Today was the day we traveled to the middle of the world. About 1 hour 15 minutes north of Quito (yes, we've been in the southern hemisphere) lies the equator. When I was a kid, I never imagined being on the equator, but here we are! The day began with a stop at a monastary that makes ice cream. Remind me if I ever say I want to be a monk, to join a monastary that makes ice cream. Then it was off to an inactive volcano (at least that's there story and their sticking with it!) near the equator which you can see in one of the pictures. It is thought the mountain had been twice as high as it is, but blew it's top 400-500 years ago. The mountains here are really high, but it is the Andes, after all. And yes, there are llamas!
After the volcano it was off to the equator, the middle of the earth. Yes, I spent a fair piece of time hopping from north to south. In the picture, Rob and Suzette are in the north, Anne was in the southern hemisphere and I had a foot on both sides - I felt very balanced. There is a museum nearby so we stopped and watched all of the funk equator effects. Gravity is slightly less on the equator - you weigh 2.2 lbs. less on the equator and you're not quite as strong. Things should balance better. One is invited to balance an egg on a nail - you can see Rob giving it a try (unsuccessfully, I might add). I did it 4 times and got a diploma to prove it! We also watched the Coriolis effect. A few feet one way or another and the water spins left or right as it goes down a drain. On the equator, it falls straight down the drain. Pretty funky.
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