2-20-2010 Sat.
Today is our first day in Cayambe. We had a long drive here (well, 1 hour 15 min.) But it seems much longer when you have to use the restroom! We traveled here after visiting el Mitad del Mundo. This is the center of the world, the equator. It was a nice little touristy place. We got on a bus that was rather interesting at the Hostal San Juan. It was a large tour bus type with spikes on the wheels, and shag window coverings. We drove to Mitad del Mundo, which took about 30 minutes. We arrived and got out to see a large statue with a ball on top and a bunch on monuments in front of it. We started walking to see all the sights with our guides that refused to speak English with us. It was rather difficult because I have to put all my energy into listening to pick out what I do know to be able to get anything out of it. We were taken on a tour around the plaza that had a bunch of different little shops. Then we were taken into the large monument, which had a bunch of different exhibits talking about the different people and cultures of Ecuador. At the top of the monument was a viewing platform, which had an amazing view of the surrounding area. There are lots of mountains and hills that are all throughout the area and it does look a little like a patchwork quilt. There are a lot of buildings and houses everywhere and on the hillsides, many of them have rebar sticking out of the top of the houses so that when they have more money, they can build another level onto their house. The one thing that really surprised me and kind of threw me off was the fact that you are not supposed to throw the toilet paper into the toilet, it goes in the trash. Let me tell you that takes some getting used to in order to break 23 years of throwing my toilet paper in the toilet where you think it belongs.
After we left the Center of the World, we walked a little down the road, to another Museum type place. This is the actual GPS determined center of the world, the place where the equator runs through it. We had a guided tour this time in English. He took us around the small site and did some demonstrations about gravity and the effect of being on the Equator. The first one was with an old sundial that was used many, many years ago. It is still accurate but it is off by about 15 minutes because the actual length of the day is not 24 hours and that was why Leap Year was invented- to make up for that lost time. The next demonstration was in order to show how when you walk along the equator you can feel the pull of gravity from both sides. Our guide had us walk on the line of the Equator with our eyes closed and thumbs up, heal-toe. I could feel the pull especially to the north because it is stronger. Another demonstration was with water, and it showed how the water flowed directly down when on the equator, because there is no pull from the sides. When poured in the Southern hemisphere it flowed clockwise, and in the North counterclockwise. It was very interesting, especially seeing it in a hands-on kind of way; I don’t think I ever would have learned the concepts of that without that way of learning. It was a very informative visit.
After this we had lunch at a little restaurant close by. It was very good, but I wasn’t very hungry. We walked in and there was an entire hand-crafted canoe filled with fruit, and not the normal fruit we’re used to seeing. There was tomate de arbol, and that is about the only one out of the many that I can remember. Lunch was then potato soup, then chicken and rice and a small salad. I didn’t eat much. Then it was back to the bus for a beautiful bus ride to Cayambe. We drove up and through and around the mountains on a pretty new paved road that was nicer than the roads in IN. We arrived at our compound and had one educational thing to do, converse in Spanish with one of our trainers, before we were able to play!!! I was so excited because we were able to play some real soccer!!! It was so much fun! I was rather worried at first because of the altitude, but I was fine, sort of. I even scored a couple of goals!! Then dinner and some Peace Corps volunteer socializing, then bed!
Today is our first day in Cayambe. We had a long drive here (well, 1 hour 15 min.) But it seems much longer when you have to use the restroom! We traveled here after visiting el Mitad del Mundo. This is the center of the world, the equator. It was a nice little touristy place. We got on a bus that was rather interesting at the Hostal San Juan. It was a large tour bus type with spikes on the wheels, and shag window coverings. We drove to Mitad del Mundo, which took about 30 minutes. We arrived and got out to see a large statue with a ball on top and a bunch on monuments in front of it. We started walking to see all the sights with our guides that refused to speak English with us. It was rather difficult because I have to put all my energy into listening to pick out what I do know to be able to get anything out of it. We were taken on a tour around the plaza that had a bunch of different little shops. Then we were taken into the large monument, which had a bunch of different exhibits talking about the different people and cultures of Ecuador. At the top of the monument was a viewing platform, which had an amazing view of the surrounding area. There are lots of mountains and hills that are all throughout the area and it does look a little like a patchwork quilt. There are a lot of buildings and houses everywhere and on the hillsides, many of them have rebar sticking out of the top of the houses so that when they have more money, they can build another level onto their house. The one thing that really surprised me and kind of threw me off was the fact that you are not supposed to throw the toilet paper into the toilet, it goes in the trash. Let me tell you that takes some getting used to in order to break 23 years of throwing my toilet paper in the toilet where you think it belongs.
After we left the Center of the World, we walked a little down the road, to another Museum type place. This is the actual GPS determined center of the world, the place where the equator runs through it. We had a guided tour this time in English. He took us around the small site and did some demonstrations about gravity and the effect of being on the Equator. The first one was with an old sundial that was used many, many years ago. It is still accurate but it is off by about 15 minutes because the actual length of the day is not 24 hours and that was why Leap Year was invented- to make up for that lost time. The next demonstration was in order to show how when you walk along the equator you can feel the pull of gravity from both sides. Our guide had us walk on the line of the Equator with our eyes closed and thumbs up, heal-toe. I could feel the pull especially to the north because it is stronger. Another demonstration was with water, and it showed how the water flowed directly down when on the equator, because there is no pull from the sides. When poured in the Southern hemisphere it flowed clockwise, and in the North counterclockwise. It was very interesting, especially seeing it in a hands-on kind of way; I don’t think I ever would have learned the concepts of that without that way of learning. It was a very informative visit.
After this we had lunch at a little restaurant close by. It was very good, but I wasn’t very hungry. We walked in and there was an entire hand-crafted canoe filled with fruit, and not the normal fruit we’re used to seeing. There was tomate de arbol, and that is about the only one out of the many that I can remember. Lunch was then potato soup, then chicken and rice and a small salad. I didn’t eat much. Then it was back to the bus for a beautiful bus ride to Cayambe. We drove up and through and around the mountains on a pretty new paved road that was nicer than the roads in IN. We arrived at our compound and had one educational thing to do, converse in Spanish with one of our trainers, before we were able to play!!! I was so excited because we were able to play some real soccer!!! It was so much fun! I was rather worried at first because of the altitude, but I was fine, sort of. I even scored a couple of goals!! Then dinner and some Peace Corps volunteer socializing, then bed!
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