We rolled through the Andes until the bus pulled over on the side of the road, next to nothing. "Alausi?" "Alausi," the attendant confirmed. Usually, when we get dropped off there are all kinds of touts trying to sell us something, lead us somewhere, but this stop was empty. We looked around and saw a road leading down the mountain to a valley below. It looked like it'd be a mile hike down to the Devil's Nose. We started walking.
The town was totally cute, quiet, colorful, laid-back, the perfect spot for tourists. The valley and main street reminded us of Silverton, Colorado, where we got married 11 years ago.
| The next morning at the train station, we had our pictures taken behind a cut-out board. I love our Ecuadorian dopplegangers. Life could be so different, eh? |
| Plaza |
The train was more expensive than we anticipated, but we had come to town to ride the Devil's Nose, so we shelled out the $25 each for the 2 hour ride. The views were pretty and the narrator spoke English, so that was nice, but it was hard to enjoy along-side all of the other tourists- and the train wasn't even full.
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| How I felt alongside so many tourists |
We tried to avoid the crowds for photos, lunch, and a tour of the museum. We were mildly successful. The museum itself was tiny, but really interesting. It had signs giving credit to all of the men who died building the train track, and it had placards displaying the superstitions attached to this area. One man told a story of walking the tracks at night, being greeted by the devil, and entering a cave of golden chairs that were on fire. Mother Mary told him it wasn't his time yet. Why Mother Mary was with the devil in the middle of the night in a cave in Ecuador doesn't make sense to me, but hey, it's his scary bedtime story. |
| How I felt alongside so many tourists |
So, yeah, we rode the train down the Devil's Nose. They wouldn't let us ride up on top of the train like they used to (something about 70 year old Japanese tourists tumbling off and dying freaked the government out and freaked tourists out too, so it's been discontinued). Anyway, it was a lovely ride, and a lovely town, and a nice little place to eat in, walk around in, and photograph. Everything is super tranquillo (like the restaurant might take a couple of hours, or checking into your room might take awhile), so come with lots of patience and an attitude to just sit back and enjoy the ride. There are some great views.
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