Blogs from Ecuador, South America - page 637

Last week we took the bus to Riobamba (in the mountains) in order to take the famous train to Alausi, passing through the Devil´s Nose. We arrived around six o’clock in the morning at the station and climbed up onto the roof (where most of the other passengers were) and waited for the departure. The trip lasted around 6 hours and started with a lovely crossing of the local mountainous region before descending the Devil´s Nose, which is basically a very steep mountain that the train only manages to climb/descend with a series of pinpoint turns. The whole scenery was magnificent and fortunately the weather was too (first sun burn of the trip!!!, I lost most of the skin of my face....). Just got back from the Galapagos Islands. It was absolutely fantastic. I’m currently blogging ... read more

Well what a few days... So I left saturday morning from Quito bound for Tena on a six hour (but only 160 km!) bus trip. On this trip I saw the first real poverty I've ever seen in my life, something I had mixed feelings about for sure. One thing that does stick out in my mind, though, is the sight of a little girl sitting in a rickety shack on the side of a dirt road wearing what a Canadian would call rags. She was standing alone, sheltered from the sun, returning my wave with an enormous smile as we sped by. It struck me that this girl was just as happy as any equivalent girl in Canada or elsewhere, despite the squaler. The idea was reaffirmed throughout the trip, as you will see. So ... read more

While I was in Quito, I decided to visit the Museum of Natural History. It was pretty much a bust. The displays were falling apart, and were not very informative. I did use the library to look up what that little amarillo creature was. I think it was an Andean Porcupine, but there was no picture, so who knows? One interesting thing at the museum was that among many deserved slots, Walt Disney was featured on their wall of "Important Men of Science." He was honored for his great animation of animals and the natural world. Hmmm. And not one woman was among them. Well, after much indecision, I ultimately decided to head to Baños for a few days. Baños is a laidback vacation destination for gringos and Ecuadoreans alike. It was nice. The town gets ... read more

Une trentaine d'heure de car pour arriver a guayquil et graviter en equateur. Nous partons en particulier dans la sierra, a Riobamba, pour prendre un train qui passe par des chemins extrêmement escarpés, a tel point qu'il doit faire des marches arrières dans une descente trop raide pour faire des virages, et située sur les flans du mont "le nez du diable". 7 heures de voyage sur le toit du train pour découvrir une petite partie de la sierra equatorienne. Après ça on galère trois quatre jours à Guayaquil pour trouver le moyen le plus économique d'aller dans les îles Galapagos et d'en profiter vraiment. On s'embarque finalement pour une croisière de 5 jours à bord du Cormorant. Les photos parlent d'elles même en ce qui conserne le spectacle sur terre. Pour ce qui est du ... read more

I swear it's not true, but a guy in drag has accused me of fathering his child. It was an interesting New Year's Eve. Class 2 rapids may not sound like much, but when you're going into them face first it's pretty intense. We left Yanayacu around 11 AM to spend New Year's Eve in Palmas, the little community between Cosanga and Baeza that does not exist on a map of Ecuador. There's no city hall or central plaza in Las Palmas, it's just a bunch of dairy farms and one zany hostal all along the highway. We started the day off tubing face first through the rocky Cosanga river. I came in 9th place out of 18. I was just glad I finished with all my teeth and no broken bones. A bull had been ... read more