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  Riobamba, Ecuador
Sunday, November 9, 2008

We managed to escape the Volcano in Baños and made it to Riobamba trouble free -- we planned to see the city, book a ride on a train through the mountains, and head off for Cuenca.
The first night we arrived was pretty low key -- Kali has taken to the habit of going to bed at about 8:30 -- if she doesn´t get 12 hrs. of sleep she can be quite cranky

We woke up the next day and headed out to a local street market. This market was rediculous. It covered so many city blocks, everytime you felt like it was over, there was just more -- people crowded cheek to cheek -- pushing to get the best deals on fake hollister and abercrombie clothes, produce, batteries, brooms, cloth -- even chickens, rabbits, and guinea pigs (a delicacy). After a couple of hours, we were both fried. We walked to find a clear place to relax. Then, two things happened at once. Bryce heard a band playing and Kali spotted ice cream. We were both happy. The music was a cowboy parade of sorts. Cowboys, marching bands, and four gentlemen on horses dragging a bull down the street (this is a city of 150,000). For some reason we decide to follow the parade and see what happens. We followed this parade for at least an hour until it led outside the city -- lo and behold -- it was an ecuadorian rodeo. We spent the day in the sun, watching dog tricks, bull riding, lasoing -- we left to get tickets for a train, knowing that live music was going to be playing all night. The tickets were sold out, but we bought tickets for a bus, that left an hour before the train so that we could get on a different train to ride down the ´¨nariz de diablo¨¨ Maybe that´s confusing. Anyhow we went back to the rodeo, watched the band do sound checks for two hours, play two rocking songs, and walk off -- who knows what happened.

We got up at 5 this morning to get our 6am bus for Alausi -- a very small town in the Andes built on very steep slopes. We got our train tickets for ¨¨The Devil´s Nose¨and headed down the side of the mountain into a very deep canyon. On the way back out, we rode on the top of the train, with out feet dangling dangerously over the edge. There was literally no space between the edge of the track and the edge of the cliff. It was pretty scary.

DISCLAIMER TO ALL PARENTS -- DO NOT WORRY

When we got back to the top, maybe half a mile before the station, on very solid, sturdy ground, the train derailed and skidded about 5 meters -- all while sitting on top of the train. Everyone was fine. It felt mostly like the train hit the brakes really hard. We took pictures and watched for a while as the conductors tried to get it back on the tracks --eventually we went to find breakfast. When we got back to town there was a road race of some kind finishing on the main street. A child of maybe 12 won the race and colapsed at the finish line -- he had to get helped up and to the medics. He beat all the adults. We went into a cafe and the race was on TV. Look out side the race. Look on TV.. the race. surreal. So anyhow, we then spent about 2 hrs walking back and forth from the bus station to the train station trying to figure out how to get to Cuenca. Both places said no se, pero no aqui. Eventually, Kali befriended some girls who spoke spanish and we found some guy named Don Pato. He sent us walking up the mountain out of town to the Panamerican Hwy where at some point a bus headed to Cuenca was going to go by and we were to flag the bus down and get on. Surprisingly, it all worked.

The Panamerican Hwy was much like the train we were on, except that it was a two way road. sometimes paved, sometimes not. It twisted and turned up and down mountains around blind corners it was rediculous.

PARENTAL DISCLAIMER '' DO NOT WORRY

So our bus got a flat tire heading down one of the mountains. We slid and skidded to a stop. Everyone is ok They changed to flat and we traveled on. We are in Cuenca now -- no worse for the wear.

So far on public transport we have had a bus get stuck in the mud, a train derail, and a bus get a flat tire. I miss my car. It better be fine, Mik.

We are doing great and thinking its about time to get to Peru and see what´s going on down there -- we´re heading to the coast which means beaches. Kali is excited.

Hugs and Kisses and all that stuff,
Bryce and Kali

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