Yesterday I had 4 hours of spanish lessons again in the morning. For the last hour we went to el mercado so my profesora could get the ingredients to make soup for the staff lunch. I have been to a regular "supermarket" in the newer part of Quito but this was a much more traditional market. There were numerous stalls where locals sell fresh fruits, vegetables, eggs, meats, cheeses, herbs, etc. There were no processed foods at all. For the most part people shop everyday or every other day. It was a really interesting experience. I spent some time in the afternoon talking to the lady that works in the travel agency here in the hostal. She helped me figure out a route for the rest of the trip and is helping organize our trip to the jungle. Last night I went out to a pub with a whole bunch of people from Secret Garden. I completely embarrased myself in pool and darts. NBD.

Today my profesora, her little brother (12), and I headed to Mitad del Mundo (The Middle of the World). There are actually 2 seperate sites at the equator. The large monument was built in respect to the French geographers that mapped out the "equator" in the 1700s. It has since been discovered with modern GPS that they were 240 meters off chart. (Not too bad for the technology they had!) There has been a smaller museum and monument erected at the true equator. This museum is a depiction of a traditional highland village (some original structures and some reconstructions) that would have been inhabited by the Quichua people. The tour guide was extremely informative about the practices of the indigenous cultures. There were several small huts where families would have lived, a central "kitchen" building, a building dedicated to weaving, and a tomb. The guide explained what all of the structures were made of and what some of the traditions were. Some of the things she told us: The Quichua people lived with guinea pigs in their huts because they believed they would warn of people with bad "energy"... and they ate them. They practiced the "head shrinking" to preserve the "knowledge" of truly respected people in the tribe. There was a central tomb where everyone except the cheif was burried. The people were burried in ceramic pots in the fetal position. When the cheif died, his first wife was burried alive with him!

Mitad del Mundo