Today (Sunday, November 11) I woke up after just a few hours sleep and decided to go to Mitad del Mundo. A small touristic area which claims to be on the Equator. By doing a little research, you will find out that the small "city" is not located on the Equator. The calculations are wrong. It is only a 2 dollar entrance and it is fun to see the place. It has a lot of overpriced food, touristic souvenirs and some people who dresses up and does some dance. There is also an insectarium and a few other things to see. All in all not a very impressive place, but it is just 65cents to get there and 2 dollars entrance. If you want to go the Ethnographic Museum, it will cost you 3 dollars extra. I found this to be the most (and only) interesting part of Mitad del Mundo with a great but small museum inside and a nice view from the top.
Just a 5 minute walk from Mitad del Mundo, you can find another museum called Intiñan solar museum. Before I went to Mitad del Mundo, I read about this place. This should be the place where the actual Equator line is! Calculated with some army GPS that is more precise and something something :) I did believe this while I was there, but then I found out that some different groups of geography nerds have brought their own GPS and proved that it is again a wrong calculation. They also come with a good point - why would the army help calculating the Equator for a private tourist buisness.
Anyway, this museum is so much more interesting! The entrance was 4$ and then you get a guided grouptour. It's an outdoor museum and the area itself looks a lot better (and less touristic) than Mitad del Mundo for my taste.
They tell you about animals of the jungle, how the indigenous people used to shrunk the heads of their rivals and wear them on a necklace and much more. They used to build big cabins where a family could live in each corner. The cabin would have two openings and be lowest in the middle. Then when it was raining, the water would go to the middle of the cabin and the two doors would make sure that the water could get out of the cabin, without the family being affected by it. You also get to do some entertaining things like trying to make an egg balance on a nail. Don't go to Mitad del Mundo without paying this museum a visit as well :)
During the weekdays here I spend time in school, exploring town and making homework. As mentioned, I live in an appartment with 6 other people, so there is always something to do or someone to practice your spanish with :)
Claudio and Hannah from the appartment invited me out for coffee to practice my spanish and show me a nice cafe. They following night the cooked me dinner :) They always let me borrow their computer so I don´t have to pay for one at the internet cafe.
I usualy eat dinner at the same time as Robert and we have some nice spanish conversations in the kitchen. Yesterday he even cooked me food - chickenbreast topped with bacon, vegetables and homemade fries. I kind of felt at home :) I get invited to many different events by my flatmates such as a soccer game and thanksgiving dinner. I haven´t been able to go though, but the invitations are great to get!
Today I´ve been out for lunch with a guy from couchsurfing. We had a great indian lunch - his treat. He is half ecuadorian and half american. It was nice to have a long decent conversation in english :) We also talked about each others travels, and i got a few ideas on where to go from him. Now it is time for homework.
- If you are travelling alone and staying in a city for more than a week, you should try to rent a room. At hostels people will usually only stay for a few days and party all day every day ;) I've started to feel at home and really get along with all the people in the appartment.
Just a 5 minute walk from Mitad del Mundo, you can find another museum called Intiñan solar museum. Before I went to Mitad del Mundo, I read about this place. This should be the place where the actual Equator line is! Calculated with some army GPS that is more precise and something something :) I did believe this while I was there, but then I found out that some different groups of geography nerds have brought their own GPS and proved that it is again a wrong calculation. They also come with a good point - why would the army help calculating the Equator for a private tourist buisness.
Anyway, this museum is so much more interesting! The entrance was 4$ and then you get a guided grouptour. It's an outdoor museum and the area itself looks a lot better (and less touristic) than Mitad del Mundo for my taste.
They tell you about animals of the jungle, how the indigenous people used to shrunk the heads of their rivals and wear them on a necklace and much more. They used to build big cabins where a family could live in each corner. The cabin would have two openings and be lowest in the middle. Then when it was raining, the water would go to the middle of the cabin and the two doors would make sure that the water could get out of the cabin, without the family being affected by it. You also get to do some entertaining things like trying to make an egg balance on a nail. Don't go to Mitad del Mundo without paying this museum a visit as well :)
During the weekdays here I spend time in school, exploring town and making homework. As mentioned, I live in an appartment with 6 other people, so there is always something to do or someone to practice your spanish with :)
Claudio and Hannah from the appartment invited me out for coffee to practice my spanish and show me a nice cafe. They following night the cooked me dinner :) They always let me borrow their computer so I don´t have to pay for one at the internet cafe.
I usualy eat dinner at the same time as Robert and we have some nice spanish conversations in the kitchen. Yesterday he even cooked me food - chickenbreast topped with bacon, vegetables and homemade fries. I kind of felt at home :) I get invited to many different events by my flatmates such as a soccer game and thanksgiving dinner. I haven´t been able to go though, but the invitations are great to get!
Today I´ve been out for lunch with a guy from couchsurfing. We had a great indian lunch - his treat. He is half ecuadorian and half american. It was nice to have a long decent conversation in english :) We also talked about each others travels, and i got a few ideas on where to go from him. Now it is time for homework.
- If you are travelling alone and staying in a city for more than a week, you should try to rent a room. At hostels people will usually only stay for a few days and party all day every day ;) I've started to feel at home and really get along with all the people in the appartment.
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