Still In Quito - Mitad del Mundo

One week of our South America adventure has passed and we have yet to venture far outside the city of Quito. On Wednesday we took a cab to the Mitad del Mundo, Ecuador's monument to the Equator. The monument is a large square pyramid topped with a sphere. Each side of the square faces one of the four compass points, and a line painted on the ground through the middle of the east, west half of the monument, supposedly divides the north and south hemispheres. It was rather tourist-trap-esque, with booths selling t-shirts and equator key chains. I think it would have been more exciting for us if the monument had been located on the equator. In actual fact, the Mitad del Mundo was built in error by the French explorers, about 240m away from the real equator. So though it was slightly amusing to walk back and forth over the painted dividing line, we felt a bit ripped off by the whole experience. After the disappointment of the monument, we headed next door to the Museo de Cultura Solar. This was a much more rewarding experience. A small, rather intense, man presented us with his research project into the solar culture of the Ecuadorian natives, and showed us a picture of the ancient monument on the actual equator. It was very interesting, apparently the natives built their own monuments to the equator and other specific locations, based on the solar calender and equinoxes. It was worth the 5 minute walk and was free, which is always a plus. ´

We took the bus back into Quito, which was an adventure in itself, with crowds of people, and individuals hopping on and off of the moving bus. All in all I was quite relieved to be off the bus in Quito walking back to the hostel.

The weather has taken a turn on us, and currently we are experiencing intense thunderstorms each afternoon, so I must sign off now in order to beat the rain. More tales of dazzling adventure to come, as Timb sets out on his climbs next week, and Jess and I venture into the Jungle on a tour of the Cuyabeno Nature Reserve.

Ciao!