Mindo delivered on its famous nighttime serenade last night. The roosters were cawing by 4am and the dogs were barking until sunrise. However, it wasn't anything a little drowsy gravol couldn't counter. Woke up with fairly little time to hang out. Went with a couple people to check out the markets here, but after the bought some jungle pants, it was time for breakfast, then immediately we said goodbye to half our group again and jumped in the bus bound for Quito. We had never been in this bus before, but apparently it was owned by HLD and had been in for repairs. Unfortunately, the repairs weren't complete and we were slowed down by the engine overheating the whole way. Good thing it wasn't a long way. We made a long awaited stop along the way to the exact equator line. There was a museum and monument on the site, explaining the indigenous people who lived here. After learning a bit about them (who happened to be the tribe famous for making shrunken heads), we were taken to a line painted in the ground that marked the exact gps line of the equator. It had some unique properties. Apparently there are two distinct currents - one for the northern hemisphere and one for the south. We grow up used to walking against just one current, so it's actually really difficult to walk a straight line on the equator (both currents are pushing against you). These currents typically cancel each other out when they carry storms, so there are no hurricanes or typhoons here. They also did a demonstration with a sink to prove these opposing currents. They filled it up and drained it on the equator line and the water drained straight down. They only moved the sink one meter north and it drained in a counterclockwise spiral, south and it spun clockwise. The force of gravity was a lot more direct as well, making you stronger in pushing or pulling downwards on the line. I found this all incredibly cool. After leaving the site, it wasn't long before we were in Quito and at a pizza place for lunch. There was a lot of really good pizza so I definitely had my fill. We then went to our new hotel - Nuhouse. We had heard about this hotel for so long but had never stayed here. It's nice and very modern. The good wifi is a plus too. We hung around for a good while - most of us had to pack for leaving for the Galapagos islands tomorrow. I rented a duffle bag from HLD so i didn't have to lug my monster bag onto little island boats all week here. For dinner, we went to a place right beside the hotel and i had a pretty decent burger. To finish off the night, our group all just hung out in one of the rooms. This night would be goodbye for three more of us that aren't going to Galapagos. They have to wait until 1:15 before leaving on a early morning taxi to the airport. My wakeup call is 5am so i'd better get myself to bed too.
Me in both hemispheres
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