Hotel El Galpon Riobamba

... of a norm for Ecuador!<br><br>So Wednesday morning, and we were up early to bus it back 2 hours south to Alausi, going much earlier than needed - but we didn't want to take our chances. As it turned out, half our hostel ended up on our bus too! We got our tickets no problem, so we spent the morning relaxing and looking around the small town of Alausi - as well as filling our stomachs with yet more scrambled eggs and tea! The train ...

... roller coaster ride....what we actually got was a small zig zag down the mountain, at one point going backwards down the tracks quite slowly...a bit dissapointing really<br><br>It was worth doing for the scenery but the "devils nose" wasn{t all that exciting<br><br>When we got back to Riobamba (at about 4pm) we were exhausted! wandered around the town to the supermarket and to pick up our washing, then headed back to the hostel for a nap. we met 2 ...

... the road and only a handful of cops. We just turned the bus around and through a maze of shortcuts, construction roads, and a bridge that wasnt short enough we were back on the main highway and off to Riobamba. The rest of the trip was quite normal with vendors hopping on and off the bus selling food and drink as well as the weaving around obsticles littered across the road. Once we got to Riobamba we really saw the effect of the strike ...

... the keyboard has other ideas?. The problem was our guide didnt speak any English except constantly saying "no problem". In addition safety checks were not considered as important as other places I have been. After a couple of small drops we headed towards the 50 meter drop. Now, only 2 out ot the 4 of us did this. Chief went first and was then followed by me. My facial expressions, apparently along the lines of "It is too late for me, but you can still ...

... hold three couples and 8 singles at a time, so it was very cozy and private. Dan and I have joined Lina, Phil, and Khristy in traveling to Banos, and we´re planning on hitting mancora next! The internet connection is terrible everywhere we go, so it´s difficult to upload pictures, but I will try tomorrow! miss everyone!

... us about an alternative ride that doesn't go to Devil's Nose, but goes near so affords really good views.<br><br>To go on the alternative version, you need to catch the bus to Alausi, a small town about 2 hours from Riobamba. Got there but unfortunately they didn't have enough people reserved for this train, so it wasn't running. I love the fact that if not enough people show up, they just don't bother running a public service!! All was ...

... Meter zurücktragen um einem aus unserem Boot von der anderen Seite abzuholen, sie wurde vom Sicherheitskajak ans Ufer gebracht. <br>Nach diesem ersten Schreck kam zum glück etwas leichteres Wasser so konnten wir uns etwas vom Schreck erholen. Das andere Boot hatte es ganz umgeworfen und sie hatten 3 Paddel verloren. Einer Versuchte es mit einem Stückchen Holz. Danach ging es aber viel besser und macht auch Riesenspaß, besonders wenn man wie ich in ...

... end blocking out all light so we couldn't see a thing. I almost fell off as I tried to stay as close to the edge as possible as I heard cars approaching from behind. Fortunately the cars were sensible and had their lights on and so were able to see us and slowed down accordingly. Still, not much fun.<br><br>We cycled on for another hour or so, passing by a few waterfalls along the way and, thankfully, there were cycle bypasses around the other tunnels. It then began to rain ...

... br><br>still no picture uploading... which is getting irritating. but just picture this: i washed my hair this morning (yay) and have stinky garlic breath from eating arroz con camaron. i am getting tired of the food already. if you are eating on the cheap ie less than 2 bucks a meal, you´re pretty much eating variations of the same thing every day. and i have only eaten one yummy empanada so far. they´re not on every street corner like they were in brazil. boo.<br><br><br>

Nach einigen Tagen in Quito und Umgebung gings schliesslich südwärts nach<br>Riobamba. Von hier aus startet die berühmte Eisenbahnstrecke zur<br>Teufelsnase auf der leider nur noch 3-mal wöchentlich ein Schienenbus<br>für Touristen vekehrt. Nachdem wir 2 der letzten heiss begehrten Tickets für den nächsten Tag ergatterten, erkundeten wir mit Mark, einem deutschen Lehrer, die Innenstadt. Riobamba ist ein ruhiger Ort mit schönen ...