Middle of the World

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Our bags arrived first thing this morning. Hooray.

Taking pleasure in small comforts such as fresh socks and moisturizer, we drove by minivan to several places of interest outside Quito.
We saw where cochineal comes from, used for dying wool, and know how to tell a top quality Panama hat from a second rate one.
We lunched in a lovely old Spanish hacienda, now a hotel and restaurant, where a large black and emerald humming bird chattered as we passed.

Ecuador is a country of farmers and artesans and we visited two markets and numerous shops. The volcanic soil in Ecuador is full of minerals and very fertile and the vegetables looked appetizing. There were fat carrots and radishes, and large heads of broccolli. The only things that looked small by our standards were the potatoes but perhaps they like them small.

One of their main exports are long stemmed roses. They sell huge numbers to Miami, Holland and Russia. The roses grow quickly in Ecuador's climate. Unfortunately, so do the bugs and we read in our travel guide that spraying fertilizers and pesticides without proper protection has lead to high rates of cancer and other problems amonst the workers.

We were very proud of ourselves for sticking to our new rule of not buying any souvenirs until we have been in a country for more than 48 hours. Then again, Ecuadorian vendors haven't the persistence of the Egyptians.

Perhaps the most interesting stop of the day was on the equator where we could stand with one foot in each hemisphere. Our guide demonstrated how it is possible to balance an egg on its pointed end here and assured us that we would not be able to do this at home.

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Photos

Andean scenery
Veiw from road side loo

Lawn mower
Lama

Egg balancing
On the equator, nearly!