Wednesday 21st January 2026: An unplanned day in Alausi

So we were left to our own devices in Alausi for a day.  It's a small, honest town but not much to do.  We've had a pretty manic holiday so far, with everyday, something to visit or a bus to catch.  Not today.

Both of us slept in - Joan till 9.30 am.  The house we are renting is three blocks away from the main street and is about the best furnished place we have stayed so far.  It's more like a home than a holiday let.

It has lovely local art.  This is the Black Bridge that is so famous locally.

Mural on side of house.

There is a washing machine and dryer which we availed ourselves of.

We like self catering so we can prepare our own meals, if necessary but it's been great in Ecuador.  Veggie food is plentiful.

We relaxed in the morning.  Kevin did the washing and a few Sudoku.  Joan did the blog.  We invest so much time in blogging as it's easy to forget holidays.  When we get back we get them printed out as a book.  It provides happy memories.

Highlights of the town include the town clock - seen here.

We saw engineers preparing the trains for tomorrow.

Sculpture to the local people.

The roads here can be a bit dodgy.  We,re not too sure if this one was being constructed or deconstructed,

THE local highlight is the "puente negro" or black bridge.  The locals are very proud of it.  It might not be the Polvorilla viaduct or even the Pontycysyllte acueduct but the Devil's Nose is an engineering achievement in its own right.

By the side of the viaduct was a memorial.  Some of the language was unfamiliar, so we couldn't work out what the memorial was for.  Later, in the restaurant, we checked and it was in commemoration of those killed in a landslide in 2023 that killed 11 and 67 are still missing.  The landslide was caused by months of rain.  It was 150 metres wide and 700 metres long.  You can find pictures of the devastation it caused on the internet.  It even took away part of the PanAmericana highway.

English language school.

The bus station.  We're still none the wiser about how we will reach Cuenca tomorrow so we called in at the local Tourist Centre for help.  They concluded with us that the best was was to grab a cab up to the Panamericana and flag down a bus.  They reckoned buses to Cuenca passed every 20 minutes or so.  Despite the language barrier, we got through and they gave us some free Alausi post cards.

We headed back to the same restaurant as yesterday as the food was lovely and reliable.  We've taken to eating tea/dinner about  4 o'clock as one of two meals per day.  Unlike many holidays, Joan hasn't had to do much cooking.

The portions here are hearty.

As we finished two Americans, who now lived in Ecuador, came over to chat.  They, too, are catching the train tomorrow.

It was raining as we walked back home.  Proper wet rain - the first we've seen here.  We retired for the night, with fingers crossed we can make Cuenca tomorrow after the train.