Jen and Rebecca Face the Equator's Challenges (1/7/10)

For today’s adventure, we arranged for a ride to view a village built in the crater of an extinct volcano and then to take us on to the Equator museum. The village site was pretty, but there wasn’t very much to see or do there unless we wanted to take the time to hike down to it. So, we took a few photos and then headed off to the Equator museum. In addition to information on the equator, the museum also had exhibits on Ecuadoran culture and history. It was in one of these exhibits that we learned that in addition to being a national delicacy, guinea pigs were also used to sense bad spirits (since they were calm when we entered the hut, we’re assuming that means we’re good spirits).

There are multiple “official” equator sites, but based on the tests we were put thru, we decided that we were indeed at the official one. The first test our guide completed involved water going down the drain. Just a few feet to the north or south of the equator, the water spun as it went down the drain. After he moved the sink over the equator line, the water flowed straight down! Our second demonstration was one of human strength. Jen was the volunteer for this one. A few feet north of the equator, and she was able to resist the guide as he attempted to pull her arms down. On the line, no matter how hard she tried, her arms failed her and came down when the guide pulled. The most fun (and frustrating) test was balancing an egg on the head of a nail. After 3 tries, Jen finally got hers to stand up! (Rebecca, not so much, which frustrated her to no end because as we all know, she hates losing. Or not being good at something!)

Once we arrived back in Quito, we went to the Teleferico (our last Quito must-do). The Teleferico is a cable car ride 2500 meters high into the Andes. Rebecca was glad Jen was a good sport about it, as Jen is not a fan of heights. (And therefore Rebecca has made it her personal goal to find all things involving heights to make Jen participate in!) We spent several hours wandering about the mountain top (where it was chilly!), enjoying the city views and trying to identify the various mountains (we know we saw Cotopaxi – just not sure exactly which one it was).