Quito is not a shiny city. It’s a bit shabby, with peeling paint, narrow twisty streets, buses belching fumes, and cheap gray tenements erupting all over the hillsides, and it is also far too churchy for my tastes. But man, it has character. It’s a wonderfully lively place, and what it lacks in chrome it replaces with color and quirkiness and charm. We had a good time today touring the Old City.
I was charmed by this little restaurant with guinea pigs turning on a spit. We didn’t have a chance to stop and sample them, though, since we had to scurry up the road to visit the equator.
There’s the famous Trophy Wife, straddling two whole hemispheres at once.
Tomorrow, we have to rise up early for our flight to the Galapagos — communication may get even more limited for a while. Trust me, though, we’ll be having fun.
Order the crabcakes.
*sigh*
Sounds like a lot more fun than writing a dissertation.
It looks really pretty…now I’m really jealous.
Good thing we’re not common animals, or I’d feel sorely tempted to rise up and challenge you for your woman.
Trophy, indeed.
Man, am I jealous! May a finch peck a whole in your forehead.
TEASE!
Hmm… Never had guinea pigs. I wonder if they’d taste like rabbit?
-jcr
Umm.. If I recall, that’s not really where the equator is. I think it’s actually a short bit south of the monument.
My Mirrorneurons prevent me from eating any critter that I’ve kept as a pet.
Married? PZ? Damn dude. Reading in the comments here so many of your detractors had referred to you as gay that I really didn’t know. Have fun however far you are from the equator.
Enjoy.
Oh! By the way, Hello, Trophy Wife. Try to keep the old man in line. You know how he gets on boats.
Well, clearly, you don’t love or worship your pets enough to want to eat them. Would it help if they were turned into crackers? Chips? Cookies?
(oh yeah! I went there. I sooooo went there).
Nice pictures. I hate traveling, but like having traveled. I always loved seeing the old travelogs with my grandparents.
MAJeff, the dissertation is similar to traveling. You have to make it through the process to come out on the other side in one piece. You’ll get there.
I was beginning to think you would never introduce us to the Mrs. If she supports you through all these abysmal flamewars, then she is truly a Tropy Wife™.
I’m turning a slightly sickly shade of green right now… That’s one of my life ambitions, to stand either side of the equator. And go to the Galapagos. And see a complete solar eclipse.
I hope you have a fabulous time.
If you pull that stopper out of the equator does the whole planet deflate and zoom erratically around the solar system? ;-)
The sky in Quito is a most extraordinary blue – and the Galapagos Islands are fantastic beyond description. Have a blast!
So jealous! It looks like your trip’s started off quite nicely. Have a blast in the Galapagos!
Guinea pig preparation:
http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Ecuador/blog-168468.html
Well I for one would jump at the chance to eat some BBQ cavy. I recently saw some news coverage of an annual cavy festival. Folks dressed them up in little clothes, they had agricultural competition (e.g. size, beauty), and of course, a recipe competition.
I assume, like all other unusual critters, “tastes like chicken, only gamier”.
That Guinea pig died for you! How can you reject it?
Standing in two hemispheres at once? That’s no big deal. You can do that any time you want… just use an arbitrary great circle (that happens to pass between your feet) to define your hemispheres.
Granted, the Equator is a fairly special case.
That little restaurant really reminds me of Venezuela. The term for guinea pig in that country is weird. In Venezuela, we just called it conejillos de india. Anyways, I think I kind of know how it feels like. Venezuela’s cities are equally shabby, if not, worse.
JCR,
Guniea pig tastes EXACTLY like rabbit. It’s horrible fried, but pretty decent spit roasted.
So I’ve always been curious what a compass will do on or near the equator as I’ve heard a compass will point to the south pole in the southern hemisphere. But that could just be a myth as I’ve only stayed in the northern hemisphere. And the equator isn’t an arbitrary division I believe. Its supposed to be the midway point between the two magnetic poles. The East/west division is the extremely arbitrary one.
Another nice thing about Ecuador is you can climb the tallest mountain in the world while you’re there…Chimborazo.
What, and you didn’t go visit these people to tell them how wrong and stupid and what a bad influence they are? Desecrate a Bible on their front steps? You’re slipping, PZ.
