Buses, Trains, and Milkmen

Note: Read past 2 blog postings first!


Rachel and I have safely arrived in the town of Riobamba. The two of us and our Italian Co-Gringos ate breakfast together this morning in anticipation of the arrival of the milk truck...the only means of transport from village to village in this region of the country. Prior to the milkman´s arrival, however, a pick up truck happended to swing by and we all hopped on the back for another exhiliaring trip down the unpaved, windy roads of the Andes. The pick up dropped us off in a village 30 or so kilometers down the road that happened to be on a bus route. Rachel and I jumped on the bus, while the Italians stayed put.

This bus ride was once again interesting. The bus itself was pretty much a dilapidated grey hound with no apparent maximum capacity. I stood for part of the journey, and sat on Rachel´s lap, sandwiched between the driver and 9 others in the front stairwell of the bus for the remaining 2 hours of the trip. It was a tight squeeze.

After I take a long, long, scalding hot shower, it´s going to be an early night. Rachel and I board the ¨Devil´s Nose Train¨ at 6 am tomorrow. The most exciting part of this train ride (aside from the fact that passengers ride on the roof rather than in the cars) is the hair-raising descent down a death-defying stretch of track throughout the Andes. Supposedly several people died during construction. A series of switchbacks hane been carved into rock, and the completiton of the first ride was considered the most incredible feat of railroad engineering the world has seen). I can´t wait. There did happen to be a..umm...minor avalanche last week, however, and the train derailed. Let´s hope for no avalanches tomorrow.