Middle of the World

Although the Equator runs through hundreds of places, one country that takes particular pride in its unique geographical location is Ecuador.  The capital city - Quito - runs smack in the middle of the imaginary line.  Today Jenesa and I stood beside each other.....but we were in different hemispheres!

We visited the "Middle of the World" monument this morning which designates the Equator with a thick yellow line.  Unfortunately, they TRICKED us!  I did some research and according to modern GPS units...the actual Equator lies about 240 meters to the north of the indicated line. Park officials claim that the nearby land where the Equator runs is traversed by a ravine and that the ground there was not suitable to hold a monument, so the builders chose a different location.

Even though we were "tricked" a little at this monument....there was some weird things going on during our visit to the Solar Museum (which GPS calculated as exactly 0 latitude).  We were challenged to participate in a few Equator games to test the "forces" of the hemispheres.  The first challenge was to close your eyes and walk down the designated Equator line (one foot in front of the other). Each hemisphere pulls you from one side to the other.....making it impossible to walk straight and keep your feet on the line.

The next challenge was to balance an egg on top of a nail.  Carefully placing the egg on the head of the nail and getting it to stay there.....would result in being rewarded with a certificate!!!  Our tour guide demonstrated that it WAS possible....but neither of us could do it.

And, finally, I stood on the Equator and raised both arms up in front of me.  Another person would stand in front of me and attempt to push both my arms down.....using just 2 fingers!   Jenesa proved that she had some muscles.....at least in Ecuador!