Ecuador Volcanoes Expedition Dispatch

November 16, 2012 – The Devil’s Nose Train

Today we decided to take the day to visit some of the must-see attractions in Ecuador. The Devil’s Nose Train (La Nariz del Diablo), known as the most difficult train in the world, is certainly one of them.

The train acquired this reputation because of the fact that it was built on extremely difficult topography. The lack of labor and the rainy weather (perfect for landslides and tropical diseases), only added to the source. Workers were brought here from the British colonies in the Caribbean, hoping that they would be more resilient to the tropical climate and diseases. Altogether, there were 4,000 people from Jamaica, 240 from Puerto Rico, 204 from Barbados, and 500 prisoners from these colonies who were promised freedom if they survived the construction. The attempt to recruit indigenous people failed because the local Hacienda owners refused to stop work during the harvest, in which the indigenous people played a crucial role. Forced recruitment ended up being used.

This also used to be considered the scariest ride in Ecuador. This was mostly due to the fact that passengers were allowed to sit on the roof of this century old train. It was an extremely thrilling experience with only a few accidents, but was no longer permitted after two Japanese tourists died as a result. The official report states that the train snagged a cable which caused a supporting post to hit them. Local authorities chronicled the accident to the cable, but according to a local tale in Alausi, the tourists stood up trying to capture more dramatic photos and were caught on the cables…

This railway has a fatal history, from the very beginning when approx. 2,000 workers died in construction, to the politicians who were assassinated over railway disputes.

Today, Ecuador has built a new train. It is beautiful and very safe (no more riding on the roof), and since it is quite innovative, the train ride is shorter and less exciting.

However, we did laugh a lot, took a ton of photos, did some shopping, and then drove back to Chimborazo for our last stay on the mountain. We played mountaineering Monopoly on our last night and Ljerka, who held the winning title, ended up losing to Chris who had acquired more mountains than we could even list here. Jeremy and I just watched as they both negotiated…

We sure saw a lot of different parts of Ecuador and we still have a few ideas planned for tomorrow. One of them is to cross the line of the equator!