Mital del Mundo

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What better place to start in Ecuador that going to the equator. It was fun to try public transport, after a few false starts being mis-dircted to various so-called bus stops. Thank goodness we knew some Spanish !

It´s Sunday and lots of locals at the Mital del Mundo site 15km north of Quito. Standing on the equator with a reminder of Greenwich on the building behind, brought back memories of doing the same at Greenwich. The museum at the site is surprisingly good, with a brief history of indigenous Ecuadorians- an eye-opening collection of a vast variety of peoples, and hardly a mention of the Spanish or Incas in the place.

The main square had a splendid display of dancing ofr different races, music and dance that went on in it´s various guises on a continual basis- lovely. Great to see children absorbed in it and family groups everywhere. The rain held off- every other day it rains in November, and warm too. Quito is so high up, 2800 metres, it´s quite a cool place to be, at first strange to think youre on the equator, but like a May day in sunny England.

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Photos

Centre of Quito
The plaza de independencia, the first sight of Quito, after a very long flight

Mital del Mundo
Exhausting travelling from one hemisphere to the other, so why not stay in both at the same time !

Equator
Gary having trouble with gravity.

Dancing competition
The colour and music of the dancing competition kept us absorbed.