Train of the Volcanoes

Last week Shannon and I found ourselves in the midst of our annual Spring Break. Due to our wedding planning, honeymoon planning, and some general travel fatigue, we decided to stay in Quito for the break.

All Aboard!

Prior to moving overseas, my time as a teacher has shown me plenty of school breaks where people just hang out locally. Here, it seems that everyone instantly darts off for Chile, Peru, Argentina, or somewhere else. It's a subtle but very big difference in mindset. While I love traveling and seeing new stuff and cool places, Shannon and I also realized that we hadn't really done all of Quito and the surrounding area as well as we would have wanted. So, we decided to focus our week on seeing some of what Quito itself (and the nearby surrounding area) has to offer.

Waving with Delight

The first part of the week was filled with dentist appointments, and the like. The second half of the week we started our journey in and around Quito with a bit more vigor. We did the Papallachta hike again and spent an afternoon soaking in the pools. I won't detail that since it's very similar to the first time we went and we made a lengthy post them. In short however, it was cold and wet and muddy and awesome!

Another Quito adventure we decided to go on was the Train of the Volcanoes. The Ministry of Tourism in Quito has done an incredible job (so we've heard) remaking and repairing the local train systems. They have repaired the trains themselves, fixed up the tracks, and built tiny little stations along the rural towns to promote economic development and allow people to visit these often forgotten about areas. We had heard these trips were a great way to see the country and spend a day so we booked our tickets and got ready to roll.

Some contextual information you might need to know. The majority of Quito's finance and business interests lie in the north of the city. In general, Ecuador and Quito itself are not known as rich financial hubs, but within the city there is a clear division of wealth. Our school and our home are located in the north. The south is widely known and talked about (at least among people in the north) as the poor sector of the city. It is also known as the area of the city where crime and safety become more of a prominent concern. I have not spent much time in the southern part of the city, so I can only speak to the reputation as stated by those around me.

Anyway, the station is in the south of the city. We decided that since we didn't know whether there would be a guarded parking lot or street parking, given the reputation of the area, we would take a taxi. As soon as we arrived to the station we were impressed with the finely finished paint job, murals of Mariscal Sucre (a revolutionary general here), and the apparent organization of the building. As we pulled up and paid the taxi driver, we did, however see across the street, two police officers in a fight with a citizen. They had their billy clubs and he was clearly fighting back. I had no idea what provoked this, whether it was a crime or aggression on someone's part, but I was not interested in staying and finding out.

Rolling Green Hills Along the Way

We went into the station and checked in. Along the station there was a cafe and everyone was eagerly awaiting the chance to board. We took a few photos with the old style train and boarded. The inside of the train was clean and the layout was neat. We sat diner style (my New Jersey roots showing through). There were two bucket type seats facing each other with a small table in the middle and giant windows lining the whole thing.

Watch it Llamas

As the train set off, our car's narrator explained some of the information about the local plants and animals and she explained a cool story about the train in the area. She said since the indigenous population of the Andes were so well insulated and far away from the rest of the world, that when the trains were built there in the early 1900s, local people had never seen anything like the trains. They saw giant black things visiting intermittently spewing black smoke and thought of them as monsters. They responded by laying gifts of hand made goods, corn, and potatoes along the tracks as tribute to avoid upsetting the monsters. I thought that was a sad but fascinating story of the local area.

As we left the station and slowly meandered through South Quito, the poverty was evident, but the spirit of the people was incredible. As we passed, grown men, children, and grandparents ran out of their homes to come outside and wave to the train. This route was so new, and so many of them had never seen a train before, in 2016 in a city, that they were giddy at the sight of us rolling through. This took place dozens of times as we slowly went by. Police officers on duty stopped to smile and wave and take out their phones to video the train. It was incredible to see such a wide myriad of different types of people be completely enamored with a train. Everyone we passed was full of genuine wonder. It's something I won't forget.

Machachi Station

As we left the city, the landscape exploded into green pastures and rolling hills and volcanoes. The views reminded me of what I imagine Ireland to be. Endless rolling plains of different types of green. We were surrounded by lush forest, bountiful farmland, and dense mist rolling down the sides of the mountains towards us. We saw 7 different volcanoes along the way, hence the name of the route being, Ruta del Volcanes.

Traditional Performance in Machachi

After about two hours, we stopped at a small village where we loaded up on hot tea, snacks, and where local artisans sold some of their goods. The town had to have been smaller than 200 people in total population. I imagine the train stopping with 300+ people once or twice in a weekend provided them with some much needed economic stability with the tourists buying their goods. It was a really cool experience from my respective as the tourist to see these small towns as well.

We got back on the train and stopped again after a few more hours of breath taking views. Where we stopped, I was confronted again by some roaming aggressive llamas. I protected Shannon as I always do and we were back on the train after buying some hot chocolate.

Tiny Pony at the Farm

Our last stop was at a town called Machachi, where we were greeted a group of local teenagers performing a local dance they had rehearsed and prepared for us. After the dance, we went to eat lunch in a local hacienda farm. After the lunch, we roamed around eating freshly made fruit ice cream and checking out his animals.

Mutual Respect Among Natural Foes

We got back on the train and headed back into Quito, waving at more people along the way. It was an amazing day, an incredible way to see the countryside, and exactly what we were looking for when it comes to seeing some of Quito's local culture.