(Everyone who has ever had a shortwave radio knows who I’m talking about)
When I was in Ecuador, several restaurants near where we we staying were “out” of Cuyes. My wife wanted to eat Cuyes so a person at one of the restaurants referred us to a woman living close by. The guinea pigs were living free in her home..she picked up two and put them in a box. The wife carried then back to the hotel and provided them with food and water. The next day we took them to the restaurant and ate them for lunch. Wasn’t worth the effort.
Quito is home to the oldest paved road in the Americas. Have you seen it?
I hope you’ve been warned about the effect of alcohol at 9,000 feet.
The north end of a magnetic compass needle will still point north regardless of which side of the equator you’re on. If you’re closer to the south magnetic pole the south end of the needle is more influenced than the north end, but you won’t notice the difference.
The compass points towards the magnetic north pole not the geographic north pole. Actually, that’s not true either. The compass aligns itself to the local geomagnetic field, which varies in a complex manner over the Earth’s surface, as well as over time. The angular difference between magnetic north and true north (defined in reference to the geographic north pole), at any particular location on the Earth’s surface, is called the magnetic declination. Most map coordinate systems are based on true north, and magnetic declination is often shown on map legends so that the direction of true north can be determined from north as indicated by a compass.
The north magnetic pole is in the Arctic Ocean north of Canada, about 810 km from the geographic north pole. The South Magnetic Pole is off the coast of Antarctica in the direction of Australia about 2,800 km from the geographic south pole.
Google magnetic declination for more information on this subject.
Cuy tastes a lot like the “dark meat” of a chicken. The local “C-town” supermarket near me carries them in the freezer section. What tends to disconcert the typical American is the fact that the head and the feet are not removed from the animal before it is packaged.
No, the compass needle always points towards magnetic north no matter where you are (apart from directly over the magnetic poles, of course). It won’t behave any different on the equator.
The midway point between the rotational poles, actually. Because the Earth’s axis of rotation meanders in a 9 metre circle over the course of a year (as well as larger cycles of precession over longer periods of time), the true equator wanders back and forth too. The magnetic poles also wander about, and are in completely different locations to the geographic poles (the Southern magnetic pole is in the Southern Ocean off the coast of Antarctica right now), but for different reasons.
dang, I’d be happy for just a chance to see Mexico or something.
New Mexico even.
shit… I’d be happy just to be able to go into my nearest city for a decent burrito.
PZ – if you’re back in Quito again you should hold your nose and try to get a close-up look at this church:
http://flickr.com/photos/msmacha/2361970413/in/set-72157604189151332/
I think that’s the Basilica del Voto Nacional (sorry, it’s not my picture).
(”)
I’m envious of your getting to see the Galapogos Islands, but I surely wouldn’t want to do it on an organized tour where you haven’t a single second to spend to yourself with worrying about “getting back to the group.” Not to disparage anything you’re enjoying, but hey, can one just go there without a tour group and spend all the damn time you want in Quito? And on to the Islands? Just askin’. Like science, you know. Kill me if you want, but someone who’s been there might answer my question. I have a bike begging to get down there from AK. It wants to know.
There is a difference, however, between compasses made for the Northern Hemisphere and those made for the Southern. It has to do with inclination or dip. This is the vertical (relative to the Earth’s surface) component of the magnetic force. If it were not compensated for, one end of the needle would drag if the compass were held level. Silva makes compasses for five different latitudes. It really matters for orienteering competitions, when you need the needle to settle quickly.
Magnetic Declination FAQ
I am extremely jealous that you are going to go to the Galapagos. Very.
Please take lots of pictures and share them with us. Go diving with sharks. Document life and evolutionary qualities and… have fun.
Guniea pig tastes EXACTLY like rabbit.
Interesting, thanks for the info. I’m not too partial to rabbit.
I think I’ll get a nice peking duck for dinner tonight.
-jcr
Mildly OT, but still mildly related to biology:
The horse.
Trekkinbob,
Of course anybody can travel around Quito without being part of any tour group. The Galapagos are a national park and very controlled. All tours have one naturalist guide per every 15 or 16 people. The guides vary in how well informed they are, some are very good, but also serve double duty as enforcers. You cannot stray off paths, you cannot disturb the animals, cannot leave trash or drop anything into the water. It’s very strict, but absolutely necessary.
