Jason Pearce

We spent all of today exploring Quito, Ecuador. At 8:30 a.m., our guide met us at our hotel and we loaded into a van.

Driving in Quito is similar to other South American countries. Traffic laws exist, but they are mostly optional. Right-hand turns from the left-hand lane are the norm. Suprisingly, there is little road rage. Lots of horns, but few taking the craziness of traffic personally.

Once we made it into old town, we set out on foot. We visited plazas, churches, the president´s home, and the like. Our guide was good, offering lots of detail and interesting history about the places we visited.

By afternoon, we headed to the equator. An outdoor museum, we had some fun doing some basic science experiments on or near the equator (latitude 0).

Draining water from a sink worked as expected. In the northern hemisphere, the water circled counter-clockwize. In the southern hemisphere, it circled clockwize. And right on the equater, the water drained straight down. The impressive part was the difference in draining methods was apparent in less than 10 feet on either side of the equator.

Tomorrow, we head to the Galapagos Islands where we will spend five days and four nights aboard a ship, hopping from one island to the next. You likely won´t hear from me until we get to Peru, a few days after Christmas. Happy holidays.