Sunday January 27th

I woke up this morning at 7am and had to force myself to go back to sleep. I listened apprehensively for the gas truck, but it apparently doesn’t run on Sundays. Thank god for small miracles.

I met Marie and Liz at the school at 9:30 – Braulio decided he would rather sleep – so we could catch a bus to Cotacallao, and from there to La Mitad del Mundo (the magnetic equator). After waiting for forty minutes, though, we gave up and took a taxi to Cotacallao. There we did find the bus we wanted, and rode another half hour south.

The last time I was in Ecuador I went to the Mitad del Mundo, but I figured why not go again, as I didn’t have anything else to do. We spent a couple of hours there, took the obligatory dorky pictures with one foot in each hemisphere, did a little shopping, and had lunch in a café overlooking the square. There were live music and dancers in the square because it’s Sunday, and we had a good view from the restaurant. Marie and I also had a very good view of a dead guinea pig, which was our lunch.

I’ve been wanting to try cuy since the last time I was here, and I finally got my chance. There was very little meat on it, and what there was had an odd sort of salty, fishy taste. I don’t think I’d order it again, but at least I tried it.

Eventually we caught the bus back to Cotacallao, but decided once we were there to stay on and see where it went. It ended up at a bus station nearby, where we caught the blue line into Quito. Liz got off near her house and Marie and I continued all the way to the next station, where we caught the Ecovia. Marie got off at school to catch her bus home, and I stayed on the Ecovia until my stop in Jipijapa, which is the last one before the terminal. So we spent more time in transit than we actually spent at the equator, but I’m glad I went.

There’s a type of tea here that mom serves me after dinner every night, called cedrón. It’s an herb tea, and I know I’ve had it before, but I can’t remember the English name or where I’ve had it. Mom, is cedrón something you have at home?

Now for pictures.
Me and Marie at La Mitad del Mundo:
http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh276/keskipper/100_1259.jpg

Liz, me, and Marie:
http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh276/keskipper/100_1266.jpg

One of many tourist-trap shops:
http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh276/keskipper/100_1267.jpg

Local ketchup. Read it closely, it says squeezie with a Spanish spelling!
http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh276/keskipper/100_1271.jpg

Chifles, fried plantain chips:
http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh276/keskipper/100_1272.jpg

My lunch:
http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh276/keskipper/100_1275.jpg

Me looking the part of the dorky tourist:
http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh276/keskipper/100_1276.jpg

Entrance to Mitad del Mundo monument:
http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh276/keskipper/100_1281.jpg

Random cool gardening:
http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh276/keskipper/100_1282.jpg