It’s time for another collection of the best travel stories on the web, from the award-winning webzine Perceptive Travel.

One of the features is mine this time, a piece on getting to the roots of good coffee by visiting farms where the beans are grown. Come along for the ride to Guatemala, Costa Rica, Panama, and Colombia in Alert in the Americas.

On Ontario’s remote Moose Factory Island, where the Cree First Nation is cautiously courting tourism, Carolyn Heller learns that there’s more to see than the “sights.” See Going Where No Roads Go in Ontario.

Lea Aschkenas heads into the Amazon jungle of Ecuador and fights discomfort and insects to appreciate the teeming life around her.

Graham Reid checks out some new and noteworthy world music. Afro-soul, Indo-jazz, desert blues, and “Autotune goes to Africa.”

Travel book reviews from William Caverlee include Encounters from a Kayak, Food Lover’s Guide to the World, and On This Earth, A Shadow Falls.

As usual, we’re giving away some cool travel gear as well. Last month someone scored a new pair of hiking shoes from Wolverine. This month we’re giving away a whole Travelling Light package from Sea to Summit. The winner will take home a daypack that compresses down into a tiny pouch, a mesh laundry bag, Travelling Light See Pouches, and a travel wallet. If you’re on our newsletter list already, check your inbox or bulk folder. If not, sign up here to get in on the action next time. You can also follow Perceptive Travel on Facebook and watch for the contest questions.

There was a time when people rode trains all over Ecuador, from the capital of Quito to Otovalo, Cuenca, and the coastal port of Guayaquil. More than 60 trains a day departed from the main station in southern Quito.

Then came the age of the automobile, which killed off the trains in a lot of places in the Americas, from much of the U.S. down to Patagonia. Compounding the problem for Ecuador though was the terrain: this is a land of steep, high mountains. Building the railways in the first place was daunting enough. Constantly clearing the rockslides and broken tracks after natural disasters required more resources than the government was willing to spend. So over time the journeys got chopped up into smaller pieces. That’s about to change—and more on that at the end—but here’s one of those pieces: the Devil’s Nose train ride down a very steep mountain to the bottom.

This famous train journey is unique because of the engineering challenges the builders faced (ones that took the lives of some 2,500 workers) and one novel solution to them. At one point the train goes around a bend and then comes to a stop at tracks that end. At that point the tracks are switched and the train proceeds down the mountain facing the opposite direction: the previous back of the train is now the front. This enables it to tackle a much steeper grade than it could have otherwise. (You can see that transition in the video above.)

Soon it arrives at a renovated station in the narrow canyon, which is a place you can actually spend the night now if you want. There’s a package including the train down and back, lodging, and two meals for a quite reasonable $50 per person. Regular day visitors get a bite at a panorama snack bar up some steep stairs, where there’s also a museum. Local community people perform traditional dances on the train platform. And there’s a woman with a llama for photo ops. Sure, it’s kinda cheesy, but fun.

The exciting news is, short trips like this are not going to be all there is anymore. Workers are busy restoring the line from Guayaquil to Quito and it should open by July of 2014. A lot of it is new tracks, with materials meant to hold up to tremors. At first all the effort is going into offering a luxury 4-day grand train trip to get some real funds flowing in, but it should become a true passenger line that all travelers can use eventually. It will be one of the world’s great journeys when that happens, through the “Route of the Volcanoes,” from sea level to 3,000 meters.

I first took a train ride from Quito to Cotopaxi and saw new government initiatives in action. There was a spruced-up station with an attractive new cafe serving good coffee, a room explaining the history of railroads in Ecuador, and an introductory film about the train system here in two languages. The people working at the station and on the trains were bilingual and sporting nice Tren Ecuador uniforms with a cool logo.

We clattered out of the city, past factories and homes, and climbed up the hills to a point where we could look across park lands and a valley to mountains dusted with snow on the other side. When we got to Machachi station, a brass band was playing to welcome everyone. No, this wasn’t a special occasion—they do that for every arrival.

The revitalized train system is just one more reason to visit Ecuador, which is one of the best values in the world for travelers, with a lot to offer for a reasonable price. International Living just tagged Ecuador  as their leading retirement destination in the world for the sixth year in a row. Even if you’re not trying to live to 100 in Vilcabamba, this is one of the cheapest places to live in the world–with a good quality of life. It’s also one of The World’s Cheapest Destinations for travelers at any budget level, so put it on your list if you’re heading to the Southern Hemisphere.

To check the latest options on train trips in Ecuador, see the Tren Ecuador site or book an excursion with Metropolitan Touring—-my host when I was researching Ecuador articles for another publication.

Pardon the delay. I was feeding the llamas.

I’ve spent the past week in Quito and areas north and south of there, doing research for some articles, reviewing hotels, and updating the upcoming 4th edition of The World’s Cheapest Destinations. While I mentioned in the last post that most prices haven’t changed much since the last time I was here, imported goods are being taxed at a rate of 100% or more. It’s gotten much more expensive here to spend a night at a bar or replace your dead camera/laptop/phone.

Otherwise, there’s more positive news than negative, so here’s a quick rundown on official developments and word on the street for travelers in Ecuador.

