Made it to the middle of the world today!
The Equator runs through many cities in the world, but Quito has become famous for its monument that is only a 45min bus ride outside of town and is very accessible and friendly to tourists.
The ‘Ciudad Mitad del Mundo’ has a plethora of mini art and science museums, restaurants, & of course tourist souvineer shops. It is currently being built up to be quite a tourist destination, and next year it promises a train ride and a specialty chocolate shoppe.
The monument itself was built in the 1900s, but the Equator was discovered and mapped out in 1736 by a French expedition team lead by Charles-Marie de La Comdamine. The interesting thing is that the line is just slightly off, and the GPS actually agrees with the line that the Indigenous people initially established as center of the world or as they called it ‘Inti-Ñan’, the path of the sun.
I am glad I had a travel buddy to join me on this adventure. Lina is an Egyptian medical doctor who lives in Germany, speaks 3+ languages (is now working on Spanish at the same school as me), and has her own band. 🙂 I always love meeting fun and interesting people like Lina when traveling! We got along great and enjoyed spending the day together and testing our knowledge of the solar system while touring the science museums.
We had a few adventures on the bus and also got chased by some big dogs which was scary, but we both made it safe and sound back to our apartments after a fun day at the equator. 🙂
Lina and I on two different halves of the world
Equator!!
View from the monument
Lina and I enjoyed a traditional Ecuadorian dish for lunch. Unfortunately, we did not have the chance to try Cuy- an even more traditional dish (Guinea Pig!)
Brittany Travels 
Great photos, and what a fun adventure (apart from the dogs chasing you…)
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