TRAVELING ECUADOR'S SIERRA VI – Alausi to Cuenca

8. March 2012, Day 6

Again, we got up early, had a quick (ten minute) breakfast and were ready to get on the train at 8 am. From Alausi the train went down the nariz del diablo - a fairly steep hill.
The hill is very steep and the last part the tracks zig-zag to make it possible for the train to go down. Due to the complicated terrain the construction of this railway was celebrated 100 years ago when it was build. Engineering-wise it was difficult and the help of many laborers was needed. Unfortunately many of them lost there lifes - about 2500 Jamaican slaves (out of 4000) died.
A long time ago, Ecuador had a fairly extensive train system with trains going from Quito to Guayaquil and Cuenca. But for many years now only short parts have been working. Currently there is construction going on everywhere and the plan is to open the railway from Quito to Guayaquil in 2013. Mainly for tourists. I guess, before the nariz del diablo train ride was something for the adventurous, but it is now a little more upscale. Very organized, with guide and lunch included and no sitting on the roof. Nevertheless the landscape is amazing and worth the train ride.
The train went down the valley from Alausi, where we had a snack, walked through a little museum and took many touristy photos before the train went back to Alausi.
There we got our stuff from the hotel and went straight to the bus station to catch a bus to Cuenca. After four uneventful hours we arrived in Cuenca in the afternoon. Finding an hostel was easy but finding a restaurant was a little more difficult. Not that there were no restaurants or bars. They just all seemed to be closed in the late afternoon. Eventually we found a fast food place that was open.
We walked along the cobble stone streets with many beautiful old buildings and churches and visited the huge and beautiful old cathedral.
At night we went out for a beer at an microbrewery where we had homemade beer. Cuenca seems to have many little bars and a lot of students and young people. We walk around a while and after another beer it was time to sleep.

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TRAVELING ECUADOR'S SIERRA V – Alausi

7. March 2012, Day 5

We got up early in the morning to get a bus to Alausi. There we were hoping to get the afternoon train to nariz del diablo. After four hours on the bus, we arrived in Alausi, checked in at the first hotel (which wasn't a smart choice since it was rather expensive - 30$ for two - and didn't value the money) and went to the train station. We had just missed the 11am train and there was no train in the afternoon. We bought tickets for the next morning and spent the afternoon in Alausi. It is a very small city that has not much to offer but it's a nice place. It has a few beautiful old buildings and is beautifully located in a valley.
We were still tired from the biking the day before and had a good afternoon nap before going for a long walk through town.

TRAVELING ECUADOR'S SIERRA IV – Biking at Chimborazo

6. March 2012, Day 4

After an early breakfast at 7.30am we were ready for the trip to Chimborazo. We were picked up by the guide at the hostel and by van we slowly made our way to Chimborazo.
Chimborazo is not only Ecuador’s highest volcano it also is the mountain with the longest distance to the center of the earth (because of the equatorial bulge).
Along the way there were cows, pigs and sheep as anywhere else but there were also torros (huge bulls ready to fight and worth 11,000$ each) as well as llamas and vicunas (a wild relative of the llama).
As we made our way up, it got colder and colder. From the first refugio at 4,850 m we walked up to the second refugio at 5,000 m above sea level. It was cold, cloudy (we couldn't see the top of Chimborazo) and it started snowing. Walking was difficult at that altitude but eventually we made it. After a nice hot chocolate at the refugio we made our way back to the lower mountain hut where we got on the bikes. The first part was easy downhill biking on a dirt road. The most difficult part here was the fog and that it was snowing for a while. And it was cold. I couldn't feel my hands and for a moment I was wondering why I'm doing this (for the fun and the beautiful landscape).
After about 8 km and a short stop we went on a much smaller trail. Biking was a little more difficult but a lot of fun. On the way down the trail changed between rough narrow trail, dirt road and asphalt. There was a fairly short uphill part. At an elevation of over 3000 m, this was much more difficult than it sounds and involved walking for parts. And even that was exhausting. The last kilometers was easy rolling down on asphalt streets and it was great to speed a little.
On the way back to the city we had great views of volcanoes Tungurahua and El Altar. Only Chimborazo was always at least partly covered in clouds.
After returning to Riobamba just before sunset we were quite tired and only managed to get some Chaulafan (Chinese style rice with shrimps and chicken) before falling to sleep.

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