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The Centre of the World
Neither North or South, right slap bang in the middle. Calculated with army issued GPS too!!! :) After returning from the Galapagos a few of us decided to go to visit Mitad del Mundo..... the middle of the Earth! A group of 6 of us booked a car complete with friendly driver to take us on the 1 hour trip north of Quito to the equator line.
It was actually discovered a few years ago using GPS that the original 'middle of the earth´ is actually 200 meters out! We visited the 'real´ middle of the earth where for a small entry fee, you get a local English-speaking guide who gives you lots of interesting information about local Inca tribes plus he showed us some cool things like shrunken heads and the skin from a 10 meter long anaconda!!!
After showing us around the facility we finally got to the equator line and it´s here were we participated in a number of interesting experiments....The first experiment was the water flushing experiment (the Coriolis effect). Although we´ve heard that this isn´t a true effect of water going down a sink hole, we carried out the experiment ourselves or should I say Jeff did! First the guide place a large sink of water a few feet north of
The impossible walk.
If you try to walk down the equator line with your eyes closed and thumbs in the air it was impossible. Tried it again of the line and could do it no problem. Weird or what? the equator line, pulled the plug to drain the water and there was a noticeable spin in the direction of the water as it drained (think of what happens when you flush your toilet). I can´t remember which direct the water drained in. Next the guide placed the sink directly over the equator line, repeated the experiment but this time there was no noticeable spin whatsoever! We were a bit skeptical but he repeated and again no spin. Then he moved the sink south of the line, repeated the experiment and bobs your uncle..... lots of spin, this time in the opposite direction!!!! Weird.
For experiment 2, each of us walked forward on the equator line with our arms held out and our eyes closed and not one of us could do it without appearing drunk and wobbling all over the place!!! A few of us repeated this experiment off the line and we were able to do it no problem.... again, really weird.
For experiment 3 we participated in the egg balancing act. Basically there was a large cement pillar smack bag in the middle of the equator line. On it are two nails - one placed
The egg balancing act
There was a longer nail on the far side that I was the only one to balance an egg on! apart from the guide, but I was still proud. at a greater height than the other. The guide takes an egg (standard from-a-chicken-egg!) and balances it on the top of the nail without any problems or effort! Each of us tried in turn and it is true, as you maneuver the base of the egg you can feel slight pulls..... I managed to balance it on the smaller nail, while Paul managed to balance the egg on both nails - a task that only the guide has managed to do.... I think Paul was hoping he´d be offered a job at the end of it!!! Those who managed to balance the egg received a somewhat tacky certificate complete with middle of the earth stamp :-)
For the final experiment, our strength on the line was tested. The guide demonstrated on Paul. Basically a few feet north of the line he asked Paul to press his thumb and forefinger together, after which the guide tried to separate Paul's fingers and after a few seconds was able to. Next he asked Paul to close his hands together tightly and place his arms above his head. Then the guide pressed down on Paul's arms and again because Paul has the strength
Proof!!!
Karen was determined to get a picture of this. I on the other hand didn't feel any lighter! of an ox!!! the guide found this quite difficult. However, when the experiment was repeated on the equator line.... the results were very different. The guide was able to pull Paul's two fingers apart in an instant and with little or no effort was able to push Paul's arms back down towards the ground...... it´s like your arms turn to jelly or something. We have the video to prove it but it´s taking for ever to upload on this website. (We´ll try to add it at a later stage.)
We´re not too sure how 'scientific´ these little experiments are but I have to say there were very amusing and the six of us thoroughly enjoyed our visit to latitude 0,0,0 :-)
Later that evening we all went for dinner to say our farewells to each other and to Quito. We made some more great friends on our Galapagos/Quito trip :-) Our next stop is the adventure town of Mindo in Ecuador!
- By Karen & Paul
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