Mitad Del Mundo
Christian April 19th, 2008
Before our journey to the Galapagos, we thought we would do a touristy thing or two in Quito. One of the mini trips we did was to the Mitad del Mundo or “Middle of the World”. We got made our way to the blue line bus that would take us to a mini bus station an hour away or so. The bus was jammed with people, with more people getting on at each stop. We got off at the wrong stop to switch buses (thanks Lonely Planet). If you are using public transportation to get to the Mitad del Mundo, take the bus all the way to the end. We caught the next bus to the correct stop where we switched buses. At one point this kid jumped on the bus and started giving a comedy routine for money. After almost 1.5 hours in jammed standing room only buses the driver let us know we were at the mitad del mundo. We got off the bus on the side of the street and walked in.
The place was creepy. It was almost like a carnival with no people. It is this huge compound with statues, tourist shops, restaurants, art scupltures, and a huge monument to the equator. We probably saw maybe 15 people when we went, so it gave it an erie feeling. We took our pictures at the equator, which really is not exactly where the equator is (it is in the building next door). Then we go the worst hamburger for $1.50 and made our way to the Inti Nan. We had to exit the Mitad del Mundo complex and walk down the street 500 meters to get there. There was a $3 entrance fee that almost made us not go, but we are glad we did.
For the three dollars each we got a guided tour of the place. It had more of a cultural spin to it. The guide took us through traditional huts. We toured a few, each a different style that was used by indigenous people in different parts of the country. One of the more interesting ones was that of the Amazon people. Inside of the hut was a sculpture of a man with his penis tied up by a string, but more interesting was that they actually had a real shrunken human head on display with graphic illustrations depicting the process. They also had Boa Constrictors, spiders, and a Anaconda skin on display.
After the cultural tour we went to the “real equator” at the Inti Nan Museum. This line was calculated using military GPS and is apparently the true equator line. One the line the guide showed us a few interesting things. One was how water drains differently on different sides of the equator. Using the same sink, she dumped water into it on each side of the line. On the one side it drained counter clockwise, on the other clockwise, and when she put the sink on the equator line, it had no funnel when it drained, just went straight down. There were no gimmicks, it was pretty wild to see. Another demonstration was balancing an egg on a nail. It was raining a bit so it made it a little more difficult to do. Our guide did it within a minute or two. I tried it and got it balanced for a few seconds before the rain knocked it off. I even got a certificate for my accomplishment. Apparently you can only do this here, since the gravity is pulling straight down. It was pretty neat.
The Mitad del Mundo complex was just okay, but the guided tour at the Inti Nan was much more interesting. They are right next to each other so if going there, you might as well do both.
We are back from the Galapagos now, and are working through all of the photos trying to put together a post. Hopefully we will update it within the next two days.
- Ecuador
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