One of the most popular free-time option to volunteers in Ecuador is visiting the equator – only a 30-minute drive north of downtown Quito! The word ‘ecuador’ means ‘equator’ in Spanish – the invisible line of zero latitude passing through this small Andean country. The Middle of the World (Mitad del Mundo) where you can stand with one foot in the northern hemisphere and one foot in the southern hemisphere.
Zero Latitude: Attractions When Visiting the Equator
People of all ages enjoy visiting the equator, as there is a lot to do here! At Intiñan Museum, where the actual line of 00º00’00’’ latitude runs, one can learn all about the weird phenomena that occur only at the equator. Here you can lose weight in one second, balance an egg on the head of a nail, see the Coriolis effect for yourself, and feel like you’re inebriated when trying to walk in a straight line! There is even more to be learned at the Solar Museum.
Intiñan also houses an ethnographic museum, including huts which represent ancestral culture from Ecuador. Visitors here can learn about traditions, rituals, cultural artifacts, and tools used for hunting and fishing. This museum seeks to teach about the country’s four main regions – the Andes, the Coast, the Amazon, and the Galapagos Islands – and the cultures and cosmography of the original inhabitants of these places through which the equator passes.
When you volunteer in Ecuador, make sure to schedule time to visit the equator and other natural, cultural, and historic attractions for which Ecuador is renown.