R. Doug Wicker's Blog, page 136

Fun Photo Friday — Devil’s Nose 2; Ecuador Favorites

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Devil’s Nose train prepares for the return

Next week we head to the oldest mission in Ecuador, then go to a hotel that began as a hacienda back in 1555. Until then, here are some final favorites from the Devil’s Nose train route:

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Sibambe Station

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Doorway

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Abandoned Stick Structure

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Tracks and Trains

Filed under: Fun Photo Friday, Photography, R. Doug Wicker, travel, vacation Tagged: Alausí, Devil's Nose, Ecuador, Fun Photo Friday, photography, R. Doug Wicker, Sibambe, travel, travel photography,...

“Ecuador — The Devil’s Nose; Out and about Sibambe Station and the return

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Sibambe Station

Upon our arrival we were greeted by some local dancers, who managed to put on quite the show:

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Dancing in the Station

Steps lead above the station to a lookout and café, although refreshments may be had inside the rail station as well:

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Sibambe Station

You know it’ll soon be time to reboard the train for the return trip when everything gets reversed:

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Conductor

Time to get some quick shots of the local flora before heading back to Alusí:

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Native flora

Back aboard the train for the...

“Ecuador — The Devil’s Nose; Viewing the Devil’s Nose from Sibambe

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Devil’s Nose train

Upon reaching Sibambe Station we stepped out of the coaches and trekked around for some stunning vistas, including the Devil’s Nose from which our train had descended just a short while before:

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The Devil’s Nose

From here I managed to snag some fun images of the train set against the dramatic backdrop of the surrounding terrain:

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Conductor, train, and Devil’s Nose

I also enjoyed compositions featuring the railroad tracks, which required getting the camera low to the ground:

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T...

Fun Photo Friday — Devil’s Nose 1; Ecuador Favorites

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End of the run — Sibambe

We’ll continue with the fascinating Devil’s Nose train ride next week. Until then, enjoy some favorite images from the trip:

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Riding the train home

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Devil’s Nose conductor

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Devil’s Nose switchbacks

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Can’t escape the ubiquitous cell phone

Filed under: Fun Food Friday, Photography, R. Doug Wicker, travel, vacation Tagged: Alausí, Devil's Nose, Ecuador, Fun Photo Friday, photography, R. Doug Wicker, Sibambe, travel, travel photography, vacation

Ecuador — The Devil’s Nose; Descending the Nose

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The Devil’s Nose train

The scenery along the Devil’s Nose train route is quite awesome, even on a cloudy day:

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Devil’s Nose train route

Patches of green stand like islands amidst a sea of dark gray rocks and steep drops to the river far below:

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Tracks ahead

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Devil’s Nose train route

The portion that gives the Devil’s Nose route it’s name is a tall mountain on which a crisscrossing mesh of railroad tracks were installed by some 4,000 Jamaican and Puerto Rican laborers who slaved away for what amo...

Ecuador — The Devil’s Nose, Departing Alusí

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La Nariz del Diablo train

Our primary purpose in Alusí was not the town itself, although it was fun to photograph. Our objective on this leg was a train ride, the famous Devil’s Nose. So, let’s settle into our reserved seats and start the trip, shall we?

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Aboard La Nariz del Diablo — The Devil’s Nose

As you can tell, La Nariz del Diable Tren (The Devil’s Nose Train) is a throwback to an earlier era of train travel, with the cars replete with varnished wood. The train ride covers about 7.5 mile...

Fun Photo Friday — Alausí Favorites

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Alausí

The road into Alausí afforded some spectacular scenery:

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Andes Clouds

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Canyon

But Alausí itself also provided me with a lot to photograph in a very short period of time. Here is a woman in colorful native Quechua dress:

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Native Quechua dress

The original name for the town was San Pedro Alausí, and here is San Pedro overlooking his town:

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San Pedro over looks Alausí

Now for the rest of today’s Fun Photo Friday. Click on any image below to bring up today’s photo gallery and slide show:

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Ecuador — More on Alausí

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Alausí

The town of Alausí is home to less than 6,000, but it exudes a charm that would fill a larger city. The buildings are colorful:

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Alausí

The food is colorful:

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Lunch at El Mesón del Tren

The train station is colorful:

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Alausí train station

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Alausí train station

The interior of the small nearby church was colorful:

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Small church in Alausí

Even the wares on the streets hit you with color:

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Colors of Alausí

I’m going to skip ahead and save the Devil’s Nose scenic railroad trip for next week. F...

Ecuador — Driving into Alausí

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Welcome to Alausí, Ecuador

Thursday, February 18, 2016 proved to be a very busy one for our tour group. We left Cuenca and were due at the beautiful resort La Andaluza north of Riobamba later that afternoon. In between we would drive high up into the Andes, catch a breathtaking train, and visit the oldest mission in Ecuador, all in just one day.

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The road to Alausí

The bus ride was fairly spectacular, as you can see from the photo above. What we didn’t realize just yet was that the railroad tr...

Fun Photo Friday — Cuenca 3, Ecuador Favorites

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Shadow and Light

One last look at Cuenca with today’s Fun Photo Friday gallery and slide show (next stop Alausi and the Devil’s Nose Train):

Filed under: Fun Photo Friday, Photography, R. Doug Wicker, travel, vacation Tagged: Cuenca, Ecuador, Fun Photo Friday, photography, R. Doug Wicker, travel, travel photography, vacation