Thank you to those that donated to Travelpod and getting me more space for uploading photos. I now have plenty of room so the pictures will continue to come as long as the internet is fast wherever I am. Special thanks go to Bill S. Renee M. Kirk W. and Sean S. Thank you!!!!!!!! Jeff

Nariz del Diablo ... or The Devil's Nose, is a 5 hour train ride from Riobamba to Alausi' and finally to the Devils Nose, a mountain that the train descends that is so steep, it is dubbed the world's most dangerous train ride. The train actually makes a series of switchbacks to descend the mountain. The train goes forward as normal for the first section, then stops, the tracks are switched, and then the train descends backwards for the next section, ect. The tra...

I am in a town called Baños, which translates to "Bathrooms" in Spanish. However, the town is really named after the several hot spring baths near here that are powered by the local volcano Tungurahua. Tungurahua has dramatically affected the town. In October 1999, volcanologists put the volcano at red alert status due to the increased gaseous eruptions and increased seismic activity. The entire town and surrounding areas were evacuated due to the threatenin...

Since visiting the center of the planet, I have explored more around Quito, went to a local soccer game at the stadium, an indigenous market in Otovalo, and completed another week of spanish school. They have rules in spanish that don't exist in english and trying to figure them out during conversations in buses, noisy nightclubs, and from taxi drivers is like trying to teach myself advanced quantum physics. So it was back to school for me. Last Sunday, I took o...

Five and half hours after crossing the border into Ecuador, I arrived in the capital city of Quito. At 2850 meters(about 9400 feet) in elevation, this is the second highest capital city in the world. I checked into one of the zillion hostels mentioned in the guide book and discovered they have free rum and coke night every Monday, Wed. and Friday. Good deal! They mix several bottles in a big pot and you just help yourself. I explored downtown Quito for a day. Th...