Ecuador
The Andes from Riobamba to Cuenca
There is a nice trainride to be made from Riobamba to Alausí. It is mainly intended
for tourists now, but used to be a major railroad connecting Riobamba with the Pacific coast.
The diesel pulls carriages where you can sit in and also some where you can sit on the roof. Hire a cushion and take a place on the roof, it offers the best view and an
opportunity to take pictures of some steep mountainsides loaded with bromeliads, passing by at
moderate speed.
On the territory of the ruins at Ingapirca Tillandsia incarnata (above)
and Puya asplundii (left and below) were spotted.
Near Cuenca, Tillandsia latifolia var. divaricata and Tillandsia walteri (below).
The last place visited in this region is the National Park Cajas, 30 km to the west of Cuenca.
There are many lakes and the surface of the terrain is spungy. It can be quite cold when the sun is not shining for the elevation ranges from 3000 to 4500 m. The thorny terrestrial is Puya clava-herculis.
