13. The middle of the world monument, near Quito, Ecuador, is not actually on the equator. The French originally determined it incorrectly, but with the invention of GPS, the Canadians realized the real equator is actually a few hundred meters north of the monument.
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| From Quito, Ecuador |
12. At the equator, and only at the equator, you can balance an egg on a nail head because there are no sideways gravitational forces.
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| From Quito, Ecuador |
11. Some Ecuadorian cultures buried their dead in the fetal position so they could be born into the next world. They often put the bodies in large ceramic jars. In addition, if it was a high ranking man, they would sacrifice his wife and children so they could all be buried together.
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| From Quito, Ecuador |
10. According to a travel guide we picked up in Quito: "In Cuenca, if you are stained with any type of liquid (mustard) do not allow strangers to clean you."
9. Ecological toilets (a pit where you throw on some sawdust after each use) are actually quite nice and not too smelly
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| From Coastal Ecuador |
8. Bamboo logs make excellent bowls (as do coconut shells and pumpkins)
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| From Coastal Ecuador |
7. Female blue footed boobies have much larger pupils and a much deeper voice than the males. In addition, both genders have no fear of humans and love to put their nests in the middle of hiking paths.
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| From Coastal Ecuador |
6. Frigate birds live near the ocean, but their feathers are not water-proof so they cannot hunt for fish. Instead, while in mid-air, groups of them will literally bully other birds into coughing up their food, which the frigate birds then eat.
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| From Coastal Ecuador |
5. You can tell the male sea lions apart from the females by their large foreheads. They also love to swim up and down the beach barking as much as physically possible.
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| From Galapagos Isl... |
4. In the jungle we came across a female spider that was about the size of my hand, but her mate was about the size of my pinky fingernail. Apparently, the males are really small to avoid being eaten after reproduction.
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| From Cuyabeno |
3. There is a parasite in the jungle that is attracted to warm water, so if you pee while swimming, it may swim up your hoo-ha.
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| From Quito, Ecuador |
2. Mineral baths are almost as murky as jungle water, but instead of giving you parasites and infections, they supposidley help with acne, muscle aches, stomach problems, stress, and weight loss.
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| From Baños, Ecuador |
1. There are actually seasons in Ecuador. In the jungle, the rainy season is around January and the wet season is around June. Along the coast, the warmest months are December through February. When we were there in early October it was often cloudy and a bit chilly.
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| From Coastal Ecuador |
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