So it was a tourist trap, and yet it was, in its own way, cool. America has plenty of tourist traps -- biggest ball of yarn, Wild West City in Stanhope, NJ (they were a client of my dad's advertising firm, so we got to go frequently as young kids -- very cool).
It's the Itinan Solar Museum, and I will let roadunraveled.com comment on the place:
"The Intiñan Solar Museum is part guided tour, part museum, and part carnival, and it’s a fun way to spend an hour or so. We joined a group with a local guide who provided an interesting introduction to Ecuadorian history and culture."
After being taken to some displays, we went down to the real star of the show -- the Equator, and the line. According to a sign, GPS shows it is the equator, I suppose they were definitive about this because of another line in that same blog:
"The real fun started when we were first deposited on the red line that marks the “true” equator, although my GPS never quite showed that: I consistently saw 0° 0′ 6” latitude and, once, 0° 0′ 4” latitude, neither of which would indicate I was precisely standing on the equator."
I choose to believe it was the Equator, and even if it's off by a little, at some points during our wandering around "the museum" it's clear we stepped on and around the equator.
"The majority of the Intiñan Solar Museum tour consists of feats the staff claim cannot be duplicated unless you are right on the equator. We started with a demonstration about balance: everyone was encouraged to stand on the red line, close their eyes, and try to walk in a straight line along the equator. While most people struggled, there were a few people who could walk the line easily. Was it because the equator genuinely makes it hard to walk in a straight line, or was it because most people have a hard time walking with their eyes closed? It’s hard to tell without observing the same people attempt the same action away from the equator, but it was entertaining to watch people veer off-course as they lost their balance.
"We were then escorted further along the equator where a golden basin filled with water stood on the red line. To demonstrate the Coriolis effect, our guide pulled the drain stopper from the basin and we watched as all of the water rushed out—without draining clockwise or counterclockwise. Our guide then moved the basin to the northern hemisphere just a few feet away, filled it with water, and removed the stopper. The water drained out, but this time it moved in a decidedly clockwise rotation. To complete the demonstration, the basin was moved to the southern hemisphere, where the water drained in a clear counterclockwise rotation.
The last experiment was a favorite for most people: balancing an egg on a nail. Our guide told us it’s only possible to achieve such a feat on the equator, where the yolk would be perfectly centered inside the shell. While this makes sense, it doesn’t mean a yolk can’t be perfectly centered anywhere else on the earth. In theory, you can balance an egg on a nail anywhere.
Personally, I skipped the human tricks -- thanks to my ankle, I have balance problems even with my eyes open, so I took a seat in the shade and enjoyed the show.
It turns out there are two other spots near Quito to celebrate being at the Equator (when the ship crossed it both times in the Galapagos everyone was fast asleep, so the captain did not come on the microphone to wake us up.) Those places are less touristy, but the equator is the equator, so even the tourist trappy place was good.
After we finished all that, we got back to the hotel around 3pm, and went up to the Terrace for lunch. It didn't make sense to go out for lunch -- by the time we got back it would be nearly dinner. And, de Plaza de San Francisco is up on a hill, so eating at the Terrace provided us with great views.
We spent the rest of the afternoon chilling at the hotel, had our COVID return test at 5:45 in the lobby, and promptly went to the hotel bar in a successful attempt to rid ourselves of the "swab up the nose" feeling. We had dinner at the hotel again. . .we would have been more adventurous and ventured out, but Neil and Mary had a 3 am pick-up for their flight, while Bruce and Nancy had a 5:30 am pick-up for their separate birding adventure in the cloud forest.
The only thing left was for us to return home, and we did.
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