Middle Of The World

One of the tourist stops on the gringo trail in South America is most certainly Mitad del Mundo or the equator line just outside of Quito. I had spent an entire month in Quito and still hadn´t gone so Jules 1 & 2, my friends Duncan and Jago and I went for a day of touristy fun. When Charles-Marie de la Condamine and his French explorers determined the exact point of the equator, they were actually about 250 meters off. The real equator lies 250 metres to the north of the monument at a small museum called Museo Inti-San. We visited both but it really wasn´t worth going to the large monument especially since it´s ultra touristy and not the real one! Didn´t stop me from taking a cheesy photo though!


Touristy shot #1 on the fake equator.

So we headed to the site of the real equator which was this cute little outdoor museum which not only had the real equator but we had a tour guide who educated us on the lifestyle and customs of the Quicha people. We also got to do all kinds of fun tricks on the equator line.


The REAL Equator - suckas!




Pondering our place in the world...


Touristy shot #2. Hoolia, Jules, Duncan, Jago
and I at the middle of the world.

Our guide did a lot of experiments with us which really made you realize that you truly are standing on the center of the earth. First she filled a sink with a bucket underneath with water. While on the northern hemisphere the water swirls counter-clockwise, on the southern hemisphere it swirls clockwise and sure enough directly on the line it shot straight down. She put a leaf in the water so you could really see the way the water moved. Pretty cool. The other experiment was to hold your arms up on either side of the equator and she tried pulling them down. It was much harder to resist while standing on the equator. Apparently, while standing on the equator there is much less gravitational force which is why it is easier to pull your arms down.


Duncan trying to fight the force.


Walking the line!

It was a fun day and one of those touristy things you just have to do if you are in Equador. That night I celebrated the last night of work with the Secret Garden crew and headed out the next day for a 4 day trip into the jungle!