New Airport for Quito

There’s a lot of bureaucracy in this country, so often things take far longer than they should have to get moving. Quito’s new airport is by most accounts finished, but it won’t open until February 2013 (at least) because, um, the roads to it aren’t finished. You can fly in, but you can’t get out in a car. Once it’s done, you’ll pay far more for a taxi to the city than now, but there’s going to be a shuttle bus service from the get-go that should be reasonable.

Get Used to This President

Rafael Correa may be pegged as a power-grabbing socialist by some international press outlets and diplomats, but he’s extremely popular these days at home, with a 70% approval rating. He could be in office until 2017. As in Nicaragua, people seem to put up with a bit of screwing the constitution to run more than the allowed number of terms if life is getting better—especially the roads. Everyone here is talking about new highways and bypasses, rural roads getting paved, and potholes getting fixed. Note to politicians: help people get to where they need to go easier and many other problems can slide.

For travelers, expect more cheap subsidized gas, better highways, and…

The Rebirth of Ecuador’s Train System

The history of Ecuador’s trains is one of fits and starts, joy and disappointment. Building train tracks through the Andes Mountains and then keeping them from being covered by landslides takes a lot of resources. In the late 19th century, some 2,500 workers died just building the Devil’s Nose section that uses two switchbacks to get down the mountain. This government is pushing hard to get the longest part—from Quito to Guayaquil—going again. It is scheduled to reopen in the summer of 2013. The first priority is a luxury service that will stop for the night several places along the way. But a tourist class one will follow and will be worth the splurge I’m sure. I went on two sections of it this week and was really impressed with the operation, both the restored and brand new coaches, and the scenery. I saw track improvements going on all over the place. Watch the Tren Ecuador site (in both languages) for updates.

Ecuadoran Food Getting Its Due

I’m amazed at the number of gastronomy, coffee, and chocolate tours now being offered in this country. As with Peru a decade ago, the cuisine of Ecuador seems to be finally getting its due. It’s not all that photogenic unless a chef does some magical reconstruction, but they grow just about everything here, all year long, so the profusion of fruits, vegetables, and herbs is astounding. Much of the street food and cheap market stall fare here is nothing to write home about, so splurge a few dollars more now and then and see what the fuss is about.

I’m currently in Quito, Ecuador, where it’s only taken me one full day to confirm that most prices are pretty much where they were last time I was here a few years ago. (See Travel Prices in Ecuador.)

The fact they use the U.S. dollar as their currency helps, but there’s also low inflation and the country grows a lot of its own food. All the fruit pictured at the top was selling for $1 a pound or less in the market.

Gasoline is heavily subsidized, which helps keep the costs of transportation down.

There’s one big change though that everyone is talking about: the price of alcohol. It has roughly doubled this year for anything imported.

Theories abound as to whether this was a sin tax to bring down consumption and raise revenues or just a way to keep more money in the country. The bottom line though is that imported brands—which is almost all of them—now often cost more than you would pay in your own country. This includes wine from Chile and Argentina, which is universally a great deal across the rest of the continent.

Ecuador has a wealth of tomatoes and sugar cane, so you’d think they could do some decent vodka and rum at least, but no go yet.

For now, there are few solutions. Bring in duty free bottles. Drink local brands (usually lousy). Drink beer.

That last one is probably the best choice as the beer is decent and it’s made in-country. No import taxes.

I don't show my face for cheap!

Maybe it’s not fair, but some some places have to be budget-busters for shoestring travelers.

A new article of mine is up on Transitions Abroad – Man vs. Man: Saving the Galapagos. It’s about all the behind-the-scenes efforts that a lot of dedicated people have been taking for years to roll back some of the damage done on these fragile islands. It takes money and manpower to preserve the natural state.

This is not the first article for them I’ve done dealing with this prickly issue. A few years ago I wrote Saving Machu Picchu, which detailed a similar fight to conserve a precious site while dealing with an ever-increasing demand to see Machu Picchu and to hike the Inca Trail.

In both cases, there is a paradox. How do you keep a site accessible to the thousands of people who want to see it every week, yet still protect all the characteristics that made it popular in the first place? In some cases, governments fail completely by letting the crowds and the pressures become too great, as in Tibet or Ankor Wat. In other cases they put up huge barriers that keep out all but the most wealthy, as in Bhutan.

Finding that middle ground is extremely difficult. In cases such as Machu Picchu, even multiple price increases have not helped—it’s still tough to keep a lid on the visitor numbers. The Inka Trail is often sold out months in advance in high season, despite prices that have put the trip out of range of most backpackers.

Unfortunately for those on a budget, this is not going to get any better. People who never had money to travel—Chinese, Russians, Indians—are now wanting to explore those places they’ve seen on satellite TV. Retired people who used to be content going to the Caribbean or Europe are now looking for a more interesting experience. Whole multi-generational families are traveling together, all looking for that “experience of a lifetime” that they can share.

So you can do one of three things:

1) You can bitterly complain about how much it costs to go to the Galapagos, or Machu Picchu, or Petra, or some tombs in Egypt, or many other sites that are trying to cope with too much demand. And insist that you didn’t really want to go anyway.

2) You can suck it up and pay what it takes to keep things in equilibrium, putting it all on a credit card if necessary.

3) You can put off that visit until you have more money or grandpa is paying.

Whichever choice you make, understand that some places are expensive because they need to be. Sometimes the only way to keep a place from totally going to hell is to demand enough money to keep it from going to hell. This sucks, but in today’s climate, where most anyone with money can get to most anywhere on Earth, it’s necessary.