Riobamba is located at the center of Ecuador, so it is also called the heartland of Ecuador and it is also famous for its train ride to the scenic view of Devil Nose.
I and Yaseen bought the tickets one day earlier(11USD for almost 7 hours), as the train only opens on Wed, Fri and Sat, so it was better to buy tickets beforehand.
One of the selling points of the train is that tourist can sit at the top of the train, so as to enjoy the scenic view. Orginally, I thought we could not sit at the top anymore as some books said, there was an accident last year, 2 tourists were killed while they were standing at the top(actually, they were not supposed to stand).
But when we got there, we found the top of the train was reopened for tourists, and we had to pay 1USD for renting a cushion so as to sit at the top. So all in all, that was a money matter, they want to earn more money, so they allow tourists to sit at the top again.
On top of the train ride.
Actually, we were not so lucky, as on last Friday, it rained almost all day. You can imagine, with over 2500m altitude, raining and exposed to the wind on the top of the train, it was not very comfortable. Anyways, I think it was the funnest part of our trip, as tourists will never be allowed to sit on the top in most countries (except India maybe).
On our way.
The scenic view along the ride.
Down the valley is the way to the Devil Nose.
The Devil Nose. Actually, it was not so special for me. When I got there, I almost didn't notice that was the famous Devil Nose! Maybe it was because of the cloudy day and I had high expectation for the view. The train was quite old actually, it even required manual readjusting of the rail, and once it even 'broke down'. A staff needed to lie at the bottom of the train to fix it for over 10 minutes!
The Devil Nose and the train.
Close up on the train.
What a cool man!
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