In the Middle of the World!

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La Mitad del Mundo city and monument are not as exciting as you´d think really. Most interesting was tagging along on a tour at the ethnographic museum and learning about the diversity of Ecuador´s indigenous cultures. From hispanic fishermen to afro-ecuatorians to amazonians to chino highlanders. Its amazing the differences and the histories.

So after spending a pretty boring time at Cuidad De La Mitad del Mundo, I had an awesome tour at the real middle of the world (calculated by GPS) museum. I had an amazing guide and learnt so much.
1. The ancient incas of ecuador built a temple exactly in the middle of the world long before the French built their monument. The french got it wrong by 200m. The incas got it right by observing patterns of the sun. exactly in the equator, at equinox, for a few minutes you have no shadow. At other times for six months your shadow is on the north side and for six it points south.
2. Indigenous andean people believed the sun would give you good energy is you held your thumbs up to the sun at equinox. That´s why at the top of the totem pole in the middle of the world is a thumb sticking up. Also in the totem pole are representations of the 5 indigenous cultures which worship the sun, and a representation of ¨Batchamama¨, or Mother Earth.
3. Apparently indigenous people concieved their children outside on the ground because when a woman´s back touches Batchamama she is said to be more fertile.
4. When indigenous andean people died, they were buried in large ceramic pots, curled up in the foetal position. The ceramic represented the land. When a man died and was buried, his wife took a drug, fell asleep, and was put into a ceramic pot in the same way and buried alive next to him, to be with him in after-life.
5. That big cactus plant that grows a shoot which looks like an asparagus is used to make tequila in mexico!
6. An egg, to the indigenous people here, represents:
Land (shell), air (membrane), water (white) and fire (yolk).
8. You can see both the northern and southern hemisphere constellations on the equator.
9. There are a whole lot of wierd effects of gravity and centrifugal force on the equator. Look up korioli´s effect if you want to. anyway, it results in everything weighing a kilo less on the equator, you can´t walk in a straight line, you can balance an egg on a nail (I have a certificate to prove it!) and water flows straight DOWN the plug.

will add photos when they get developed from my disposable camera!

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Photos

Here I stand
I´m in the north, now I´m in the south... ooh ooh now I´m in the Middle!! Yes, it was exciting :)

French monument
The one they got wrong by 200m. Fair enough

Totem pole
Built on equatorial line (the real one). See the thumb on top?

Agave
The tequila plant!

150 year old hut
This is the house of an old woman who used to live in the middle of the world and brew ¨chichi¨, the local firewater, for the village

Shrunken head
A REAL shrunken head of a 10yr old boy. Made by his father