Alausi, The Devil's Nose train and Cuenca

The last few days we have been on the move in a big way, having covered a lot of distance over Ecuador. One of the activities we had researched before coming to South America and both said 'we gotta do that' was to take a train through the Andes from Riobamba to Sibambe, returning to Alausi via a stretch of track called El Nariz Del Diablo, or 'The Devil's Nose'.

Having been informed that the track was closed because of landslides between Riobamba and Alausi, we decided to skip Riobamba and head straight to Alausi to take the last stretch of the train to Sibambe and back. So we boarded another bus from Baños, both praying that this bus ride would be a more pleasant and all together safer experience than the last one. Fortunately it was, and it was much needed to calm our nerves! We arrived in Alausi in the middle of the afternoon, and we had more than enough time to see the whole town. It was a tiny little place and there was really very little there from a tourist's perspective but it was fascinating to witness the remoteness and simplicity of life. The indigenous people in the town wore the most amazingly colourful dress, mixing bright pinks, greens, blues and reds. So far the men have been very friendly, but the women seem a little suspicious of us and have not always been as friendly.

We found only one restaurant in the town, a Cantonese restaurant of all things! The other options were to eat in local eateries which are very basic, and generally a big room with someone cooking out of their kitchen, which we can't risk. With little else to do we had an early night. Our hotel was pretty dingy (although apparently the best in town), and our bed was saggy which didn't make for a good night's sleep. Adding to this, and to our surprise somoe sort of town concert started at about 9pm! Fireworks were set off, and there was a loud local band playing the same music over and over until 2am... it was a long night!

Somewhat bleary eyed we got up at 6.30pm and went down to the train station. We bought our tickets and got on board the train. Due to it being the wet season, it was just one carriage and we could only cover part of the journey due to landslides. However, we had the best seats in the house sitting on top of the train with our legs dangling over the side (although this didn't last as the conductor made us switch with those inside the train for the return journey). The weather was great and meant we had the most spectacular views as we rode along steep sided cliffs and down switchbacks. It really was beautiful and so similar to the scenery you would see in the Alps. Although the experience was a bit touristy and a little shorter than we had expected, the views made up for it.

On return to Alausi we jumped on a rather dirty, smelly and packed bus south to Cuenca, 4 hours away. Although the views were spectacular, crossing the Andes by bus can be a little tiresome and slow because the roads are largely unmade and are very prone to landslides which means they are frequently blocked. The bus bounced all over the place which was quite unnerving considering the very steep drops off the side of the road and the fact that we were driving through thick cloud at times. You have to put so much faith in the driver. We were also stopped for nearly an hour as a landslide had completely blocked the road in front of us, and we had to wait for it to be cleared. In total our journey of 169km took over 5 hours!

We got to Cuenca and headed to our accommodation, a lovely B&B in the Historic Centre of town. It's blissful and desperately needed after slumming it a little for the last few days, however it is a lot more expensive here! Armed with our Footprints Guide we found a great little place to eat and bumped into some Aussies we had taken the bus journey with. It was happy hour, so we downed Caipirinihas and Pisco Sours (Peruvian Brandy, Egg White and Lime) for 75p a pop! Today we have walked around the old historic centre, which like Quito is designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The historic centre is beautiful with old colonial architecture which makes it feels quite European. Bi has caught a bit of a virus so has been resting and lapping up the fact we have cable tv in our room, a real luxury for us! Ash has been planning our route across the border over the next few weeks as we prepare to overland thousands of klometres through Peru.

Tomorrow we will take a bus 5.5 hours south to the small mountain spa town of Vilcabamba, in the South East of Ecuador. It is the last main stop on our trail before crossing into Peru. The town is famous for it's holistic lifestyle, clean water, and fresh air which is claimed leads to longevity due to the numer of residents who are over 100 years old! We are booked into an 'Eco-Lodge' set in the hills 2km outside the town, where we have a room with a balcony and hammock overlooking the mountains, and we can get plenty of massages, organic foods, reiki healings etc. We can't wait!