Day 61: Guamote – Cuenca – Stefan, on the run

Tuesday, May 28th, 2019.

Todays plan:

“Bus transfer from Guamote to Cuenca

Be ready at 09:00 hrs at Inti Sisa Art Guesthouse, Guamote to be picked up.

Today you will be transferred from your from hotel in Guamote to Riobamba bus station. You will catch your bus to from Alausi to Cuenca between 10:30 – 11:00 hrs. Your driver will help you to buy a ticket.”

I get up and get breakfast. They cook what you want. To avoid stupid “How do you want your eggs?” – “Poached” games, they printed a chicken with the available options. Hmm.

Yesterday I decided to change the plan and not go with a private transfer to Aulasi and the with a public bus to Cuenca, but to take the “tren de Nariz del diablo” and afterwards go by bus from alausi. The girls in Inti Sisa assisted me in booking the train tickets. So, finally, I got my tourist train in this holiday, too.

The private driver is there on time and we drive in direction Alausi. We stop at a view point for some minutes (the driver runs for the bush) and the go to the bus station in Alausi.

Would you rate this as a bus station?

Anyway, they had a toilet. The we go to the railway station.

After some minutes the train arrives from the morning ride. The devils nose train is a 45 minute train ride from Alausi to Silambe and back. In this 45 minutes the train descents nearly 1 km in altitude. Since there is not a lot of space in the canyon, the train does a zig-zag forwards and backwards. This zig-zag and the canyon track was built by 5.000 Panama and Puerto Rican workers of which, that’s the legend, nearly 2.000 died. In the past it was a steam train and it was possi le to ride on the roofs of the wagons. Since a tourist died and another one lost his scalp due to low power cables, no roof riding anymore.

I board the train. I think it’s all us or European tourists here. I expected this at a price of 35 usd each.

After the train ride I go for lunch, and then to the bus station.

The bus ride is the most shaky ride ever. As it turns dark, the bus transforms into a spaceship.

I arrive in Cuenca and take a USD 3 taxi to la Posada del angel. No Uber here. The hotel is an ancient building, nicely renovated, very friendly people here, they try hard if they donot speak English. We get the choice – window to the street or to the inside of the breakfast room. We choose last.