Days 147 & 148 - Riobamba, Ecuador

RIOBAMBA AND THE NARIZ DEL DIABLO (28/05/09 & 29/05/09)

Having travelled from Quito the day before we got up early to catch the famous Nariz Del Diablo (Devils Nose) train at 6.30am. Unfortunately one of the reasons it is famous is for the roof riding which has now been banned due to two Japanese tourists getting decapitated.

Just incase you didn´t believe us.

The first part of the track ran mainly through towns and farmland.

We saw many local people going about their daily business including this lady and her lone cow.

A brief stop for breakfast - cheese empañadas. The reason why the train looks like a bus is because it is a bus converted to run on the rails.

Local ladies in traditional dress.

An unscheduled stop - a local man, used to having the rails to himself (the train only runs a couple of times a week, presumably he didn´t know what day it was), had to hurridly move his cart from the tracks to let us pass.

Once we started getting into the mountains the scenery improved as the train snaked its way through.

Just before a steep descent into a valley.

The quiet mountain town of Alausi.

Seeing this bridge down the hill we thought it was a derelect part of the track. However 10 minutes later we crossed it.

Being that improved roads have made bus travel considerably faster than the train it is now exclusively run for the tourists. This has the advantage that the train now stops wherever there is a good view.

The original building of the railway must have been quite a feat, clearing a path through solid rock like this must have taken alot of dynamite.

The bottom section of the railway viewed from about half way up.

Some people might say Liz is off the rails - but here´s evidence to the contrary.

After our exciting train ride we went for a quick visit to the original train. It must have taken hours for it to puff up the steep slopes.