MUNGO EATS Latin America

We reluctantly left the peace and quiet of Mindo this morning to return to Quito.  On the way  we stopped at “the middle of the world”.  Unlike Sunday, when we first passed by the monument, today the Middle of thee World was virtually deserted.  We were one of only 5 vehicles in the parking lot when we first arrived. 

La Mitad del Mundo is the site of an equator monument. 

They actually call the area the city of the middle of the world, and there is a church built on the equator, shops and restaurants, and a planetarium, that you can visit.  The monument was built prior to the invention of GPS, and it seems their calculations were a bit off.  The actual equator if about 200 metres away from the monument.  Regardless, we still couldn’t resist the photo op at the monument.

One foot in the northern hemisphere, one foot in the southern.  My what a photogenic family I have!!

After our visit here, we decided to visit the “real” equator.  At this site, you got a chance to see all the “equator phenomena”.  We got to watch water go down a drain clockwise in the south, counterclockwise in the north and straight down on the equator.  We got to try to walk the equator line, with our eyes closed (which is pretty much impossible), and we got a chance to try to balance an egg on the head of a nail.  If you were successful, you got a certificate commemorating your achievement.  Da-da-da da…I got a certificate!

Here is the egg to prove it!

We are in Quito tonight.  It won’t be anywhere as serene and peaceful as the last few nights have been.  Hopefully,  we will only be here a couple of nights though and then the trek south continues.