Train Ride of Death

Haha, the title is an exaggeration...

Anyways, hi all! Weird things that have happened in the past week:

I ate a bread baby. No, seriously, my madre told me she had a treat for me for dinner one night, and low and behold, it was bread shaped like a baby. I ate it with fruit soup: blackberries, grapes, cherries, etc. Apparently this is part of the tradition of Dia de Muertes, a holiday in November in Ecuador. It was delicious!

I also took a survey at USFQ as to whether they should install a go cart course on campus. A go cart course at the college! I of course was in favor.

Anyways, in the ongoing effort to travel everywhere possible, this weekend we went to RioBamba, where there’s an infamous train ride called “La Nariz del Diablo,” (The Nose of the Devil), self-proclaimed as the most difficult train route in the world.

First up: the joys of 3-dollar hotels. We lived in luxury. I slept fully clothed on top of the blankets in fear of what was under them. There were pigeons inside our hotel. We shut the lights off in the community bathroom so we didn’t have to see what it looked like (couldn’t avoid the smell though). Haha, part of traveling, right? It was fuuuuuun!

Then, we were up at 5:30 to hop on the train. Everyone gets up at this infernal hour to climb on the roof of the train and fight over seats. That’s right, you ride on the roof.

Side note: apparently someone got decapitated on this train a couple years back. Stupid Chinese couple stood up around the telephone lines. I think I saw the memorial where it happened.

Anyways, so the first part of the train ride takes you through the countryside – you pass several small indigenous villages and many farming areas. Everyone comes out of the house to wave at you, it’s pretty cool. Later, we go through a forest high in the mountains, and then descend into a valley (along some rather steep cliffs and rickety bridges). The rest of the track was destroyed by an earthquake, so you go to the bottom of the valley and then right back out.

We derailed twice! Haha, apparently this is normal, everyone got out and watched them roll the train back on the tracks.

The views were spectacular. Spectacular. This train goes into a valley where there are no roads; the only way to reach it is by train. Despite the extreme soreness that comes from sitting on a train for 6 hours, it was entirely worth it.

Anyways, we’re still slogging through midterms here. This weekend I'm going to the coast with Volcanology! Uncle Jim and Aunt Linda, I sent recipes to the parents for Ceviche, the dish of the coast, and I think you should make it sometime soon!

Chao! Lis