Sunday, June 5

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Today marked the trip to the Mitad de Mundo. We left with Stephen, John, Sandra, Amanda, Lucho, Miguel, and his 11 year old daughter, Joanna.

We drove to Pululahua, a dormant volcano. The caldera in the middle is the location of a small, poor, primarily agricultural village. Its elderly inhabitants must walk up the arduous path early every morning to the market above to sell their goods. No car, sometimes a burro by their side. The landscape was gorgeous. So much green, and the clouds dreamily floating amidst the mountains.

We then arrived at the first Mitad del Mundo. Here marks the exact latitude, 0˚0˚0˚. We took a tour of the indigenous houses and the traditions of the people there and then began to make our way to the center of the earth. We performed various experiments along the way demonstrating the effects of gravity, balance, etc. on the Northern and Southern Hemispheres and the line in between.

On our way out, we saw our first Danza (of the Devil, I think) and then drove to the Ciudad del Mitad del Mundo, where every Sunday a group of dancers perform traditional dances from every part of Ecuador. Dressed in the traditional costumes from the Andes, the coast, and everywhere in between, it was beautiful sight.

After running around for a good while, we finally found a place for lunch that served what we were looking for – el cuy, guinea pig. We settled down to Pilsner cervezas and anxiously awaited this hyped up dish. Half a guinea pig arrived, teeth, claws and all, and we dug in. Well, not exactly. It was actually incredibly difficult to eat, seeing as there was barely any meat. Definitely wouldn´t say that it tastes like chicken, but I also wouldn´t say it´s bad. Just different. It didn´t exactly fill us up so we ordered llapingachos as well (fried, mashed potato, served with baked or fried pork, avocado, a fried egg, tomato, and lettuce salad). We ate for close to three hours watching the weather constantly change. At one point I looked out and saw it rain through the window, but about five feet from me if I had also looked directly out the window it was completely dry.

After lunch we made our way to the original Mitad del Mundo. This was the point that the French had first discovered in the 18th century to demark the center of the world. However, merely thirty years ago, with the help of GPS, researchers discovered that the actual center of the earth was about 240 north of the marked line.

Came home to a dessert of figs in a heavy, sugar sauce served with cheese. Un día interesante.

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