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It is a very early morning call because we have to get breakfast then down to the railway station, which is half an hour away, for 6.30am. Things go to plan and we are in time for the train, though the tourist class roof top seats are all take, fortunately, so we resign ourselves to the comfort of travelling indoors. For the next few hours we watch Ecuador go by as the train chugs on to Alausi. A breakfast stop is made at Guamote where traders try and get you to buy fried (battered) bananas.
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The train had to stop mid route to offload a tractor giving passengers time to stretch legs and get a panoramic picture of the whole train. Passengers travelling on the roof didn't get off just in cast their seat was taken by someone else.
The train stops at a disused mine to offload
the tractor
The train is notorious for derailing and often not making it to the destination, so all the tourist mini-buses, cars and other transport follow the route, and everywhere the train crosses the road the guides are waiting to wave. When the train passes they get back on the bus and go on the the next level crossing
The train plodded on to Alausi, which is the traditional starting point for the Devil's Nose. This piece of track, to Sibambe covers a descent of over 1000m. The route is described as an engineering feat, as the train makes the steep descent by a series of switchbacks. The series is actually two.
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The Devil's Nose
The train travels down, quite steeply, and goes around the hill, like you would do on a mountain road. The difference here is where, on a mountain road you would get a hairpin bend, here it is a switchback. The train travels beyond the points then reverses back after the points have been changed - well, you know what a switchback is. The track on the steep incline is strewn with rock falls - this is why there are frequent derailments along the route.
At the bottom, the train turns round and goes back to Alausi, where all the tourist transport, which has followed the route all morning, is waiting. We meet up with our pair and have some lunch before starting on our long drive back to Quito.
We made two stops:
1. At a church La Balbanera, built on the site of the earliest church in
Ecuador. This church has a painting involving a miracle involving the train.
2. A coffee stop at about 7.00pm to give our driver a bit of a rest, especially
as he has been up since 5.30am.
We finally arrived at our hotel in Quito - the very modern Hotel Sebastian.
On our way home
Next day after a 5.00am morning call, our guide of the last few
days escorted us to the airport, and we said our farewells. After that it was
the usual stuff associated with two long flight.
Firstly with American Airways when, again, my first choice meal wasn't available
and I was left with the cheese option - clearly not as many people like cheese
options as the airlines think!
Secondly an overnight flight with BA - wish I could sleep on planes.
Nearly home
Arrived at Heathrow at 6.00am, picked up the car from the hotel where we left it, then drove the 4.5 hours home - 200 miles, but morning traffic, trying to find the M25 junction, and tea break en route all took up time.
A very enjoyable and highly successful holiday - we saw everything we hoped to see in the Galapagos, made it to the Equator Monument, saw the three volcanoes we hoped to and travelled down the Devil's Nose.
Can't say fairer than that!
