D is back at full throttle and we´re again picking up the pace. Cuenca to Alausi yesterday, the Devil´s Nose train this am and Riobamba this afternoon. First shot is one of Alausi (upper right) from the train, in one of its switchbacks, toward the town.
Some folks plowing along the way.
This is the RR car we rode in. Looks like a bus on the outside but inside is more like a RR car
A shot of the lower station from the car. We descended to it and then rode back up to Alausi.
A shot of one of the switchbacks - which really are switches in the sense that the car comes this way until it passes the junction, a conductor flips the switch and the car backs up and continues on the other track, backwards until the next switch.
The Devil´s Nose. Note the two slashes in it that are track terraces. They are supposed to be the Devil´s smile, and there are also two ¨eyes¨higher up, but it takes a vivid imagination. The title ¨The Most Dangerous RR in the World¨is based upon the danger involved in constructing it.
We were greeted by these dancers at the bottom station. They let D join them in exchange for not having to do the hokey pokey.
This is our bed in our funky little hotel in Riobamba - $20 per night. Our lodging experiences have been a highlight of the trip.
The Catedral in the main square in Riobamba. Tomorrow we take on Chimbarazo, the highest mountain in Ecuador. Dana wanted to hike 5 miles up to the entrance of a reserve high on its flanks. Another ¨foot down¨situation.
Some folks plowing along the way.
This is the RR car we rode in. Looks like a bus on the outside but inside is more like a RR car
A shot of the lower station from the car. We descended to it and then rode back up to Alausi.
A shot of one of the switchbacks - which really are switches in the sense that the car comes this way until it passes the junction, a conductor flips the switch and the car backs up and continues on the other track, backwards until the next switch. 
The Devil´s Nose. Note the two slashes in it that are track terraces. They are supposed to be the Devil´s smile, and there are also two ¨eyes¨higher up, but it takes a vivid imagination. The title ¨The Most Dangerous RR in the World¨is based upon the danger involved in constructing it.
We were greeted by these dancers at the bottom station. They let D join them in exchange for not having to do the hokey pokey.
This is our bed in our funky little hotel in Riobamba - $20 per night. Our lodging experiences have been a highlight of the trip.
The Catedral in the main square in Riobamba. Tomorrow we take on Chimbarazo, the highest mountain in Ecuador. Dana wanted to hike 5 miles up to the entrance of a reserve high on its flanks. Another ¨foot down¨situation.
You daredevils you! And pink canopy beds to boot! Heart of Darkness meets Sleeping Beauty meets Casey Jones meets the Little Engine that Could!
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