The middle of the world!

So, another fun trip I took when I was in Quito was originally meant to be to Otavalo. It’s famous for its indigenous goods market. I eventually made it there in July. But, super hungover from a night at the discoteca, I met up with Maria Augusta-Magus, one Sunday morning when I was in Quito. We never made it to Otavalo, because on our way there, the main highway was closed for a bike race. So we had to take a detour. We eventually made it a our breakfast spot, (which was delicious!) and then after breakfast, got stuck behind the cyclists that had detoured us earlier. Eventually we realized we’d never make it, so made the best of it and ended up deciding to go to the Mitad del Mundo. 

(fresh cheese, part of the delicious breakfast at Cafe de la Vaca)

The Mitad del Mundo (middle of the world) is a whole built up monument marking the equator. Obviously the center of the world is anywhere on the equator, but this point is conveniently located just on the edge of Quito, so they built a big monument there. It also is the place where some scientists back in the day measured the equator in the 1800s. Some people get all upset because it isn’t exactly lined up with the equator all the year (because of the earth’s rotation, the big yellow line is only right for some part of the year), but I’m not especially worried about. It’s a lot closer to the equator than Des Moines, so I will definitely take my picture with one leg in the southern hemisphere and another in the northern.