Blogs from Mitad del Mundo, North, Ecuador, South America - page 4

Today we left Quito and headed north towards the Equator visiting the excellent "In Situ" Inti-Nan solar museum. We learnt some of the history of the indigenous people as well as having the opportunity to conduct lots of cool experiments! We watched the Kondi Contrifugat forces in action by pouring water down a sink on the equator line, in the northern hemisphere and then the southern hemisphere. We also attempted to balance an egg on the head of a nail and walk in a straight line along the equator with our eyes closed. You could feel yourself being pulled either side. It was really cool. Afterwards we headed to the Mitad del Mundo which marks the original spot of the equator line before we had GPS. On the way to our next stop of Otovalo we ... read more

Yesterday, I finally made it to the monument at the equator line. I also included some random pictures gathered from friends. See you on Wednesday!!!... read more

Sorry, photos will be coming soon!!! Ecuador and the rain is chasing us. Immigration was ok, in fact better than usual, being super quick, even though we'd been forwarned not to look anyone in the eye, stop or talk to anyone. Always welcoming to a new country. Martin escaped a random checking of his money, by a uniformed officer, though quite what he was checking was not really apparent, but none was taken. The journey was delayed due to the incessant rain, as roads turned to rivers and people waded up to their knees. We arrived in Guayaquil at 8.30pm, a good 10hrs from the beginning. Staying only a night, just to make a connection the next day to Cuenca. This again had been delayed due to the bad weather, and when the proposed time of ... read more

Auf gehts zur Mitte der Welt. Nach einer langen Reise vom Ende der Welt in Feuerland ist es nun soweit, die halbe Erdkugel waere geschafft...der Aequator liegt zu meinen Fuessen. Doch halt, der Aequator? Naja, zumindest was der franzoesische Reisende, Mathematiker und Astronom Charles-Marie de La Condamine als den Aequator im Jahr 1736 ausgemessen hat. Ein 30m hohes Denkmal wurde dort errichtet, wo sich heutzutage jeder Touri hinstellt und erzaehlt: "Ich stand mit jedem Bein auf einer anderen Erdhalbkugel." Haha! 250 Meter daneben. Mag sein, dass diese bei den langen Strecken von pro Halbkugel ca. 20.000km kaum eine Rolle spielt, aber waere Herr Mathematikus etwas interessierter gewesen, so haette er vielleicht selbst herausgefunden, dass es nicht der Aequator ist. Zum Beispiel die Auswirkungen der Corioliskraft (so ein schweres Wort musste ich mir in der Schule einfach ... read more

Current Location: Quito, Ecuador Yesterday, I and several friends that I met here in Quito, made the hour trip to La Mitad del Mundo, the middle of the world. It´s been said that everyone who comes to Ecuador makes the trip to the equator, and I believe it. I haven´t seen so many gringos in one place since stepping onto the plance in Houston. It is a complete tourist trap, an entire town devoted completely to tourism. Outrageous prices galore! And on top of that, it isn´t even located on the real equator. Lonely Planet calls it one of Ecuadors biggest secrets. Several years ago when the French designated the site to be where the equator cuts through Ecuador, they some how made a mistake and the entire site ended up being North of the equator ... read more