Tren Crucero - first morning

The next stage of our trip in Ecuador was Tren Crucero, a 4 day cruise on a train from Quito to Guayaquil with interesting stopover tours and saying in hotels on each night. There were about 26 tourists on the trip with Spanish and English speaking guides. Ecuador has been restoring their train lines for tourism.

The first day was actually in the opposite direction - from Otavalo to Ibarra and back. INn the morning we bussed to Otavalo, had a snack (of course) saw the train and started the trip. Passing little towns and enjoying the mountain scenery. We visited a weaving shop, a weaving mill, and a ceramics shop. And were entertained by local musicians.

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Visit to the Rose Plantation / Factory

A highlight of the first day on the train was a trip to a Rose Plantation / Factory. The company is called Rosadex and they grow, package, and export roses all over the world - to at least 48 countries. They explained that this is an excellent place to grow roses because it is equitorial - good sunny weather with equal length days all year, and because the sun is directly overhead most of the time it helps the roses grow straight up. And the place also serves food, has a chapel, and I think people can stay there overnight.

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