Ecuador – On the Equator

La Mitad del Mundo (the Middle of the World), the huge Equatorial monument north of Quito isn’t on the equator at all. The screw-up was caused by a French expedition in 1736 that marked the wrong spot. The mistake wasn’t realized until just a few years ago when the Global Positioning System (GPS) was invented.

The real equator is about 250 yards away. But if you want to visit the “real equator” you need to go to the Inti Nan museum (shown above), which is about five minutes away.