It’s hard to be in Quito without noticing Ecuador’s most photographed landmark. The monument is the pride of the Ecuadorean government. It dominates busses and brochures galore. It’s touristy as hell, but can you really come this far and not stand in the middle of the world?

Once you’re in the area, you can’t miss the gigantic cul-de-sac of glorified iron and concrete, clearly marking the cardinal directions and various other geographic phenomenon. $3.50 will get you in the “city” as they call it, but prices have been consistently rising. Additional money is requested for various levels of access within the park. The catch? This place, in the apples of everyone’s eyes, is not even on the equator. I say bull. I don’t even have any more details because we walked away after some selfies outside the cold, uninviting gates.

Quito has a plethora of city buses and a great public trolley. From the city center, its about 1.5 hours to the equator.Ask around and get to the Ofelia bus station—from there, it’s a direct shot to La Mitad del Mundo.

You can also be a lot less fun and taxi for about $20 each way.

Prioritize this. Overshadowed in both size, grandeur, and fame, the Intiñan Museum offers plenty of fun and culture for a flat $4. An English tour is included. There’s enough activities proving that this is actually at latitude 000. The layout of the complex is both pleasant and down to earth. Learn about the indigenous ways (like skull shrinking!), balance an egg on a nail, and watch the swirls of a draining portable sink as it’s moved across the bold red line.

Getting there:

No matter how many times you’re told the real equator is inside the big government monument, keep pestering the locals. We finally just followed general finger pointings to a “side museum” and it worked. It’s a five minute walk away, with a sign providing guidance as we traced the outskirts of the first Mitad Del Mundo.

This 2500-year-old volcanic crater is now developed with peaceful farms and grazing pastures. The cool temperatures might feel much-needed as you experience a slight elevation change. A lush valley reveals itself on a clear day, and within the crater are hostels, homestays, and camping opportunities. The descent from the main viewpoint, and climbing back out, is beginner friendly and the perfect amount of exercise for any curious traveler. Baby chicks run around, blooming trees release their yellow petals onto the well-maintained path. I could totally spend days exploring the valley but two hours was all it took to hike in and out, and briefly sample local life. Which included asking an elderly couple why a sloth carcass was hanging in their window, and not knowing enough Spanish to understand their reply, but being pretty certain they had made a meal out of it.

Despite the volcano itself, my favorite part was walking the hill up to the park entrance from the bus stop. It was breathtaking to watch the city shrink as we distanced ourselves. R and I hiked past corn, cows, and farmers selling tasty handmade popsicles. If you get cold, try a cup of hot Peruvian coca tea. Although cocaine can be isolated from the coca plant, its leaves are harmless and have been traditionally used in Latin America to help with altitude sickness.

“We walked to the general area of the bus stop and one immediately pulls up and says it’ll dump us at Pululahua. Sounds good. We hop on bus #4. It has soft seats and nice windows. 15 minutes later they tell us to get out and charge us less than a dollar.”

Perhaps my hectic way of asking my way around is so preferred because it works so well. Locals pointed us to an unmarked intersection at the main (famous) monument as the bus stop. Busses run till 6pm.

Bars, sit-down dining, and therefore young people, are centralized around Plaza Foch. Compared to my earlier adventures, it just wasn’t exciting enough and everything had naturally risen in price. Like roasted guinea pigs for example. Evidently an Ecuadorean treat, one animal out by La Mitad Del Mundo can be purchased for 20USD, fresh off the rotisserie and brushed with greasy sauce in front of your eyes. Now, half a pig is 20 and a whole is 30. I’ll have to try it when I go back. Other options around the plaza include burgers in pubs, coffee and cake, and hookah lounges.

Diary

 

The most awful fat-lipped receptionist is useless. On the other hand, my shower was blissful because it was hot and I wasn’t being electrocuted by the knobs anymore. I forced poor Julio (our guide from the medical nonprofit) at 4:30am out onto the streets with another trip member and R, determined to find the bus stop for freaking La Mitad del Mundo. All we got out of Well-endowed Lips was that

1. it’s two blocks away and

2. they start coming at 6am.

Julio thinks I’m the funniest and is super giggly so then we are all giggly and R is bitchy. People on the streets stare at us doubling over. R is so mad because we have no proof of any bus place for miles around and is all “trust me I will make [Well-endowed] tell me.” Which just makes things funnier. In all seriousness, what kind of a hotel doesn’t have maps? Well-endowed said he couldn’t help even though there’s a map blatantly hanging on the wall.

