Helado

(San Cristobal, Galapagos)- Ecuador is a place where you can get ice cream- helado- anywhere, anytime. This is especially true on the Galapagos Islands, where the temperatures always make it a good time to eat ice cream. Certainly, Isabel would agree.

Isabel eats and wears her ice cream. She was beginning to learn that you have to eat ice cream a bit more quickly on the Equator than you do in, say, Fishers. Ame and Isabel on Avenida Charles Darwin, next to the Ocean.

Fun On The Equator

(San Antonio, Ecuador)- Sure, it's a tourist trap, but if you are in Equador, it would be silly not to visit La Mitad Del Mundo, the monument near the line for which the country is named.

To the right of Isabel, North America. To the left...

Awww...

Set your GPS unit.

Folk dancers near the line. Actually, they cross the line, and nothing in particular happens.

Mitad is about 20 miles north of Quito. On weekends, they have quite a festival there, with folk dancers in traditional garb, 11-piece mariachi bands, and singers who perform the latest light rock Latino hits. The monument is a mini-museum, with displays on Ecuador's natural history as well as the history of the indigenous peoples and the colonial settlers, and it also has great views from the top. It's a fun place to spend a few hours, especially so that you can later say, 'why of course I've been to the Equator'!