La Mitad del Mundo

Today, we woke up fairly early and ate breakfast at our hotel/hostel, which Christina prepared for us. I was able to try papaya juice for the first time. Then Paco picked us up and we headed off to visit La Mitad del Mundo (The Middle of the World), which is where the equator crosses through Ecuador.

Our first stop was to visit a crater formed from volcanoes. It was gorgeous and very peaceful. 

There is a pueblito in the middle of the crater where farming takes place.

Next, we headed off to the monument of La Mitad del Mundo.

Fun Fact: The monument shown above, built by the French, is 300 meters off from the true equator. So the sign is not exactly true that we are in both hemispheres at once.

We were also were able to see some cuy cooking. While we keep guinea pigs as pets in America, the Ecuadorians enjoy consuming them. Paco assured us that they are very good!

After visiting La Mitad del Mundo, we went to eat lunch at a shopping mall in Quito. It was complete with a KFC, Subway and Sabarro, but we opted for the Chinese food.