The Equator

Last night I felt ill and went to sleep early. A combination, I fear, of sunburn, altitude sickness and fast food (a restaurant called caravanas). I had a hamburger--the first and last fast food I hope to have.

Today I visited Mitad del Mundo, the supposed equator, and Inti Ñan, the real equator. I almost missed the stop and would have ended up in some remote Ecuadorian village...it's always an adventure! The real equator line was discovered with GPS about 10 years ago, so there is an official site with a monument and all, and then 200 meters away, there is the real equator. At the real line, there is a guided tour with fun experiments. When standing exactly on the line, the gravitational and centrifugal forces of the earth all meet, making your resistance far less than when standing on either side. You can also balance an egg on a tiny nail. They show you too how water moves counterclockwise to the north of the ecuator, and clockwise when south of the line (or is it the other way around??) It' s wild!

quick fact: indigenous populations here name things according to the sound they make. Guinea pig is a delicasse here and it is called "cuy" because is makes the sound "cuy, cuy." A baby's spoon is called a "wah, wah" because a baby makes that sound when hungry...makes sense...