Mitad del Mundo

Last Thursday I went to Mitad del Mundo (Middle of the World) with Hannah, another student from Yanapuma. We went one afternoon after classes since it only takes an hour or so to get there. Mitad del Mundo has a huge monument where the equator lies. You can straddle the north and south hemisphere at the same time.


Unfortunately, 12 years ago, with GPS technology, they learned the line was not in the correct place. So we went a little further down the road to a museum called Museo de Sitio Intiño. Here is the place where the GPS calculated ecuator line is.

At the museum they demonstrated a few experiments. The first experiment, based on Corioli´s Law, was to demonstrate how winds and currents tend to flow counter clockwise north of the equator, and clockwise south of the equator. First the sink was placed on the equator, the guide pulled the plug, and the water went straight down. Then the sink was placed south of the equator and then north of the equator. And the result? The sink drained counter clockwise in the north and clockwise in the south. It was convincing I must say. But I have read that this experiment is a big hoax and that being that close to the equator would not really demonstrate Corioli´s law. It was fun to watch even if it is not true.



The tour guide also demonstrated that balancing an egg at the equator is easier than anywhere else in the world. You could do it in other parts of the world but it is supposedly easier at the equator. I tried and couldn´t do it though.


There were also exhibits there about Ecuadorian tribes. Here is a real shrunken head they had on display that was 100 years old, and a pretty graphic explanation of the process.


And here I am on the real equator, in the northern and southern hemisphere at the same time.