Ecuador: Back to the Andes

Back at high altitude

Our Amazonian adventure complete, we flew back to Quito from Coca. Still, I would have liked to drive, especially because I was afraid that the flight would re-clog my ears. But, even though I didn’t feel great, my ears survived.

Interestingly, on our first time in Quito, we stayed at the airport and toured the city. This time, we stayed in the city, but all our activities were NOT in town. Since the itinerary was different from what had been published, I think some things may have just shifted around.

When we landed, we did not head to town. Instead we took an opportunity to celebrate Ecuador by standing on the Equator with one foot in the Northern and one in the Southern Hemisphere (sort of). We visited the Middle of the World Monument located at a latitude 0° (ish) just north of Quito in Pichincha.

Middle of the World Monument

Monsieur de la Condamine of the Expedition

The 98-foot-tall monument, constructed between 1979 and 1982, is definitely a cut above Four Corners in Colorado/New Mexico/Utah/ Arizona. 

Made of iron and concrete and covered with cut and polished andesite stone, it commemorates the first Geodesic Mission of the French Academy of Sciences in 1736 that studied the shape of the Earth, confirming that we live on not a sphere, but an oblate spheroid. 

Earth is nearly flat at the poles and round at the sides, making is very slightly elliptical. Previously, the opposite had been believed, with scientists thinking the poles were elongated.

The placement of the Equatorial line was defined by the Geodesic Mission. Of course, it turns out (as it always does) that they were a little off – 790 feet too far south to be exact. Ruins found nearby by the Expedition were actually situated at the exact position where the Equatorial line crosses.

This monument is interesting because, even though the Equator runs 24,901 miles around the Earth, Ecuador is the only place where it crosses mountains. This seems surprising until you realize that 78.7 percent of the Equatorial line is over ocean. Still, it makes the place special.

The "Equator" line runs down the stairs

And, it was a gorgeous day, which, if you believe what you read, is a bit unusual for the normally wet Andes.

There were some clouds

We started our visit – where else – in a store. According to Wilson, most of the items for sale were made by women who were supporting their families. Still, I am not much of shopper, so … 

While there, however, we spent a fair amount of time exploring a phenomenon – which few of our group could replicate – where you are supposed to be able to balance an egg on a nail at the Equator.

Putting on a show

I looked it up and found that: “Folklore holds that eggs can only be balanced in this way at a particular time of year: the lunar new year in China, the Dragon Boat Festival in Taiwan or the vernal equinox in the U.S. 

It is also said that "eggs can be balanced on the heads of nails (at any time) at the Equator. In reality, eggs will balance anywhere at any time of year, and the practice has no connection to the gravitational force of the Moon or Sun.” 

Instead, it has to do with how well the yolk is centered and whether there are any irregularities on the shell. In fact, gravitational and electromagnetic forces are considerably weaker and steadier than the disturbances created by a nearby person's breathing and heartbeat. I was skeptical and didn’t even try it.

Scott's plunder

Scott bought a couple of knit masks and I bought a cute little stuffed llama, but I think my purchase was more “I ought to buy something.”

Wilson did a brief orientation, where he pointed out what to see and gave background on the monument. 

Ecuador means Equator

We had been given box lunches on the bus, but Wilson took us to a restaurant that would allow us to eat there, even with our own lunches. Of course, some of us ordered food. I tried their locro de papas (potato cheese soup). The giant portion was OK, but not as good as the first time I tried it.

View from the upstairs restaurant

After lunch, we had time on our own to explore the monument. Scott ran off to shoot photos, so I explored a little on my own, including climbing the four flights of stairs to the top because the elevator operator wouldn’t let me take the elevator, even though we had been told that it was included with our admission. 

It has an elevator to the top

But I headed up because, more than anything, I really wanted to look out over the mountains. We had had so few chances to get a feeling for the landscape, that was important to me.

When I met up with Kathy and Fran at the top, they said that they were allowed on the elevator because they were seniors. 

Five years ago, I might have believed that I was denied because I didn’t look like a senior. But since I grew out my gray hair and aged quite a bit, I am sure that’s not the case. Just lucky, I guess.

But, despite it being over 10,000 feet elevation, the climb wasn’t difficult. I got a little winded and my cough kicked up, but it was fine.

The view from the top was lovely

Looking all around

The beauty of climbing to the top is that you get an unobstructed 360-degree view of the surrounding area. Well, unobstructed by human-made structures. There is the issue of the clouds that constantly drift across the mountains. One minute, it's sunny; the next, it's cloudy with what looks like an impending storm. Then, it's sunny again. In some ways, like Colorado.

An interesting thing about the Equator is that tree line is so high. In Colorado, it's at 11,500 feet. In Quito, it's at about 16,000 feet. You do see some snow, but many peaks are snow-free.

The monument is cool, too. Pyramidal, with each side facing a cardinal direction, it is topped by a globe 15 feet in diameter.

Everyone enjoys looking at the globe

Inside is a small museum that displays a variety of indigenous items pertaining to Ecuadorian culture: clothing, descriptions of the various ethnic group and examples of their activities.

The museum is somewhat cheesy

The grounds have displays, museums and statues. 

Sculpture of Cuban poet and Latin American independence fighter José Martí 

There’s a little train that drives around the plaza (and almost ran over us).

We didn't ride, just jumped out of the way

And, mainly, there are people posing for pictures as they “hold up” the sphere or stand with a foot in each hemisphere. Touristy, but fun.

Kathy, Don and Jenny and Fran

Cardinal directions are marked

After looking around, I joined Fran and Kathy on the less-crowded northern side of the monument.

We just sat, watched the antics of the varied group of tourists and enjoyed the slightly crisp high-altitude air and beautiful sunshine.

While there, I got some nice photos of some Eared Doves, which made up for the really poor ones I got at Plaza Grande. 

I heard and saw more Rufous-collared Sparrow, but didn't get any good photos.

You can see the "ears" here

It was touristy, but lovely. I think that was mainly because the weather was so delightful. Definitely the most beautiful of our whole trip.

And, speaking of touristy, we also got a certificate for visiting. I guess that will go in my permanent record!

Shopping

Then, we drove into town and made a stop at Galeria Latina, a high-end folk-art store. 

Now, there, I could have spent a lot of money; Photo: Indagare Travel

I love this!

There were so, so many pretty things. 

I ended up with just one small silver Flamingo.

Now, I have a bit of guilt that I wasn’t buying gifts for my children. But, then, I didn’t really see things I thought they would like and why would they want stuff from a place they didn’t visit?

Still, maybe I should have tried harder.

Then, we drove into town and checked into the beautiful Dann Carleton Hotel. 

Dann Carleton

There was no planned dinner and Wilson made some recommendations, but I was too tired to go out. Scott needed to go buy another bag to take home all the masks and so forth had had bought, so he walked down to a big mall a couple of blocks away and grabbed some dinner.

Our purchases

I ordered room service and rested. My cold was pretty bad at this point. I still wasn’t clogged up, but I had a cough and was getting so, so tired.

 

Trip date: March 7 - 19, 2023