I give up and retire to the amazing real bed. We can’t get up at six for the life of us. The rest of our premed group ironically votes to go to La Mitad del Mundo anyway, instead of the originally planned Otavalo, but R makes the executive decision to head out without them regardless. Which ends up being around nine in the morning.

A minute after we reached the intersection, where a new and improved receptionist had told us to wait, a bus came. We waved it down and so began our journey of getting further from Quito and closer to being utterly lost. Some woman is selling assorted baked goods like guayaba empanadas but it’s way too early for that.

The ticket dude tells us to get off at a giant central hub where R gets a cup of fresh cut watermelon. Finally the next bus we want comes and we have a great time spitting seeds out the window.

We make the wrong call and get off wayyyyy too early, walk around lost, get back on another bus who promises to take us to La Mitad, but actually doesn’t, then get dumped in the streets. We are extremely close, like walking distance. The sweetest lady at a hardware shop guides us AND let’s me relieve myself in her restroom. I love her.

At a minimarket we spend $1.90 on a yogurt, a big water, and 2 bananas.

Tired and disoriented, we pay $1.50 for a taxi to drive us uphill finally to the monument. We took pics from the outside. Both R and I agreed we didn’t care whatever might happen, today we would have fun. It took us three buses and a taxi but we made it. 11am.

Having done my TripAdvisor research, I start asking around for the real site. Everyone looks at me like a bimbo saying it’s inside the grand gates. Finally we just go to the side museum people are vague about, and hit the jackpot.

R and I go crazy picking out anklets at the shop, ignoring the dancer in a crazy costume performing his skit.

The included tour is surprisingly alarming. We were shown models of anacondas of the Ecuadorean jungle. You aren’t supposed to pee in the rivers because a small fish burrows in your privates and expands, requiring surgical removal. Too late. The Indian men used to be nude with only a string to secure their you know to their abs, probably for the protection from these fish. A statue illustrates this attire.

Apparently skull shrinking is a thing. You execute, skin, steam, and dry out the head of whatever and it goes to the size of a fist. We looked at such skulls of a sloth and a 12-year-old boy. If you were loved you were hung around ones neck as a necklace. If you were an enemy you were put on a stake.

Activities! First we observed different clocks and sun dials. Then the sinks described above. I considered the serious dose of vitamin D I was getting–it was noon and I was literally on the equator.

Egg balancing! We needed to get our certificates so we were determined to balance eggs on nails using small rotations. Forces are supposed to cancel so this is a more attainable achievement on the equator. R gets it real quick but I had to go back after the tour. We got our passports stamped with the 000-latitude stamp.

We were starved. Back at the rotary with the main Mitad, we walked into some casados-type restaurant and customized our plates for $3.50 each. After much indecision and question asking and frustrating the woman, I got rice, beans, salad, salsa, chicken, and avocado. It was the perfect portion size and the perfect amount of salt. R has totally come to my side with enjoying street food and fell in love. I’m sure she still craves it right now. Perfect pre-hike fuel.

We walked to the general area of the bus stop and one immdediately pulls up and says it’ll dump us at Pululahua. We follow a paved mountain road as the mist sets in. There’s wheat and corn growing on the slopes. There’s a magical view of Quito and stray dogs. Some backpackers were on their way out after several days of camping and reassured us the hike was doable before sunset.

We found our way to the official viewpoint. Zero visibility. We head down the steep gravel for half an hour, stopping to admire flowers and farm animals, listening to donkey noises and dogs barking get louder, and reach flat land in about half an hour.

An old couple was sitting outside watching their hens. We asked them what animal was hanging out on their window. Peresozo. They casually eat them here and hang the carcass out front.

Some Mexican students exchanging in Quito ran into us and said what was up ahead was similar to here. They were super out of shape and had just finished hydrating on beer.

Back outside the park, we beeline for the first sign offering salcedos. Popscicles. I got some interesting Peruvian coca tea (didn’t know what it was at the time) and a four-layer homemade ice pop. I felt high from the hike. The man had pictures with the president of Ecuador and from what I was able to understand, he used to assist him. So I have a picture with the guy who has pictures with the president.

We got on the bus leaving for Quito and try our best not to doze off. Using a screenshot of Google maps I had taken earlier at the hotel, locals help reunite us with the rest of our group.