Riobamba Train

I would stay in the mountains as I headed south towards Peru. On the bus from Quito to Riobamba there is a nice view of Cotopaxi Volcano.

Riobamba is surrounded by volcanic scenery. First is the dominant view of Chimborazo Volcano - highest point on earth (closest to the sun) due to the Equatorial bulge created by the spin of the earth.

The other is the active volcano, Tungurahua. The amount of ash being pumped out by this volcano has led to evacuations of several villages in the nearer surroundings.

Passenger service between Quito and Guayaquil (Ecuador´s largest city located on the Pacific coast) was once by train but that was discontinued in 80s. It is mentioned in the book ¨The Old Patagonian Express: By Train Through the Americas¨(http://www.amazon.com/Old-Patagonian-Express-Through-Americas/dp/039552105X/sr=1-1/qid=1162226593/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-5317517-3322359?ie=UTF8&s=books )

BTW, the author mentiones passing through Ponca City, OK by train on his way South.)

Earthquakes and the El Niño Phenomena in the 90s have taken their toll. Now only a small piece of track remains and it leaves from Riobamba.

So the tourists flock here...

Rent your pad and take a seat on top of the baggage cars. It is comical the number of us tourists that squeeze on for an old-time train ride. The day I went, there were three baggage cars packed with tourists. They typically run 9 cars in high season!

Local kids wave as the train passes and an assortment of sweets comes flying in their direction from different parts of the train. There is the concomitant exhibition of modern photography equipment.

I sat by a neat Australian couple who had taken nearly the same route South as I had. They recommended the video ¨From the Heart of the World¨ (http://www.amazon.com/Heart-World-Documentary/dp/B00000F89F).

Briefly, it narrates the recognition of climate change by the Kogi, an indigenous people living high in the Colombian Sierra, and their sending a message down the mountain ¨to the other peoples of the world¨ about maintaining a balance in the world. I mention this because these are the indigenous people I saw on ¨The Lost City Tour¨ I took in Colombia.

The train threads its way up through the mountains, across a high mountain desert area, and then down to ¨Nariz del Diablo¨ - a particularly clever bit of engineering. That´s where all the tourists disembark and take comfy busses on to their next destination.



There is a lot of green in the valleys.

I chose to ride the train back - first inside in the comfortable chairs.

It actually took a few locals along and dropped them off at their homes...

There was the stop due to the derailment (common occurence on this piece of track.) I felt like I was getting my money´s worth ;)

I then chose to ride the rest of the way on top. It was quiet, no tourists, and cold once the sun set.



And it was a clear moonless night with ¨La Vía Láctea¨ (Milky Way) brilliantly visible. Orion was sitting just above a mountain ridge. The mountains contained constellations of their own - lights of a few houses randomly dispersed here and there.