The Equator

 We leave the Otavalo market to return to Quito, making a stop on  the equator.   The equator is an imaginary line around the center of the earth, an equal distance from the north and south poles. We’re going to visit an imaginary line?  Yes.  And I’m excited about it.      
In Ecuador, it’s not imaginary.  There is a red painted line showing exactly where the equator is.   Here Linda and I are standing on ...a red painted line.

Standing on the Equator

The only problem is there’s some dispute about exactly where that red line should be.     
A ninety foot high monument (San Antonio de Pichincha), finished in 1982, is supposed to mark the equator, but there is some argument that it’s over 750 feet south of the actual equator.  Scientifically, this is a big difference.  For me, it's close enough.

Monument to the Equator - San Antonio de Pichincha from
  http://www.turismo.gob.ec/san-antonio-de-pichincha-un-singular-destino-turistico-en-el-centro-del-planeta/

Equator Information
     
On the equator, you have twelve hours of daylight and twelve hours of darkness, year round.    The further away you get, the more drastic the seasonal differences in daily dark and light. The North Pole has twenty-four hours of sunlight on June 21 and a twenty-four hour night on  December 21. Reverse those dates to get twenty-four hours of day or night at the south pole.    
 A few hundred years ago Gustave Gaspard Coriolis observed that things that move on the earth’s surface, like air and water,  swirl right (clockwise) to the north of the equator, and in the opposite direction south of the equator.   All of this has to do with the rotation of the planet and its curve.       
 To observe the Coriolis effect, pour water directly into a drain.  If you're north of the equator, the liquid will swirl to the right; south --like New Zealand-- it will circle counter-clockwise.  The further north or south you go, the more obvious the water’s motion.  
     
So what happens to the Coriolis effect ON the equator?  If you’re in just the right spot, it will go straight down.  
The Coriolis effect also impacts weather patterns.  Just as water swirls less as it nears the equator, so does the movement of air masses.

   We measure the earth from north to south in ‘degrees latitude’.  The north pole is 90° north of the equator, the south pole is 90° south.* 
   

I am standing at 0°, watching children play.  Some things are the same everywhere. I take a bit of comfort in that...something about combining the observation of an unusual natural phenomenon with something sweet and mundane like children at play. 

Having seen the market and stood on the equator, we return to our hotel to prepare for tomorrow’s departure -- to the islands! 
     

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(Just to complete the geographical information-- longitude measures distance east or west of the ‘prime meridian’, which is 0° as it goes through Greenwich, England).

Otavalo Market tour

This morning we meet the rest the people who will join us in the Galapagos, and our local Quito guide, Carlos, who takes us an hour drive north to explore the Otavalo market.  Otavalo’s history goes back before the Inca arrived in the early 1400s.   People from the lowlands would bring produce up to Otavalo to trade for mountain products.  Six hundred-plus years is long time for a market to endure.
 
A Little History
The Inca state was the ‘Kingdom of Cuzco’ before the 1430s.  Through peaceful assimilation and some more fierce and aggressive efforts, the Inca incorporated a major segment of western South America, centered on the Andean mountain range. Quechua, a language with ties to the Inca, is most often linked to a substantial area of Peru, and is also still spoken in parts of other South American countries (including Ecuador).
  
The Inca retained control of the area until the arrival of Francisco Pizarro in 1532.  The Otavalo market continues to this day.
 
Today’s market serves two purposes.  Local people still come to buy goods and barter for livestock.  But now tourists take in the atmosphere, explore the stalls and admire and buy native crafts.
 
Often the clothing of those in the marketplace shows their local ties-- robes, dresses, scarves, hats... Just as often, they're dressed in 'typical' modern casual wear.  I'm especially impressed by the way so many people are carrying baskets of goods on their heads (on my best day, I don't think I could do that.) 
 
Otavalo is a busy area filled with tourists, natives,  children, and animals. Two things strike me: women have a major role in the Otavalo market.  And there seem to be many native children here of school age... but they're obviously not in school.

This is an area where a picture truly is worth a thousand words. 
 
The first group of photos provide some sense of the market that targets the native population---more produce and practical goods in the various stalls.

 

 
We also see a blend of the native population and tourists (easy to spot--people with backpacks, cameras, purses, and/or modern-looking clothing) in areas selling less produce and more items that would make great souvenirs.

 

Both Otavalo sales people and tourists in this photo, with some bartering going on in the background.

   

The dog is not for sale; just keeping the stall's owner company .

The tour reunites to continue for lunch and a visit to the equator. 

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A Short Visit to Quito

The hotel dining room is playing country music.  This is the capital city of Ecuador.  Go figure.

Because we arrived a day early, we have a a little time to explore Quito on our own.  With roughly 2 million people, Quito is the second largest city in Ecuador  (Guayaquil is the largest).  Two miles wide and fifteen miles long, Quito is built on a lengthy plateau bordered by volcanoes. 

We begin with Old Town Quito.  Designed like old Spanish cities,  important buildings like the presidential palace and cathedral surround the main square.  The palace has stores in its ground floor level, all of them opening to the street.

Old Quito Presidential Palace and square

 

Presidential Palace 

Old Town Quito, Cathedral ahead

Old Town Quito--- note the mountainous setting and the ubiquitous yellow cabs

We wander a little, take a few pictures, and then take a yellow cab to the cable-cars so we can ascend the volcano. 

At the edge of the city, we’re at the base of the Pichincha Volcano, an active volcano (I seem to have an attraction to active volcanoes, don’t I?). Although it shows no signs of life right now, Pichincha provided a reminder of its potential in 2002 when an explosion of smoke and steam emerged from the peak (this happens when sub-surface waters are heated to an explosive level by the lava below).

We take the cable-car  to the Teleferico--the lookout  point at the top of Cruz Loma.  I walk slowly, gulping for air at a 15,700 foot altitude. I usually see views like this from a plane, so I (once again) marvel at the Earth that stretches out before me, at clouds meeting the ground, at the tiny appearance of the city below. Reminders of how small we are, how tiny a speck in the grand scheme of things.  And how grand that scheme.

View at top top of Cruz Loma (Volcán Pichincha)

View from the volcano

View from Cruz Loma (Volcán Pichincha)

When we descend, Linda and I try to find a yellow taxi because we were advised to go only in yellow taxis. (Remember in Old Quito they were everywhere.)  There are very few cars in the parking lot, and one of them is a white SUV tour car.  (I'm a little surprised that this incredible viewing area and natural wonder aren't much more crowded, but I know a lot of travelers enjoy cities more than mountains)  The SUV tour car offers to take us back to town.  We hesitate, waiting for that yellow cab. 

Eventually we both realize this poor guy is just trying to make a living, there’s no yellow taxi coming, and he’s got to go down the mountain anyway.  We accept his offer and are safely deposited at our hotel, where they are still playing country music in the dining room.  

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