El Nariz del Diablo!

Trip Start Nov 25, 2004
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Trip End Jan 26, 2005


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Tuesday, June 14, 2005

Riobamba is basically the start point for the train ride called ´El Nariz del Diablo´ or the Devil's Nose! This was a very cool experience and basically everyone just sits on top of the train! Even though we arrived later than everyone else, in true Team Smedders stylie we managed to bag two of the best seats on the train! Yeah! Even though I nearly got stuck at the top of the ladder trying to get on the train! Nimble as ever! Once you´re on there, you basically rent cushions to stop your bum from going numb and then just sit back and enjoy the ride! To celebrate the experience, we sat and had a beer for breakfast!!!

Again the beginning of the train ride was in the shadow of snowcapped volcano Chimborazo and some of the countryside we went through was just stunning! One of the most amusing things about the train ride though was the tourist buses following the train who kept stopping to take photos Early morning everyone up top
Early morning everyone up top
 ! Why not just do the train ride! Going to the toilet was abit of a challenge while the train was in motion as you basically had to climb down the side of the carriage and then swing round to get to the toilets! Funnily enough, my bladder control was on top form!

It was great watching all the locals going about their daily lives dressed in traditional dress (poncho´s & panama hats!) giving us a quick wave and then getting back to work! The children had obviously cottoned onto the fact that they were likely to get sweets if they waved hard enough! Some of their faces were so serious though it was almost sad...but then again some of the adults were as competitive as the children knocking the kids out of the way to get their hands on the lollies!

Eventually we arrived at a very quaint little village called Alausi and this is where the fun really starts! The train track down the Devil's Nose was once an engineering masterpiece that solved the problem of how to get a train to run from the Quito to the Pacific ports near Guayaquil. Since then El Niño floods have torn up the tracks and only the part between Riobamba and the Devil's Nose remains open...the ascent down the Devil´s Nose is amazing and is basically numerous switchbacks going backwards and forwards all the way to the bottom and at some points you´re just looking straight down a cliff to the river below! It certainly leaves you breathless! It was an amzing experience and even more than the scenery, it was just sitting on top of the train with the wind in your face that left you feeling exhilarated!

Back in Alausi and hundreds of photos later, we jumped on a bus to Cuenca and some of the most spectacular scenery we´ve seen yet! Paul actually preferred the scenery on the bus ride to the train! There´s no pleasing some people eh???
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