Given that the country is called "Equator" in its Spanish translation, the site to 
honor the line itself has thus been dubbed La Mitad del Mundo, or The Middle of the World. Although a major tourist site, it is undoubtedly a necessary stop if you are in the area, and there are some cool things to see and do while there, especially hemisphere hopping. Superman wished he had that power.
The major monument at the sight, located in the artificial Ciudad de la Mitad del Mundo (Middle of the World City), marks what were the earliest
calculations as to where the invisible equatorial line traversed the land. It ended up being wrong, but remains a tourist attraction nonetheless. Faithful to true tourist sites the world round, there are charges for everthing. $2 to enter the city, $3 to see the inside of the monument, $1.50 for the planetarium, and this, that and the other thing. The planetarium was ok, a bit overdramatic and low budget, but tested my spanish vocabulary of things related to stars (not so good, but, surprisingly, not so bad either). The museum in the monument itself was interesting, giving a brief overview of all the indigenous peoples currently living in Ecuador today, including African groups and some blended cultures that have emerged.
As I mentioned, the monument isn't on the equator proper, but was placed where it was thought to be when the monumen
t was built. With the advent of GPS, the true equatorial line was found to be some 900 feet away. Therefore, to go hemisphere hopping, one must enter another museum (with another charge). An interesting tour and display of equatorial effects, however, made this one worth the $3 price tag. More insight into Ecuador's people was given, and I even found out how to shrink a human head after I do battle and vanquish my enemy. But the highlight were the 
demonstrations on the equatorial line. Displaying the popluar Coriolis Effect with water, you could see water spinning in two different directions on either side of the line, with no spinning at the equator itself (no, toilettes don't blow up on the equator). Also, balancing eggs on a nail is possible, due to something with gravity. I didn't really understand that part (tour was in Spanish, so that didn't help), but I did get a certificate because I balanced an egg on a nail all by myself. =D There were some other demonstrations, but I don't know that I buy them, and it would take a while to explain them to you anyway. So you are spared.
honor the line itself has thus been dubbed La Mitad del Mundo, or The Middle of the World. Although a major tourist site, it is undoubtedly a necessary stop if you are in the area, and there are some cool things to see and do while there, especially hemisphere hopping. Superman wished he had that power.The major monument at the sight, located in the artificial Ciudad de la Mitad del Mundo (Middle of the World City), marks what were the earliest
calculations as to where the invisible equatorial line traversed the land. It ended up being wrong, but remains a tourist attraction nonetheless. Faithful to true tourist sites the world round, there are charges for everthing. $2 to enter the city, $3 to see the inside of the monument, $1.50 for the planetarium, and this, that and the other thing. The planetarium was ok, a bit overdramatic and low budget, but tested my spanish vocabulary of things related to stars (not so good, but, surprisingly, not so bad either). The museum in the monument itself was interesting, giving a brief overview of all the indigenous peoples currently living in Ecuador today, including African groups and some blended cultures that have emerged.As I mentioned, the monument isn't on the equator proper, but was placed where it was thought to be when the monumen
t was built. With the advent of GPS, the true equatorial line was found to be some 900 feet away. Therefore, to go hemisphere hopping, one must enter another museum (with another charge). An interesting tour and display of equatorial effects, however, made this one worth the $3 price tag. More insight into Ecuador's people was given, and I even found out how to shrink a human head after I do battle and vanquish my enemy. But the highlight were the 
demonstrations on the equatorial line. Displaying the popluar Coriolis Effect with water, you could see water spinning in two different directions on either side of the line, with no spinning at the equator itself (no, toilettes don't blow up on the equator). Also, balancing eggs on a nail is possible, due to something with gravity. I didn't really understand that part (tour was in Spanish, so that didn't help), but I did get a certificate because I balanced an egg on a nail all by myself. =D There were some other demonstrations, but I don't know that I buy them, and it would take a while to explain them to you anyway. So you are spared.Now for the interactive part (or just skip to the videos below). To understand
the Coriolis effect a bit better, get a globe and can orient the equator to be vertical to the floor. Now put yourself at the south pole, and spin the globe from left to right. Which way does Brazil spin? Now go to the north pole, spin the globe again (right to left this time, to keep the same direction of spin), and look how the States spins. Finally stand with the Equator infront of you and spin again. How does the equator spin? You should have seen Brazil spin clockwise, the States spin counter-clockwise, and the equator should have just been a line in front of you, spinning yes, but just a line, with no circular motion in the clockwise or counter direction. This motion is responsible for the Coriolis Effect, which I taped here (look at how the leaves spin):
the Coriolis effect a bit better, get a globe and can orient the equator to be vertical to the floor. Now put yourself at the south pole, and spin the globe from left to right. Which way does Brazil spin? Now go to the north pole, spin the globe again (right to left this time, to keep the same direction of spin), and look how the States spins. Finally stand with the Equator infront of you and spin again. How does the equator spin? You should have seen Brazil spin clockwise, the States spin counter-clockwise, and the equator should have just been a line in front of you, spinning yes, but just a line, with no circular motion in the clockwise or counter direction. This motion is responsible for the Coriolis Effect, which I taped here (look at how the leaves spin):Equator:
Southern Hemisphere:
Northern Hemisphere:
Oohs and Aahs and applause.
Southern Hemisphere:
Northern Hemisphere:
Oohs and Aahs and applause.
Finally, I went to nearby volcanic crater where there are people actually living inside the crater walls in the lush valley below. Unfortunately for us, it was cloudy and we couldn't see much. More unfortunate for the people below, volcanic activity started up four years ago, and now there is potential for an eruption on any given day.
No comments:
Post a Comment