Across the equator in Ecuador

I’ve been crossing the equator several times before, but I’ve never actually stood on it until now. Of course it’s big business here in Ecuador, with even the Spanish word “ecuador” meaning “equator”.

The equator is situated a bit north of the capital Quito. To make sure that nobody will miss it, the geographical spot has been marked by a bright yellow line and a large stone monument has been placed there. There is even a small village surrounding the premises.

Monument on “yellow” equator.

Unfortunately, it would turn out that the painted yellow line happily straddled by tourists (sorry) is actually off by a few hundred meters, a fact easily proved in the modern age of the GPS. This fact was a tad bit embarrassing after the authorities had built the large monument and constructed the artificial village, so it seems a great effort was made to obscure the real equator.

The geographically correct equator.

I took a short but dusty walk along the road before finally located the real equator, painted in red, hidden away behind a large wall a little bit north of the official monument.

But don’t tell anyone, it’s a secret.