Ecuador: Train of the Volcanoes

Manuela looked at us with pleading eyes and asked if we could take a trip on the tourist train. How can you say no to your mother? Well, you can't, but you probably should.

Of course, we booked the trip and showed up at the train station in Quito at 08:00 a.m. the next morning. The rail network in Ecuador was originally built to facilitate and expedite passenger traffic between the coast and the Andes. Nowadays, only a few sections are operational, and the trains are used exclusively for tourism. There are several different routes offered in different parts of Ecuador. We booked the "Train of the Volcanoes" route, which, as the name suggests, takes you along a panorama of volcanoes (Ecuador officially lists 85 of them) to Bariloche, where you can enjoy a wonderful view of the Cotopaxi volcano. Or at least that's what should have happened, because on this particular day, it was completely cloudy, and we couldn't see Cotopaxi or any of the other volcanoes. Great. So we spent hours sitting on more or less comfortable seats, traveling through foggy Ecuador. Fun. People who had never been on a train before might have found it exciting... but we had taken the train occasionally before.

Each train car had about 60 passengers and a guide. Since we (Manuela and Othmar) were the only non-Spanish-speaking tourists in our car, our guide had to repeat all his explanations in English. And since we were the only English-speaking people on the train, we had to look concentrated and interested while the guide stood directly in front of us and gave us the English information. And he did that for hours, while some of the other passengers were already asleep. Apparently, only Jörg and I understood both languages, so only we noticed that the lazy guy didn't even bother to translate half of the information into English.

The first stop was at a train station near a small village. There we had the opportunity to taste some typical local snacks. However, the food at the guerrilla food stand set up by villagers nearby was much better. Besides the food and a few toilets, there was absolutely nothing to see or do at this train station.

After a while, the train reached Bariloche. But of course, there was no chance to see Cotopaxi. To make matters worse, it started raining. After a short arts and crafts demonstration, we took a 45-minute walk in the pouring rain through secondary cloud forest, where we were shown a tree that is believed to be one of the oldest trees in the region. Not really breathtaking. Then we had about an hour of free time, during which we could either stand in the overcrowded restaurant or stand outside in the cold and have a cup of tea. At this point, we couldn't decide if we preferred to stand in the cold or sit on the now really uncomfortable seat in the train for the next few hours.

The next stop was for lunch. Besides food, the organizers of these excursions didn't seem to have much creative entertainment in mind. Well, before the meal, there was a short performance of traditional dances. Although it was obviously a tourist gimmick, it was very colorful and cheerful and a welcome diversion. Actually, it was the highlight of the day, at least for me, who loves all kinds of dancing.
Since we hadn't booked an all-inclusive program (or couldn't), we had to pay extra for our meals, but we could choose the restaurant ourselves. We decided to follow the group that would eat at a restaurant on the ranch, as there would also be a tour of the ranch to experience.
The food was so-so, we were rushed and handed the bill while we were still chewing. Then, when the tour was supposed to start, we were led to a meadow where a horse and a mule were brought in, followed by a pony with a carriage, which were shown to us. That was the "tour". Afterwards, we were taken to a tiny room where not everyone could find a place and where the friendly and slightly overenthusiastic farm owner told us some anecdotes in barely understandable Spanish. Eventually, we got tired of it and, for the umpteenth time that day, decided to stand outside in the cold and wait for the train to finally continue.

Fortunately, this would be the last leg of the train journey, it's unbelievable how long 1.5 hours can last. At least the guide had finished his entertainment by now and there was no more information, so we didn't have to pretend any further interest and attention. By now, about half of the passengers were sleeping. Nobody seemed to be sad when we arrived back at the Quito train station and could finally get off this damn train.

If you ever come to Ecuador, do yourself a favor and don't book a train trip. It's really a tourist trap, and it's quite overpriced. And you get absolutely nothing for your money.
Sure, if the weather had been nice, you could have enjoyed the panorama. But otherwise, you spend the whole day sitting on your butt. Occasionally, you stand outside. And when you're not sitting in the train or standing outside, you're eating. And the train ride... well, it's just a train ride.
The best thing was seeing how the locals, especially the children, reacted to the train. When the train passed by, everyone looked out the window, people stopped on the street to watch the train, and the children waved happily.
The organizers could definitely make more out of this excursion, especially the breaks should be more interesting. Activities could be included, or a small market could be held. There must be ways to involve and benefit local families as well.

Anyway, for me, no more tourist trains. Thank you... but no thank you.