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ECUADOR MEANS EQUATOR
Sunday, 19 December 2010


The Spanish name of the country “República del Ecuador“ literally translates to the “Republic of the Equator.”

Jasiu belongs to a Roman Catholic religious order “Society of the Divine Word” (Societas Verbi Divini) or “Divine Word Missionaries". The first two nights we spent in Quito being accommodated by the missionaries.

The elevation of Quito is close to 3 km. and as a result it is rather cold there. I was very disappointed by the fact that the temperature wasn't any higher there then that of Vancouver that I just left behind...

The second day of my stay, Saturday, December 11, we spent visiting interesting places of the capital. The historical center of Quito, along with Krakow, Poland, were the first World Cultural Heritage Sites declared by UNESCO in 1978.

We visited a few churches. One of them, The Church of the Society of Jesus, is decorated inside with an incredible amount of gold – it reminded me very much of the “Church of Santo Domingo” in Puebla, Mexico, with its “Chapel of Our Lady of the Rosary”.


Of course, it is a must for any newcomer to Quito to visit the Equator Museum. At the equator eggs can be balanced upright on the head of a nail (see picture) , and the Coriolis effect can be observed -- water drains straight down the drain on the equator, while just a few feet south of the equator it drains in a counterclockwise direction, and clockwise just a few feet north of the equator. That is a very interesting phenomenon to observe.



At the same spot there is also a museum of very primitive tribes of the Amazonian people of Ecuador.



Posted by Jan
 

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