The bus driver was engraged with rabies as he pushed the chicken bus to it´s uper limits through the mountain roads to Riobamba. It was an interesting 4hrs of my traveling life with various people, animals, bits of food and other things boarding the bus along the non-stop journey to Riobamba (yep, to catch a bus, you have to catch a MOVING bus).

That afternoon in Riobamba we booked at a local hotel with the same plush interior as the last, next to the railway station. We thought we´d book tomorrow´s train early (Nariz Del Diablo - Devil´s Nose Train), though unfortuantely arrived 3hrs too late. So we waited with a bunch of other travelers in the hope that they will add another carriage. We waited until six (yep, long two hour wait), but all they could offer was a few tickets to those poor but now lucky b*****s that showed up at 2:30. The rest (including us) an opportunity to buy a bus ticket to catch the 6:50am bus to intersect the train halfway down the track.

When we got to the station at 6:30am, two germans offered their friends tickets for sale (apparently they had the runs). Gladly took the offer and boarded the devil´s train at Riobamba.

Until a few weeks ago, it was commonly urged to ride the roof of the train by hanging on to the roof truss - but today was different. Whether it was tragicaly true, an urban myth or an exaggerated chinese whisper (purple monkey dishwasher); we were told that two japanese tourists stood up on the roof at the same time, and coincidently, their necks collided with an overhanging telephone wire. Decapatation.

So we had no problems riding inside the early 19th century chipboard carriage through to the devils nose. The train stop at various little ecuadorian villages before decending the switchbacks to Siabambe on cliffedge track.

From Siabambe the train retraced it´s steps back up the Devil´s Nose to the previous town of Alausi. However, halfway up the nose, the train crunched to a complete stop throwing any standing passengers to the floor of the carriage. The train derailed.

The track, which looked like it was manufactured from dry spaghetti broke apart on the second carriage; right on the cliffedge of the nose. The carriage (goods carriage) managed to stay straight, whereas the sleeper and cardboard rail dog-eared to the side. It took around 40mins of top Ecuadorian engineering to rebuild with another piece of spaghetti and a fence post.

As soon as we got back to Alausi (around 3pm), we jumped off and decided it would be wise to take the bus back to Riobamba.

When we got back to Riobambe this afternoon the clouds had cleared and the snow caped Andes were exposed. One in particular got our attention, a mountain near Chimboza (sp?) was billowing smoke and ash. One of the volcanoes is getting excited. I´ll prove when I upload the pics.

Anyway, gotta go - hope everyone´s alright?!

Cheers, hatton.