La Mitad del Mundo
has two parts, the first a huge monument planted by the French marking the equatorial
line, the second a small native museum marking true zero. According to modern
GPS, the natives had it right all along while the French were about 240 meters
off. The French monument is the more popular tourist destination with its
massive concrete, globe-topped marker housed in a faux-village with overpriced
shops and restaurants. Luckily it also had a few interesting museums with
Ecuadorian art and an exhibit on the French exhibition to measure the curvature
of the earth at the equator in 1743.
 |
| At the French equator |
The native exhibit is separate and has a different
character. A local guide led us through a maze of local vegetation while
telling us stories of Ecuadorians who still live in today’s Amazon region. We
saw shrunken heads, anaconda skins, blow guns and the local food staple, cuy (guinea pig). The guides also showed
us a few tricks that can only be done on the equator. You can balance an egg on
a nail head, something we both succeeded at. Draining water spirals in
different directions whether you’re north or south (although we heard this was
a crock). Also, it’s nearly impossible to walk with eyes closed and arms
outstretched in a straight line.
 |
| Got it on the second try |
 |
| Got it on the first try |
The natives knew all along that zero degrees was in this
exact spot, or rather in the area since one degree is about 112 km, the equator
is sort of a wide band around the earth. They knew mostly because of the hours
of sunlight, which are pretty much the same, no matter what the season. In
fact, there really aren’t seasons, only a slight change in the shadow on a solar
clock can tell you what time of year it is. And according to our guide, there
are no major weather phenomena because of cancelling currents. The natives knew
this place was sacred and it truly is a unique place.
 |
| Absolute zero |
After straddling the equator, we went in search of a lunch
place Andrew Zimmern had visited to try grilled cuy. We found the exact place thanks to the big sign out front with
Zimmern’s picture and ordered one cuy
platter for two. The guinea pigs were already partially grilled so the owner
heated them over a hot flame to get the skin crispy, and in no time we were
diving into our meal. The meat was a little hard to get at, there being so
little of it, but it was hardly gamey. The legs, tenderloin and jowls were the
best parts, complimented by the creamy bowl of potatoes we were served. Cuy is not a common food anymore and
it’s relatively expensive, but it was an interesting culinary experience that
one should have in the Andes.
 |
| Cuy asado con papas |
If going to the center of the earth wasn’t enough, we also
had to make it to one of the highest points “on” the equator, Cotopaxi. Just 17
km south of Quito, Cotopaxi is the second highest peak in Ecuador and one of
the highest active volcanoes in the world at 5,897 m. It technically is higher
than Mount Everest if you measure by distance to the core since the earth
bulges significantly at the equator. We did a combined hiking and biking tour
to visit this famous peak.
From Quito, we packed into a minibus with 15 other travelers
and a roof full of mountain bikes. The drive south was beautiful – we passed
other major volcanoes in the area with acres of fertile farmland stretching
across their bases in geometric patterns. Unfortunately it was a little cloudy
so we couldn’t see Cotopaxi’s magnificent snow-capped cone from afar. We had a
briefing at a nature museum and munched on some coca leaf candies before
starting the drive up half the volcano. Our bus broke down about three-quarters
of the way up, so we had to wait for a 4x4 to come get us in shifts to take us
up.
The starting point for the hike was a parking lot at about
4,500 m. The ascent was grueling. Three hundred meters of climbing at a 45
degree angle up unstable volcanic rock. It was like walking through sand with
added hail pelting us. We had to stop every 15-20 steps just to catch our
breath, so it took at least 2 hours to reach 4,800 m where a small refuge had
been built to house climbers. After another less grueling 150 m, we were at the
snowline, the highest point we could reach without real gear. We made snowballs
and snow angels and rested.
 |
| Just barely able to lift our arms at the refugio |
 |
| Equatorial snow angel |
 |
| I've reached the top....sort of... |
The views were stunning - below us rolling green and yellow
plains below red and black volcanic rock, above blueish equatorial glaciers and
behind them the peak of Cotopaxi barely visible behind the clouds. The sun came
out for a bit and we soaked up the rays. What a great feeling to make it to the
snow, even if the car did more than half the work. After a much quicker descent
back to the parking lot, we hopped on bikes for the rest of the downhill. Going
downhill on bikes was not especially fun for several reasons 1) it was raining,
2) the road was dirt and in bad condition so it felt like being on a washboard,
3) our hands got cold and numb really fast from constantly braking. It probably
would have been better in clearer weather, but as it was, after a long hike, we
were more than happy to get off the bikes after about 15 km. After a comedic
attempt to stuff 17 bikes into a new bus, we headed back toward Quito, stopping
for a much needed dinner at a local hacienda.
 |
| Still smiling despite the rain |
From the middle of the earth to nearly the top of it, the
environs of Quito provided us with plenty of opportunities to have some
unforgettable experiences.
No comments:
Post a Comment