Mitad del Mundo - Pululahua

Today was our first day truly getting out of the city, and it was nice to leave the crowded streets and get into the mountains a bit more. Today also started our tour with Surtrek (the itinerary can be found in the links to the right). Our tour guide was very educated, spoke 5 languages and could name any plant or flower we pointed to. At first, we were not exactly sure what to make of him, because within the first 10 min. of the van ride he told us his plans on starting a revolution to overthrow the government. My mom's only comment on the subject was that maybe he could wait until after I was out of the country before getting this so called revolution started.

The day started out at a visit to "el Mitad del Mundo," translated literally as the "the middle of the world." It consists of a monument placed directly on the equator, with a line painted dividing the northern and the southern hemispheres. In the monument there is a museum where our guide walked us through exhibits displaying all of the different cultures living in Ecuador. It was very informative and allowed us to gain a much better understanding of just how many indigenous groups exist throughout the country.

After this we headed a little further away from the city and drove to the "Reserva Geobotanica Pululahua," which is situated in the crater of the extinct volcano of the same name. We hiked down into the crater, with our guide telling us all about all of the flora and fauna along the way.

The hike into the crater was not too bad, but the hike out was a different story. It was fairly steep and uphill most of the way, and it seemed to have no end. Our guide told us that we had probably descended about 600 vertical feet. I was very impressed with how well my mom did. While it may not have been the easiest thing in the world for her, she kept on moving at a pretty decent pace and we even made it back in less time than the guide told us we would. One interesting thing about it was that there was village at the bottom of this crater. We learned that this fairly demanding hike out, was, for the people of this town, a daily activity in order to get to the market. They were even required to carry their harvests and various supplies out with them. While my mom and I wore our nice hiking shoes and day packs, these people were wearing rubber boots and carrying a sack of potatoes on their backs. It made you appreciate not having to take an hour long uphill hike and 40 minute bus ride anytime you want to buy anything, but it also made you admire the simple life that these people were living.

After the hike we went and got our first true Ecuadorian meal. It was by far the best food I have eaten here, and probably up there with one of the best meals I have eaten ever. It had six courses, starting out with a plate of the various corn and beans from the area, and finishing with a shot of some kind of liqueur. I wish I had a picture of the meal to post. It was amazing!

Following our late lunch, our guide and driver took us back to our hostel, where my mom and I both took a much needed siesta. In the evening we went out to dinner with another friend of mine, Rob, who had just gotten into town. I will be traveling and kayaking with him for part of my trip.

This is my last night for a while staying in a hostel so conveniently having wireless internet, so it will probably be a few days before I post again....