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Posada La Estación: now, this is in the middle of nowhere
Some places sound so amazing when you read about them that they become almost as important as the destination you’re going to see in the first place. Posada La Estación is such a place. Now, one’s romantic notions and reality are often different things and that is also the case with this great old train station cum hostel. Sitting at 3619m, this was the highest point on the Andean Railway. With the railway no longer in use, they have converted the illustrious old building into a rustic mountain hostel. With Chimborazo at its doorstep you couldn’t ask for a better setting but of course, when the mountain is not visible and the weather turns sour, you might not think that is the case.
Our room was serviceable and certainly had a rustic charm about it, with some relics of another era used to adorn it. The shutters on the window worked great to block out any light and helped cut down on the draft too. It’s cold as there is no heat in the rooms, just a wood stove down in the dining room. Ample blankets are provided and we stayed warm. Bathrooms are on the first floor, near the kitchen. They are a little spooky, at least when we were there in gloomy weather. It kind of reminded us of The Shinning. And, no, Danny, we didn’t feel like coming out to play either!
The dining room is homey especially once they get a fire going. They have a great collection of old books about the Andes and the railway. There is a kitchen that you can cook in. They charged us an additional $3 per day which we thought was high considering the room was $20 and they also neglected to tell us that when we asked if we could use the kitchen. What made it doubly unreasonable was we had just given them all of the food and fuel we were going to use on the hike, and they still charged us. They do provide meals if you tell them in advance and it seems they cater to groups that do just that and hence perhaps the kitchen “charge.” Hey, there aren’t any other choices out here and I’m sure if it was nicer out I wouldn’t have complained one bit!
