Equator

Sticking out along the waist of the chubby world, I walked along a red line marking its circumference. French explorers thought they had nailed it, but us Americans (woot!) and GPS proved them wrong. A grand monument marks the old equator and about 100 yards away a small cultural center marks the new equator at the true 0° latitude. The cultural center is mainly a path leading you along the equator as well as through indigenous huts and presentations of wildlife unique to Ecuador.

Did you know there are 600 different kinds of palm trees in the Ecuadoran corner of the Amazon? Or that there are 3 tribes still living there, 2 of which are nomadic? Did you know that there is a beetle, which lives on cacti, that when squished produces Red #6, used in lipsticks? Or that Eucalyptus plants soak up all the water surrounding them, and that they are actually not native to Ecuador? Our tour guide suggested importing many Koalas to fix that problem.

At the actual equator line (red, of course, as seen on our miniature globes) they have basins set up for demonstrating the swirl of the water. North of the line, water swirls to the left (and South… well, what do you think?). A sink sitting on the line reveals water dropping straight down. Here, you weigh 1 kg less, because you’re closer to the center of gravity. Your muscles relax, due to less gravity and when your arms are pushed down by someone, they immediately fall. It’s also difficult to walk on the line with your eyes closed and arms outstretched because your body is actually being pulled by both the Northern and Southern hemispheres. An egg can be balanced easily because the yoke inside is pulled to the exact bottom.

At the equator there are no hurricanes or tornadoes. In fact, in the sea they have the Doldrums, where there is no wind and ships get stuck there. Strong wind currents are experienced in the Caribbean and Australia due to the swirling currents of the water getting locked in to those windy spots. The Galapagos Islands are the only place that is on the equator as well as along one of the four meridians.

I have to hand it to the Ecuadorans for creating a cultural center along the equator. In Uganda, I remember only a medium-sized circular structure that said “equator” and you could have your picture taken in it. Here, they give you a tour of aspects of Ecuadoran culture, wildlife and bring you to the line where they perform different demonstrations of how your body is affected by the equator.

There are sun dials set up, showing how the indigenous groups knew when it was time to plant, rest, harvest, and grow their crops. When a person died they would remove the skin and cartilage from their skull, allowing it to shrink and then turn it into a mini-sculpture of the person’s face even pasting hair on the top. They are well preserved even to this day, mouths closed so their spirits don’t come out.

Wild.