We arrive at 5:30 in the morning in downtown Lima to take the long-awaited Tren al Cielo. It's still dark when we enter the desolate Estación Desamparados for our departure.
Desampardos translates as "helpless," and it's an apt description of this station. Once a bustling hub connecting Lima with the rest of Peru, it now stands vacant, an archive of days gone by, save for the two departures a month of the Tren al Cielo.
We board the train crusty-eyed and prepare for the 15,600ft climb to Galera Station.
We've splurged a first-class car and the digs are pretty nice.
This also allows us access to the open-air observation car (which doubles as a bar!) at the rear of the train.
We meet Rodrigo, the man who basically runs the operation. We'd already been in touch via email, but I tell him about American Transit and he becomes our virtual guide through the rest of the journey.
The views are stupendous.
By the time we reach Galera Station, I feel like we've landed on Mars. It's incredibly eerie and surreal. We get out and explore while the train changes engines for the decent.
As we approach the mining town of La Oroya, we discover that there are miles and miles of cars and trucks lining the highways below. Rodrigo informs us the it's a blockade by the miners in protest of recent deaths and unsafe working conditions. The cars have already been stuck there for over 24 hours, and four protestors/miners had been killed by police. Basically, a good choice to take the train today.
The average life-span of a miner from La Oroya is 40 years. It's the most polluted town in Peru, and that's saying a lot. You can see the pollution in the surrounding mountains that have turned white from the lead smoke from the mines. Here's a shot as we pass through.
More later, we have to take a 22 hour bus ride through the Andes. Love, K+J
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