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Trip Start Sep 01, 2005
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Trip End Dec 04, 2006


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Monday, May 15, 2006

Our first day in Quito was spent combing ave. Amazonas for all any travel agencies for last minute deals to the Galapogas. Been given a variety of information and mis-information we decided on the "Montserrat" which was most suitable for our needs. Considered a "1st Class" boat this side trip will surely put a dent in the budget, more of a total loss but hey, if your going to do it once, you should do it in style baby! Considered the "greatest wildlife show on earth" (Jacque Costeau) it will be unforgettable. With a few days before our boat leaves we decided to visit the Mitad Del Mundo (equator) where we could see the monument erected dedicated to the French team who calculated Latitude 0񾷞 some 70 odd years ago and yes there is a line that divides the northern and southern hemisphere....seriously. What we didn磘 expect is to find what could only be descride as a theme park complete with dancing Indian磗 and minus the rides, except for the tourist train that takes you around the monument and charges a dollar for the priviledge (easily walkable in 2 minutes) 01Ecuator - The fake line
01Ecuator - The fake line
 . One groundbreaking fact which is only whispered in confidence is that the Frenchmen got it wrong, according to present G.P.S. co-ordinates, the equator is actually 200 metres north of the monument/theme park (there was no way for the scientific team to have known the 6 degree tilt of the earth and the difference with north and true north, but good on them for trying). We visited the real site where a museum has been built and conducted our own tests ie. the infamous clockwise and anti-clockwise swirls of an emptying basin (yes it goes straight down on the equator). We also did some egg balancing and tribal dart spitting from a 3 metre pole. Other things we didn磘 expect to see was the skin of an Anaconda, 7 metres in length, and a shrunken head (shown the actual technique used by the tribes on their enemies, a sick war trophy). Fact for the ladies: Did you know that you weigh around 1 - 2 kilos lighter on the equator due to the centrifugal forces and gravity of the earth. How cool, anyhow tomorrow we are headed to the Galapogas a few days earlier to check out other places not visited by the cruise so as of today we will be out of action for 10 days. During that time we will encounter many different animals unique to the Islands and get to see alot of boobies. Yes boobies. Special boobies that only live on the Galapogas, some with pink and even blue feet! Photos to come =) Hasta Luego Amigos!
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