Nariz Del Diablo
"The Devils nose"
This is a "fairly" spectacular train ride from Riobamba to Simbambe, since the 1920s the final part of the journey for sightseeing only, and doesnt actually take anyone anywhere.
The trip was apparently supposed to take about 5 hours. but due several little problems such as de-railings of carriages (which was slightly scary at times) it 10 hours and 30 minutes.
there are no seats on top of the train (despite the advice of getting there ar 5.30am to get a a good seat!). instead you are allowed to rent a cusion to seperate you from the corrigated rooftop of the hundred year old train. i imagine this might have been a wonderful experience for the first traveller or two who convinced the conductor to let them sprawl out on the roof for the more exciting parts of the journey but crammed up there for 10 and a half hours with 70 odd other tourists (some of whom i considered throwing overboard hehe) makes this train ride the work of the devil indeed.
If you can judge an experience by weather or not you would do it again, than this one is a NO NO.
however there were some wonderful moments, and some sights i will cherish.
One very special aspect was the opportunity to pass through mile after mile of rural land where we were greeted with smiles and waves from the local people in the fields.
Forgive the blurred quality of some of the fotos here. most were taken from a moving train.
Amidst the dust here you can make out a child and an adult herding sheep.
People at the railway station in "Alausi"
The second last carriage was de-railed here. took about 1 and a half hours to fix it. note the guy selling biscuits & stuff, he was delighted with himself every time the train broke down.
Switchbacks. train changes direction multiple times to descend the hill in a zig zag motion.
aaaagh!
this is it! the Devils nose........................... zzzzz
1 comment:
That's scary!
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