On Christmas Eve, I took a bus from Loja to Cuenca and stayed at Hotal Yakumama. I arrived in time to catch the end of the Pase del Nino parade, which is the longest parade in South America (normally taking 8 hours). There were a million Jesus in the manger floats (which consisted of the back of a trucks with a manger scene). There were a lot of wise men and people in traditional dress. All very festive.
Back at the hostel, I inquired about a Christmas Eve event. Unfortunately, the lounge was to close at 8:00, as did most restaurants and bars, and everyone staying at the hostel had evidently found somewhere else to go. I was basically all alone in my top bunk. Netflix is my friend, fortunately.
The next morning, I went to Alausi, two hours north of Cuenca by bus. I had read that sometimes the bus will drop you on the highway and I was nervous about carrying all my luggage. When the bus did drop me on the highway and I couldn't find a taxi, the 1/4 mile downhill walk into town wasn't so bad since my bags both roll. I stayed in Hotel Europa and learned a new Spanish word: "bano compartido" means "shared bath", not "your own bath".
Not to worry though. I never once had to wait to use the bathroom and it was very close to my room. The room was in a very old colonial house with very slanted floors. I ended up sleeping with my head at the foot end of the bed. Other than that, great location and great price.
The next morning, I boarded the 11:00 Nariz del Diablo train.
This section of the tracks is part of Ecuador's first rail line which was built to run from Guayaquil to Quito. It took 25 years of starts and stops for the work to finally start in 1899. One of the biggest problems they had was a near vertical wall of rock. which the train needed to traverse. They couldn't get right, and thousands people died because of it.
They finally hired an engineer from the US who came up with the idea of having the train zigzag up the wall. The train goes forward to the junction and passes it a little, then reverses to go up the next section, and so on up the mountain. As you can see below, the zigzag is not steep, just very close to the next section.
Once the line was running, it ran successfully until 1997, when rains from El Nino completely destroyed the tracks and kept them out of commission. Currently the only train running in the area is this 12 km section which is geared to tourists.
There are many different legends about why this stretch of track is called The Devil's Nose:
- One night there were a number of sheep blocking the track, eyeing the conductor. They suddenly disappeared and the conductor was faced with a pack of "ravenous hellspawn".
- A ghost train was often heard at midnight. The tracks would vibrate, the train whistle would blow, but there would be no sign of any train.
- At midnight, beings with red eyes would appear on the train, scaring the passengers.
The obvious one to me is the fact that the mountain looks like a giant nose! Unfortunately, I never got a live picture of the mountain because I stupidly listened to a fellow tourist who convinced me that the nose was the tiny little rock at the top. He was from Ecuador so I thought he must know. That's what I get for listening to people. So I stared at it and then imagined that the rock at the top is the eyebrow and the other rock is him sticking out his tongue, and the chin's below that. Which I realize now looking at it that there isn't even a nose.
See how it looks like a nose? From different angles, there are even areas that look like eyes and there are other legends all about that. Like one area 10 km wide with NO insects at all. Hmmmm...not sure about that.
So there you have it. Devil's Nose trainride. Cost: $30, runs 3 times a day and books a day ahead of time. In January 2016 you will evidently be able to ride the train from Alausi to Riobamba.
Back at the hostel, I inquired about a Christmas Eve event. Unfortunately, the lounge was to close at 8:00, as did most restaurants and bars, and everyone staying at the hostel had evidently found somewhere else to go. I was basically all alone in my top bunk. Netflix is my friend, fortunately.
The next morning, I went to Alausi, two hours north of Cuenca by bus. I had read that sometimes the bus will drop you on the highway and I was nervous about carrying all my luggage. When the bus did drop me on the highway and I couldn't find a taxi, the 1/4 mile downhill walk into town wasn't so bad since my bags both roll. I stayed in Hotel Europa and learned a new Spanish word: "bano compartido" means "shared bath", not "your own bath".
Not to worry though. I never once had to wait to use the bathroom and it was very close to my room. The room was in a very old colonial house with very slanted floors. I ended up sleeping with my head at the foot end of the bed. Other than that, great location and great price.
The next morning, I boarded the 11:00 Nariz del Diablo train.
This section of the tracks is part of Ecuador's first rail line which was built to run from Guayaquil to Quito. It took 25 years of starts and stops for the work to finally start in 1899. One of the biggest problems they had was a near vertical wall of rock. which the train needed to traverse. They couldn't get right, and thousands people died because of it.
They finally hired an engineer from the US who came up with the idea of having the train zigzag up the wall. The train goes forward to the junction and passes it a little, then reverses to go up the next section, and so on up the mountain. As you can see below, the zigzag is not steep, just very close to the next section.
 |
| This is one of the switchbacks. We had come up the one on the right and were going backwards on the track the train is on. |
Once the line was running, it ran successfully until 1997, when rains from El Nino completely destroyed the tracks and kept them out of commission. Currently the only train running in the area is this 12 km section which is geared to tourists.
There are many different legends about why this stretch of track is called The Devil's Nose:
- One night there were a number of sheep blocking the track, eyeing the conductor. They suddenly disappeared and the conductor was faced with a pack of "ravenous hellspawn".
- A ghost train was often heard at midnight. The tracks would vibrate, the train whistle would blow, but there would be no sign of any train.
- At midnight, beings with red eyes would appear on the train, scaring the passengers.
The obvious one to me is the fact that the mountain looks like a giant nose! Unfortunately, I never got a live picture of the mountain because I stupidly listened to a fellow tourist who convinced me that the nose was the tiny little rock at the top. He was from Ecuador so I thought he must know. That's what I get for listening to people. So I stared at it and then imagined that the rock at the top is the eyebrow and the other rock is him sticking out his tongue, and the chin's below that. Which I realize now looking at it that there isn't even a nose.
Turns out I was dead wrong. After going to a museum at Simbabe, the little town where the train stops, I learned that the whole darn mountain was the nose. I had zoomed entirely too far in and missed the shot of the whole mountain, when I had a chance. It wasn't visible from where we were any more. I was so mad! So I took this picture of a poster in the museum:
See how it looks like a nose? From different angles, there are even areas that look like eyes and there are other legends all about that. Like one area 10 km wide with NO insects at all. Hmmmm...not sure about that.
So there you have it. Devil's Nose trainride. Cost: $30, runs 3 times a day and books a day ahead of time. In January 2016 you will evidently be able to ride the train from Alausi to Riobamba.
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