Blogs from Riobamba, Centre, Ecuador, South America - page 5

June 3: Slowly but surely, Ryan and I are making our way to the Peruvian border. We have spent the last several days wandering through Quito´s Old Town, marveling at the beautifully restored buildings, imposing churches, and frenetic pace! The city teems with life, and I could not help but feel as though I had just been swept along with it. We learned the ins and outs of Quito´s complex transport system, and quickly learned to watch our pockets: In the cramped Metro, commuters, families, and vagrants alike stream in and out at every station. I was often unlucky enough to be squeezed against the doors in the Metro, and as I uncomfortably pressed against the glass to allow the cars to burst, I became aware of how dangerous the city can be. A young boy, ... read more

Es faehrt ein Zug nach nirgendwo, mit mir allein als Passagier...naja fast...zur Nase des Teufels, was auch irgendwo im Nirgendwo liegt und ein paar andere Leute waren auch dabei. Von Riobamba ging es frueh am Morgen mit dem Bus nach Alausi, da die reizvolle Strecke bis Alausi wegen der starken Regenfaelle in den letzten Wochen gesperrt ist. Wenigstens das letzte Stueck der Strecke ist befahrbar. Die eigentliche Attraktion ist, dass man die Landschaft normalerweise vom Dach aus geniessen kann. Doch dies ist mittlerweile mal wieder verboten, weil zwei Japaner verunglueckt sind. Sie sind wohl mit einem in Kopfhoehe (beim Stehen auf dem Dach) befindlichen Gegenstand getoetet worden. Und wobei verunglueckt, natuerlich bei des Japaners Lieblingsbeschaeftigung auf Reisen: Dem Fotografieren. Ob es nun ein Stromkabel oder ein Tunnel war habe ich nicht verstanden, weil mein Spanisch doch ... read more

The bus from Baños to Riobamba did not take long, although we were somewhat disheartened by the torrential rain cascading from the skies and filling up the road in torrents. It made the huge potholes even worse and the suspension on the bus reaching its ultimatum! Once there, I am ashamed to say, we went into a fast food restaurant and had burger, chips and coke. It was actually very nice...nothing like the rubbish we have. The following day we boarded a very late train with a hell of alot of foriengers... The train consisted of a 3 passenger carrienges, a cargo carriage and a huge engine. We set of through endless patchwork hills, chugging along on a single track, nailed down on bits of driftwood. The scenery was just fantastic, it had rained the night ... read more

Matt writes: Today, a chilly 5.30 start to get to the nearby station and climb aboard an antiquated train that would take us south through some great scenery. Our backpacks were stowed in a locker in one of the carriages which would mean we could relax and enjoy the trip. Although it would not however prevent the barrage of refreshment sales as an army of vendors selling coffee, chocolates, fruit and crisps boarded and alighted the train with their wares. I enduldged in a coffee/muddy water to make me more sociable but even with this in hand, I was offered at least 10 more! With a sudden jerk the train moved off clumsily as we collected another carriage from a siding, moving back and forth from our original location for what seemed about half an hour. ... read more

I am currently heading down to the very South of Ecuador, with the final destination being Vilcabamba, a small village not far from the border to Peru. My first destination was Riobamba, a city which I had visited already last year. Therefore, I did not do much sightseeing there, mainly just bought my ticket for the Devil´s Nose train ride. When I arrived at the hostel in the afternoon, they told me that it was probably too late to buy a ticket for the next day (the guidebook had said the tickets should be bought the night before or in the morning). The train only runs on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, so if there was non available for the next day, it would have meant to wait for 2 days in Riobamba. However, the hostal owner ... read more