When we finally managed to tear ourselves away from Cuenca, we headed in the same direction of the ruins we visited a few days ago and then, further north along the PanAmerican Highway. The journey through this section of the Andes was absolutely beautiful. Along we went, inching our way upward in elevation, the plant life getting thicker and more varied until we were once again driving among the clouds! This country, Ecuador, is simply beautiful!

Zig-zagging through the mountain range at a ‘fair clip’ it sometimes felt like we were taking the turns on two wheels. Public bus travel in Ecuador (and throughout South America I am told) is quite the experience. The drivers are not afraid of the gas pedal and they will pick up anyone along the way who waves at them; bus slowing to a roll, passengers jump on while the bus is still in motion!

To add to the madness, each time the bus slows or stops, vendors jump on and hurry through the aisle trying to sell their goods; ice cream, drinks, beans, pork & rice, peeled fruit in cups, fresh pastries, roasted corn kernels, homemade potato chips and my personal favorite, roasted split beans! OMG! There is no end to what they try to sell and it only takes a minute or two and they are gone again, stepping out the door while the bus rolls on.  

When we were in Peru, we used the Peruhop bus which was more expensive than the public system and the security was top notch; we never really had to worry about our bags in the hold. Here, we opted for the public system as it only costs (ballpark) $1 US an hour, a steal-of-a-deal really. So here, we’ve developed a system; we hang about outside and watch the bus until the last second and jump onboard just before the bus starts moving. We ask for seats on the righthand side of the bus so we can keep an eye on our gear when the bus does stop or slow. So far, it’s been working out very well, touch wood!

Eventually the bus stopped at a roadside restaurant on the top of a hill overlooking a town. The driver nodded to us to get out, took our bags out of the hold and motioned for us to make our own way to town. With no obvious hope for a taxi and noting that it was all downhill anyway, we threw on our packs and started out, down the hill and into the valley. 

45 minutes later, we had made our way into civilization, found our hostel and checked in without incident. Hostel Europa, an unlikely looking place from the outside but a gem on the interior. Once checked in, we were escorted behind the desk and out into an open air courtyard, where two stories of rooms which opened onto small balconies overlooked the decorated grounds below. Whomever dubbed the “Don’t judge a book by its cover..,” must have travelled South America ... I think of this quote almost every time we check into accommodation. 

Alausi Ecuador is perched in the mountains almost dizzyingly on the edge of the Río Chanchán gorge and presided over by a giant statue of St. Peter! A beautiful little town with a population of less than 10, 0000 it has the typical Ecuadorian mountain feel with lots of people in full traditional native dress going about their business, paying no heed to the few gringo that pass through here.

Old buildings line the narrow streets, built down the side of the mountain, to the valley at the center of town. Alausi is wonderfully picturesque, especially near the railway station and on the cobblestone streets, where old buildings with wooden balconies take you back in time. The most famous building in town is the train station, where people from all over Ecuador and the world come to marvel at the amazing feat of engineering...and this too, is what brought us here!

In 1899, after 25 years of frustrated plans and abortive attempts, work finally started on Ecuador’s first railway, which would link the coastal city of Guayaquil with the capital, Quito, in the highlands – a feat finally achieved in 1908. At long last, there was an easier means of transport that enabled the goods of the coast to be bought and traded with the goods of the highlands, but not without complications.

The biggest complication faced by the construction of the Trans-Andean railroad was the La Narez del Diablo, or Devil’s Nose, a mountain with almost perpendicular walls. To overcome this obstacle, some 3000 workers from Jamaica and Puerto Rico joined Ecuadorians in their efforts in creating a zigzag railroad that climbs more than 500 meters in less than 12.5 km with steep ascents and descents. To this day, it remains an impressive piece of engineering with its multitude of switchbacks: the train rumbles ahead past a junction, then backs down the next section, before going forward again.  

The success of the railway was not without it losses though. Some 2000 men lost their lives in the building of the railroad at Devil’s Nose, dubbed both for its loss of lives and a mountain that looks like a nose protruding from the earth. Long after the naming of this section of the track, more lives were taken among adventure tourists who rode the track from atop the train. After several deaths, decapitations and scalpings, tourists are now confined to the comfy seats inside 1 of 4 coaches. 

Paul and I enjoyed the ride with its track on the edge of the world, clinging to cliff faces for the entire journey. In fact, when purchasing tickets we were asked if we wanted ‘mountainside,’ or ‘abyss’. Naturally, Paul and I chose abyss and believe me, these tickets are aptly named because for the entire journey, you are staring straight down, mercilessly, into the [breathtaking] abyss below. 

The train ride alone would have been enough but at Sibambe, the point where the train turns around, we stopped for more than an hour. Here we met an indigenous group who entertained us with traditional dances and afterward led us through a museum that explained the history of the local people and their way of life. They were an enthusiastic lot and truly seemed to enjoy sharing their stories and culture. 

A lady was busy preparing pizza & empanadas in a stone earthen oven which she delighted in sharing with us (amazing btw!). Another was keen to show us the process of turning sugarcane into hooch! She shared an ounce of it with us, garnished with some orange. Deeeeelicious! When I asked if we could purchase some, she ran off and returned with a small coke bottle that looked like it had been kicking around for a century, filled past the neck. The bottle was scuffed and the wrapper was missing. The stopper was nicked and the threads were gritty. There were some “organic floaters” spinning around in the bottle but despite all this, we paid the $6 and enjoyed a ‘surple’ on the way back up the mountain...to be frank, they should serve this as liquid encouragement for the outgoing journey, not the return! Nonetheless, if you are ever in Ecuador, this town and this train ride is a must!

We spent two nights in Alausi and ate at the same cafe each night. The owner Louisa, was a delight to talk to and her staff were amazing. A small cafe with a limited menu, what they cooked they cooked spectacularly! Over the course of both nights we learned that Louisa recently lost her dad at 92 years of age. Sadly, her mom died when Louisa was only a young girl. Her sons both were raised in Florida where Louisa herself worked for 18 years. One of the sons still lives in the US and was visiting and chatted to us about all things Ecuador! Her other son, whose infant daughter we entertained for hours playing peek-a-boo and chasing her around the cafe floor, was a pharmacist. On the second night, he and his wife (also a pharmacist) brought Paul some probiotic medicine to help him along with a stomach bug he had been fighting. They refused to take any money saying our company was enough! I simply have no words to explain how much we enjoyed Louisa, her cafe, her staff and family!

With our hearts full, it was time to say good-bye to Alausi!