one night in riobamba

so i'm sitting in an internet café in riobamba, sultan of the andes (self proclaimed - there was no grudge match), and writing an email to christine... to be witty i decide to subject the email "saludos desde riobamba" - basically "hello from...". i type in the "s" and immediately my message pops up. figures.

the bus ride here was quite harrowing, as far as my bus rides have gone so far anyway. you know those stories of the busload of people plunging x number of metres from a slippery mountain road as they attempt to pass a lumbering bottle truck? um, well i almost became a part of one of those. we were snaking our way through the andes amidst a wonderfully exhuberant rainfall (wow, i'm drunk on adjectives this evening) when the bus jolts, slides to the right (the void and x-number of meters to the valley below) a good 30 feet or so. it wasn't until i looked out the window that i realized how close we were to the side and if such a thing had happened on a narrower section of road the consulate would be getting in touch with my family right now.

but, as it happened it was a relatively wide section of road and given the ordeal we still had a few feet of sliding room so all's good and i get to live to ride on the roof of a train down the side of a mountain tomorrow.

yeah, you heard me.

the devil's nose is the engineering triumph that once helped link guayaquil to quito and provide an alternative route to crossing the andes. it was basically destroyed in the earthquake of 98 but this one section has been rebuilt as a great tourist experience wherein hundreds of gringos clambor atop the train and gawk at the pretty scenery as the train makes a series of cut back maneuvers through the clouds.

so... i'll fill you in on how that goes. as for now i have to get back to my lovely 3 dollar a night hotel and try to summon the courage to use the bathroom.