Devil´s Nose Train trip and to Riobamba - 1 October

I had a great birthday. Most definitely a memorable one. The 2 hour Devil´s Nose trip was on a fairly packed rooftop and quite spectacular. We did a falling leaf pattern down to the valley floor. You hire cushions to sit on the carriage roof which is basically corrugated iron with a central flat section and a low guard rail around the edges. I don´t think that osh would approve.

During the journey the guards wander up and down and like most in Ecuador multi task by collecting tickets, selling cushions, applying brakes at appropriate times and selling souvenir teeshirts or guards hats. Food sellers also plied their way up and down the carriage roofs and were pretty nimble footed. The train frequently came to abrupt halts or starts and it didn´t pay to be standing up at the time.

I think that the return trip to Riobamba was even better than the Devil´s Nose trip. Most people got off at Alusi so there were only about 20 of us on the 4 carriage roofs. The scenery was great and perhaps the most exciting part was when the engine and the next 2 carriages came to an abrupt stop (We were on the second carriage) and we watched with dismay as the next 2 carriages and caboose became unattached to us and proceeded to go back down the track we had come along! The startled expressions on the peoples faces on the runawway carriages said it all and later one of the guys said that he was mentally deciding which way to jump. He had the option of a rock face or a cliff. There was some pretty fast action by the guard who hand turned a large wheel on the roof to stop the runaway carriages a 100 metres down the track.
A second guard was busily filing a handwritten report of the incident and we finally worked out that in fact the engine had partially derailed, hence the abrupt stop. This is apparently not uncommon and with the application of a few logs, a heavy hammer and tape measures to check that the guage was right we were finally off and crept our way over the repaired section.
We were later told that derailments are a common occurrence on the track and especially in the wet.

We passed through spectacular gorges and scenery. Alot of cacti and then carefully cutivated crops alongside the river. We passed through several indigenous townships and as the day went by we were soon wrapped up in all our warm gear. We were pleased when Chimborazo. (6000m peak) and Riobamba came into sight.

All in all an awesome birthday.

Frances