The Equator

¡Buenos dias! ¿Como estan?
¡Big news! ¡Big news! ¡I´ve stood on the Equator - dead on the line! And.... I´ve the photos and the stamp in my passport to prove it! The following photos show:

• Me balancing on the Equator (theoretically I should have perfect balance as I´m inbetween both poles (North and South) - I hardly wiggled!!! Brag!


• I´m trying to balance an egg on the head of a nail - supposedly perfect balance again. (I couldn´t do it though others could!)
• As I stand in the Equatoral line, my strength is being tested by the guide! Theoretically I should have less strength, and less resistance. Hmmm.... ´was that a mind game´, I asked myself.
• My sister and I standing on the line - note the
  co-ordinates showing our position.
• Believe it or not, we stood on two different Equatoral lines - 50m apart! Why? Well... the first was designated in the 1700´s by a French explorer! (clever... I wonder how he did that?!) The other plotted more recently by GPS!
  
  
  

Prior to our going to the Equator we went for a long walk through the local country side.

These three photos are typical rural scenes of northern Ecuador. They show:
The stream where the women wash their clothes, hitting them against the rocks.
The dried maize stalks standing tall, used as animal fodder.
The simple one or two room homes where whole families live.
Chickens, pigs and dogs scratching, rooting or playing in the yard.
Men and children outside tilling the earth.
Women washing vegetables and dishes at the well in the yard.
Men and women carrying insanely heavy loads on their backs. (Note the man in the photo - he is short in stature, is many years ahead of me in age, and is carrying a load of firewood - Eucalyptus.)
Children minding animals in the fields- mainly cattle.




This is a photo of a girl who served our lunch in a cafe. She is wearing the typical clothing of her pèople. As we walked the streets of Otavalo (just north of Quito), the woman are dressed as so - white lacey, embroiderd blouse, black wrap skirt, gold jewellery, and a coloured shoulder wrap. Their hair is long, and tied into a ponytail with an embroiderd hair-tie. We saw many women and children in the streets going about their daily life dressed like this. Beautiful! The men are ´dishy´!!!! Very goodlooking! They take alot of pride in their appearance. Their hair is worn long, and neatly tied back into a ponytail!! They often wear a black, felted bowler shaped hat, and a long black or dark blue poncho.

South Americans love their music and some are excellent musicians - it´s common to see people playing their traditional music in the streets.















Hasta luego. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX.