A day at the equator – a dream come true

Pam/ January 16, 2012/ Travel

I took the city bus north to Mitad del Mundo, literally “Middle of the Earth”. I think riding any bus here is a crowded noisy proposition. I stood for a while and then, as we got further and further north, more and more people got off. I sat for a while next to a woman in tradition clothing: hat, wrap and all. I don’t know how she could stand it. The sun made it a very warm day here. And we were on the sunny side of the bus.

There are several bus systems in town. The one I’ve taken up until now has three lines that run north and south. There are other buses, all blue, that run criss cross the city. The way the bus usually works is that you pay a quarter when you get off … although not always. I observed that yesterday while waiting for the hop on – hop off bus. All of the buses have a driver and then a guy who rides in the front of the bus on the steps. He collects your quarter when you get off … and if you get off at the back entrance, he gets off and you pay him in the street. Sometimes the bus takes off and he’s not even back on it and he runs and hops on while in motion. Passengers do that too, especially when getting on in the middle of the route (not at a stop – in Spanish “parade”). You can flag a bus anywhere. No need to get on at an “official stop”. And passengers will get off in the middle of the route, too, while the bus slows but still in motion. Most of the money collectors are men. I’ve seen just two women who are the money collectors. About three quarters of the way to the equator the money collector guy came through the bus collecting the fares. I gave him a dollar and he gave me forty cents back. All I could think was “Wow. I went to the equator for 60 cents”.

The monument is a big thing that even houses a museum. Entry to the grounds is $2 and entrance to the museum is $3. The grounds are full of restaurants and souvenirs shops. It’s really the most “organized for tourists” place I’ve seen so far. There’s a stage where there was some live music. The real fun, though, is to watch people take their pictures on the line and have your own picture taken. I asked a woman if she’d take my picture by the sign that says 0-0-0. Later I asked a young man to take my photo on the “E” (east side of the monument) with the line. All the photos at the equator turned out great. It was a glorious day there; sunny with some clouds to keep it cool. I’ll upload them as soon as I can. I took a few by myself and I really wanted to do a yoga pose on the line. I spotted a guy sitting on a bench. He was about my age. I went up and told him in Spanish, that I was a yoga teacher and asked him if he would take my photo doing a yoga pose on the equator (that part was in English). And, he was kind enough to do so.

Ivan is a Columbian with “muy bonito ojos”. He’s a bus driver, speaks great English and was glad to help me practice a little Spanish while he waited for his bus load of people to take photos. He’s applied for a visa to the US three times and has been denied. He’s a pilot but can’t get a job flying because he doesn’t have a visa. I hear that it’s difficult to get visas. He’s not the first person to tell me that. We chatted a few minutes and then he was off with his group.

I toured the monument, took the elevator up and walked down, browsing the exhibit. The explanations were in Spanish and in English and they included information, clothing, and items of the different indigenous people of Ecuador. After lunch I wandered into the town of Mitad del Mundo looking for the Museo Solar Inti Nan but couldn’t find it. So, I hiked back up to the place to catch the bus. A bunch of blue buses drove by but not the one I was suppose to take. And then, a white bus pulled up and driving it was Ivan! He asked me if I wanted a lift to Quito so I hopped on. His group was going to El Panecillo, where I was yesterday on the hop on hop off tour bus. I rode along to the top and, while we were chatting, some clouds rolled in and it started to rain and then hail!! The touristas hopped back on the bus, waited for it to quit, and then got back off to resume their sightseeing. When they were done, Ivan drove to the bottom of the hill and I hopped off. I walked through Old Town to the city bus and got back to Hipatia’s just before dark. I did my best to practice my Spanish with Ivan and when I said “No hablo espanol” he said “Si”. I laughed. Lucky I have another week of Spanish school.

Today was a dream come true. I’ve always wanted to go to the equator, never thought I would, and today I made it happen. While having lunch I got a little emotional. It’s an empowering feeling making a dream come true. It feels like anything is possible now.