The Equator passes through a handful of countries, but no others that have it as their namesake. It just seems more special to see the “Ecuador” in Ecuador, and it’s clear that they feel the same here. Buses with “La Mitad del Mundo” – The Middle of the World – written all over drive the route back and forth from Quito all day. Although the orange line is no more than four inches wide, a small city has grown around it. The most prominent structure is a monument with a globe on top. From the lookout, we saw compass markers on the ground below. I faced the big “N” and did my best E.T. impression.

It was a total tourist excursion, but one of the better ones. Julie and I agreed we’d never had so much fun with a sign and a line before. While most people snapped their shot and left, we stayed to come up with as many straddling both hemispheres positions as we could think of. I ran serpentine down the line, announcing: “North….South…North…South…” There was added significance when Julie and I realized we met at the tip of Argentina – a point they call the end of the world, and have traveled together all the way to the middle.

We quit being beach bums and worked our way up to Quito. Now we’re just regular bums. It just so happens that Chad, one of my guides on a Rustic trip to Costa Rica three years ago, is living here. He and his girlfriend Mary are teaching English. They couldn’t have been more welcoming to two weary travelers. We once again have had the privilege of making ourselves at home. The morning after we arrived, we realized what gorgeous views of the city they have.

Mary had mentioned a place near “Mitad del Mundo” where they do wacky experiments, like balancing an egg on a nail exactly over the Equator, and demonstrating how water spins in opposite directions on each side and doesn’t spin at all when right above it. Julie and I must have checked out every building in the small city except for that one. Supposedly, the orange line we obsessed over isn’t even the actual Equator. It was the second time they made that mistake, but too late now. The real deal is in the spot with the spinning water. We were bummed we missed the cool tricks, but Chad gave me hope when he pointed out I’ll be flying over the Equator tomorrow; I’ll just need to time a perfect zero degree flush.

This entry was posted on Friday, May 19th, 2006 at 6:29 am in XXII. Ecuador. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.