Quito (Ecuador) - centre of the world

I honestly had never thought why Ecuador was called Ecuador and felt pretty stupid when I read that the Equator runs through the country. In Quito a visit to the 'mitad del mundo' is clearly a must do, although there are clearly other places in the world that can make the same claim. Admittedly most are in the ocean, darkest central Africa or Central Sumatra.

In actual fact, just an hour outside Quito, there are two equators. One was the site officially sanctioned by French scientists in the 17th century (pictured), complete with tourist shops, cafes, bars and great big monument. Right next door (about 250 metres away) is a sight declared the real equator by American military experts, complete with GPS technology, about 12 years ago. Some bright spark bought this sight and has built a quaint little musuem featuring a raft of test that prove it is the Real McCoy. Indeed, water does flow without swirling slap bang on the line, whilst it goes anti-clockwise and clockwise in the southern and northern hemispheres respectively. Many still dispute this and I find it hard to believe that two metres could make any difference. But I saw it. And it did.

The colonial old town of Quito is the other big attraction and even though I have seen a raft of these on my travels, this one really is special. Amongst other spots, I made the effort to visit both the 15th century convent and monastery. Both are still active, although unexpectedly the former was for the monks and the latter the nuns.