. It was exhausting though and my butt still hurts from all the rocky portions. Most of the time it was downhill but there were a few times where it was either flat or uphill. Seriously you can barely breathe that high. We biked until it was completely dark with the lights from the jeep. We got back to the hotel, exhausted and we were in bed by ten. The next day we had to get up at 5 to catch the train.
We all got
a spot on the roof. It was so crowded, basically people sitting on top of each other. So uncomfortable, thank god they rent pillows. They were a lot of gringos but also many ecuadorian families. The train left at 7 and it was so cold because of the wind. Then of course, the rain. And we hadn´t purchased plastic ponchos. The ecuadorians were singing and screaming the whole time. Apparently the train is like the main distraction for villagers on Sunday. Everybody is oustside waving at the train. The train is a very old train, on very old tracks. It is really scary when you look at the tracks and you see the HUGE ditches on the sides of the mountains. It was really great though, again unbelievable landscapes. Everything was going really well, even though we were cold and soaked until the train derailed. Well... The whole village was there talking about how bad it looked. Most people got out of the train to pee and assess the situation. I dont exactly know what they did but it took about an hour to get us back on track. And then it happened again. This time in the middle of
nowhere and it took another 1 1/2 hour to repair. This was completely insane. We were supposed to be back in Alausi at 2 and we got back at 5.
The whole experience was insanely awesome but 10 hours on the roof of a train going from 40 to 80 degrees with crzy sun and crazy rain made our bodies a little soar. Everybody except for me was going to Cuenca so I had to find a room and take the bus back to Quito on Monday all by myself. I was pretty nervous. There were only 3 hotels there. The first one I checked was horrible, not bathroom and disgusting. So, I asked some people who sent to another one and it was ok, I guess. I was in bed at 8:30. In the morning I hung out in town. Some weird dude grabbed my hand and tried to go thru my pockets. He wouldnt let go, that was pretty scary. Finally I got on the bus. 5 hours next to 2 ladies who wouldnt shut up. They were really nice but I just wanted to sleep. They bought me icecream cause it was a shame that I hadnt
tried it yet. Finally got to Quito to the dangerous terminal that I hate and jumped in a cab. It was the coldest night ever in Quito, 40 degrees in the house. And I had to take a shower after this digusting bus trip. Fun, fun, fun.
Back to my routine today, yayyyy.
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