On The Road to Peru

This is a bit of a step back in time. We were in Baños ( meaning baths, you´ll see why a little later) at the end of June. Getting there turned into quite a mishap when bus drivers would not give us a straight answers. Unfortunately the weather was crummy so we didn´t do as much outdoor fun as planned. Part of the problem was the clouds or rain covered the hillsides and mountains so what fun is going on a look out hike when all you see is clouds. We rented a room with a fire place, enjoyed friends that we´d made at the last hostal and wandered the streets watching locals make taffy.

Our last night we went to the hot water pools. The water comes from two different sources: a nearby waterfall ( that we could see from our 2nd hostal room) and the volcano. As you might imagine the temperatures were very different. From cold to 43 degrees celcius. Yeap that was hot. A large group of gringo teeanagers unwinding from house building did a great job providing entertainment for us through their antics.

The next highlight was the train ride along La Nariz Del Diablo ( Devil´s Nose.) This wasn´t just any train ride but we were on the roof passing over rickety bridges with tracks switch backing on steep hills above rivers. Originally the railraod was completed in 1908 connecting Guayaquil ( a western coast town ) to Quito. That meant blasting it´s way through the avenue of the volcanos. At the time it was considered an engineering feat and the hardest railraod to build.

Things have changed due to landslides from torrnetial rains. Only a small section is usually run, taking about 7 hours to complete. Nature strikes again and that section is split in two with a more recent landslide. As a result we bused most of the way and were on the train for a grand total of 1.5 hrs but we did the death defying section so it was all worth it! The switch backs advance and reverse to accomodate a height change of 1 km. The views were amazing.

The ride on the top was good until it felt like the train was lurching to the same side we were sitting on. We were packed in and there was a network of bars to hold on to but still the safety measures taken here are not really that reassuring. But the $1 we paid for our cushions was worth ít.

Making Our Way to Peru