Journal Entry # 47 - Mitad del Mundo

24 October 2002 - Laurie

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Middle of the World

We also made a trek out to the obligatory Mitad del Mundo (Middle of the Earth) – a touristy, almost Disneylandesque attraction centered right on the Equator. Just so happens that this spot is where in 1736, Charles-Marie de La Condamine’s expedition made the measurements that showed that this was indeed the equator. These measurements also gave rise to the metric system, which ultimately proved that the world is not perfectly round, but that it bulges at the equator. The Museo Etnogrfico housed inside the monument there had several interesting displays about the various tribes that make up the Indigenous population of the country.