Ecuador

I arrived in Quito on Monday, the flight from Costa Rica was thankfully none eventful. Although there was a small earthquake before I left San Jose.
Quito is a beautiful city. All the streets are extremely steep and the city is surrounded by looming mountains and volcanoes. There are many beautiful squares and colonial buildings. I´m really glad I´m staying in the Old Town, as it is full of character and beautiful, if exhausting walks.
I have felt a little sick and tired due to the altitude, so I haven´t done many trips from Quito. Luckily where I´m staying there is plenty going on, I have just watched a typical Ecuadorian band play on the terrace.
Today I did manage a trip out to the center of the world, the equator line. Thanks to the French the monument is in the wrong place! However this did not stop me having a cheesy photo, half in the Northern hemisphere and half in the Southern. There is a museum on the real equator line (some 400 metres away from the "faux" line) where you can do all little experiments, like balancing an egg on a nail and watching water fall vertically on the equator line. I also went to a really small museum, where a very passionate man told me how the pre-Inca monument is on the actual point that marks the center of the earth. This monument was only discovered 9 years ago, but the government does little to preserve or fund research on the site. I have added some photo´s to my flickr account, but I´m feeling too lazy right now to post them here.
I´ve signed up for a 2 hours Spanish class in the morning, then it´s onto Baños a resort town with lots of activities. I´ll post again soon, hopefully with photo´s.