La Aventura de Tren

Our driver Edwin waits for us downstairs at 7 AM to start our trip to Alausí to make the 11 AM Nariz de Diablo train trip, in the impossibly steep Andes.  It’s been a little touch and go because Noah and Noelle have been waylaid by traveler’s revenge.  But they gamely get up early and prepare with a swig of Peptol-Bismol and some ibuprophen.  We get through the morning rush hour of Cuenca and soon are climbing up mountain highways blessedly free of traffic.  It’s a beautiful day with blue skies.  We are awestruck at vistas long the way; deep valleys filled with a sea of white clouds, patchworks of fields tended on perilously steep mountainsides, Cañari people walk along the road in their black wool fedoras and colorful skirts and shawls.

The Cañari are an indigenous ethic group that predate the Incans and defiantly fought the Incas until the 16th century when they made an uneasy peace.  But when the Spanish arrived, the Cañari took sides with them against their Incan overlords.  Their ancient beliefs are blended with Christianity but they still celebrate important sun worship festivals and they want to preserve their culture against the onslaught of modernity.  Edwin tells us the Cañari have their own system of justice, as made evident by the hand stenciled sign above the bus stop shelter.  It says, “Attacked thief will be burned.”  Edwin relays that a few years ago a guy from Guayaquil arrived in the town and stole some livestock.  The Cañari men surrounded him and set him on fire on the spot.  Edwin says their towns are crime-free.

That chilling story and the nature of the landscape, with towns and farms clinging to the rugged precipes helps us realize the complexity of Ecuador.

However, we are on a popular tourist adventure to take the Devil Nose Train on it’s thrilling track clinging to the mountain walls.  The dream of an Ecuadorian railroad to master travel over the Andes had its start in 1861.  An American engineer mapped out the route and the line between Guayaquil on the coast and Quito was completed in 1908, over formidable conditions.  Edwin tells us 4000 Jamaicans we’re employed to work on the line and three-quarters perished.  The line suffered frequent mishaps from landslides and more.  Finally, it was abandoned in the 1990s during an economic crisis and the competition of roads and trucking.

This short and dramatic section is now one of Ecuador’s most popular tourist excursions.

All aboard!

Here’s the route we are about to follow.  Until a few years ago they let people ride on top of the cars, but after a few fatalities, passengers are now kept inside the cars!

We can still stick our heads out without danger :). The views are just incredible and we move from side to side to take it all in.

A curve in the tracks lets us see our engine and the other cars.

The river at the bottom of the gorge is swift and turbulent.

45 minutes later we arrive and the end of the route and are greeted by Cañari representatives who are glad to talk with us and explain local traditions.

Ben meets Señor Manuel who speaks English thanks to time studying in England.  Ben learns about disruptions to the train line due to flooding and that at the end of the construction, Jamaican workers were given the choice to stay in Ecuador or move to the US.  Yellow fever claimed many of the worker’s lives.  When I join the conversation, Manuel explains about how centuries ago the Cañari would travel by foot over the mountain ranges, with small llamas for transport, to take goods to Quito - a journey of 3-4 weeks each way.  Manuel was so friendly and interested in sharing information.

I listen in as this lady explains Cañari traditions in very clear Spanish.  I can understand perhaps 25%, which is an improvement, and I even manage a question or two in Spanish.  She is holding naturally dyed agave yarn, which is made by crushing, drying and combing the fibers into strands for weaving.  

The women traditionally crochet small bags called shigas while they have time, tending their sheep.  I buy one at the crafts stand.

Meanwhile, lots of visitors are having a grand time joining the Cañari dancers.

This papá makes sure his hija (daughter) gets to join in the fun.

The train ride back up the mountain is just as exhilarating.

We are so glad we got to share this adventure with Noelle and Noah :)

On our way back we detour to see Ingapirca, one of the best preserved archeological sites in Ecuador. 

The Incas overthrew the Cañari‘s and  built a sun temple on top of the Cañari temple.  In a week the Cañari will have a sun worship ceremony at Ingapirca.  I guess we can see who finally won their old rivalry.

The Inca stones are remarkable for their green color and notice the L shaped stone tightly fitted with a smaller stone.

Noah and Noelle wander off exploring.

Ben and Edwin and I go down to watch some cows being milked.  Edwin finds out that they get 10 liters of milk per cow per day.  The lady milking seems a little exasperated by our gawking, but an elderly lady stops to chat.

I introduce myself and Senora Yolanda introduces herself.  She tells me she has just returned from New York to visit her two sons there.  I’m able to converse rather basically in Spanish, telling her that we’re from California where it is dry and doesn’t rain much.  She is
so surprised because New York was so green.  She has told Edwin that she is concerned about her 65 acre farm.  There are no workers to hire locally and her sons are in the US.  She can only farm 5 acres now.  We walk up the road for a bit together talking and when we depart she gives me a warm glasp of hands and we wish each other “mucho gusto.”

We get back to Cuenca at 7 PM, a long and interesting day.  Ben has bought a bottle of wine and we discover to our surprise that it’s made in Ecuador and tasty.  It’s nice to settle down to leftovers for dinner and plan the next day :)