Our tour guide today was Alvaro, who had a nice 6-passenger Toyota Bus - and we were his only clients, so we had lots of room. His English was excellent and he had a great sense of humor. We had a good time today. But after sleeping in for a 1-1/2 weeks, it was tough getting up at 6am this morning for our 7am pick-up.
We headed out of the city, navigating around countless big trucks and buses, and lots of road construction. Once we got through all of that, we found ourselves on the Pan American Highway heading to Alausi, Ecuador. It was nearly a 4-hour drive along the edge of the Andes Mountains, which gave us a chance to see some really nice views.
Evidently on a clear day, you can see the coast and ocean. It's just not clear very often
We arrived Alausi about 30-minutes before our departure time, which is good because they take time to review and stamp your passport and issue you a ticket just like they use to back in the old days.
And right on time, at 11am, the train came chugging into the station...
(all the videos are in Flash - which you can't see on iPhones and iPads)
As I mentioned, our guide Alvaro has a great sense of humor. Just before the train came rolling in, he borrowed a quarter and dime from me and placed them on the track. The coins stayed on the rail as the passenger cars traveled over them - but as luck would have it, a wheel stopped directly on the coins when the train stopped. What are the odds? Turns out that Alvaro doesn't take the train with us, so he grabbed the coins when the train left the station. He watched World Cup while we were gone.
Coins on rail before train arrived
Our .35 Souvenir
Ecuador's famous Devil's Nose (Nariz del Diablo) was known as one of the major engineering feats of the early 20th century, 1902 to be exact. Workers, mostly Jamaicans, used drills, gunpowder and dynamite to create a unique switchback system to lay train track over a sheer rock mountain, that as you will see, looks kind of like a nose. Because of the difficulty of the task, and loss of limb and life - the mountain obstacle was dubbed the "Devil's Nose".
Very nice seats - people use to ride on top of the cars, but that's not allowed any more
Wonderful views on one side of the car - and about 24" clearance on the other
The Devil's Nose - you can see the switch back track near the bottom
After descending down the Devil's Nose, we stopped at the Sibambe station for quick lunch and tour of a small museum.
45-minute stop before heading back up the Nose
Great views on the way back - but tough competition with a long day!
A couple videos (can't see on iPads and iPhones)
After riding the train, we headed back down the Pan American Highway toward Cuenca. On the way, we took a detour to view the Ingapirca ruins - which is the only remaining sun temple of the Incas. There is a lot of history here. The Canari, who worshiped the Moon, lived here long before the sun-worshiping Incas arrived. After the Incas defeated the Canari, they had enough respect for them to allow both races to use this religious site.
Most of the site are ruins that have been excavated by archaeologists. But the crown jewel of the site is still standing, The Temple of the Sun, built around the 15th century. The stonework is so tight and well-fitting, that it has stood the test of time, weather and seismic activity over all these years.
Corn storage area
They say everything still lines-up with the sun movement throughout the day
Dana getting the scoop from Alvaro
Love this - either a Moon Calendar, a grinding station or a game (early version of Corn Hole?)
Not my theory - archaeologists!
Notice the stone work in the wall - compared with the Temple
The Sun Temple still standing after over 500-years!
Notice the perfect stonework
The Sun Temple
On top of the Sun Temple
Long way down
Hard to appreciate how old all this is
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