The most freedom of movement you get there is while in the water. Great snorkelling and even better scuba.
You’re going to have an amazing time. I can’t wait to see your take on the islands- I was there myself last October and even for a person with only an amateur’s appreciation for the wonders of biology I took away a lot.
I can’t believe you didn’t find out about the equator thing- the one your trophey was standing in front of was what some middle-of-the century Europeans declared to be the Equator, the actual spot is a few hundred meters away with some neat little native huts and such (confirmed by satellites). All the tourist guides mention both- because it gives them a chance to take you on two tours of the equator. Enjoy the islands, say hi to Lonesome George for me.
Dude – enjoy!
All of you who’ve been to the equator museums will know of those little tricks they do to “prove” the power of the location. The only one that fooled me was the one that supposedly demonstrates the coreolus effect. They drain water from a basin that is right on the equator and it drains with no noticeable vortex, but when they move the basin only a few feet away, a vortex occurs, changing direction depending on whether the basin’s been moved north or south.
I guess it’s possible this is a genuine demonstration, but since everything else they did was a trick I’m more inclined to believe the people who’ve told me this was too. Can anybody here explain it? I’d love to know.
Off-topic post: one of Right-to-Life blogger Jill Stanek’s commentors has figured out why women get abortions!
It’s because they are “whining, sniveling, petulant, spoilt bitches”.
http://www.jillstanek.com/archives/2008/08/jivinjs_life_li.html#comments
Why, man, she doth bestride the narrow world
Like a Colossus…
Actually, the trophy wife whispered to me when we were about to take the photo that this wasn’t the true equator — she didn’t want to make any noise about it and ruin it for the other tourists.
I think my definition of ‘trophy wife’ and PZ’s definition are at significant odds….
I’d add a ‘lucky bastard!’ in there if I thought it was luck…
:)
It has character…
Yikes! That bad?
I have a coworker who takes trips to exotic places, and “it had character” is his code phrase for “I wish I’d packed my hazmat suit and M16”. :-)
I’ll pay you $50 if you smuggle back a rare animal.
And the Coriolis peddlers are as genuine as Uri Geller. Doesn’t work in your sink or toilet either. At that scale the initial conditions of the water molecules determine direction. You need something a *smidge* bigger for the Coriolis effect to show up, like a hurricane or tropical storm.
Although it *is* a decent trick for something done there on the street in the open, and hence probably worth a buck for the performance.
The sky in Quito is a most extraordinary blue
What, they have a different Rayleigh scattering function there?
Science can really take the romance out of things sometimes, can’t it? ;-)
Now technically, you can stand anywhere on the planet and straddle two hemispheres at once. Just not the two official ones.
It’s all in your frame of reference…
Quiet Desperation@49,
Yes, I figured it was a trick. I’m just trying to find out what it is.
They do a number of tricks, mostly balance stunts, all of them fun and entertaining. Certainly worth the small price of admission. The Coriolis trick is the best of the bunch, though.
Its all about the altitude ;)
They have the same Rayleigh scattering as anywhere else. The sky looks different because of the altitude. It at 2850 m (about 9,350 ft), so there’s less air above you to filter the light.
Which way does a toilet flush if it’s built right on the equator?
down
Cue Slimy Sal quote-mining in 3…2…1…
The Diabolical Institute makes me sad. :(
Other than that, congratulations, but as warm and humid as the equator is, I’m not that jealous.
One can only hope. :)
@ #56 Rev. BigDumbChimp, KoT:
You meanie! You just woke up my roommate, you made me ROFL so hard!
OK, so it doesn’t take much to get some people going……..
Forget the Coriolous effect demonstrations. They pre-swirl the water to make sure it drains the “correct” way: I wanna see a Foucault’s Pendulum that does NOTHING. Things are pretty good here where the local Foucault’s goes around in a little over two days as we’re a little under 30N latitude. Do the math! Remember your 30 60 90 degree triangle to uderstand why our pendulum takes a little over two days. Our pendulum requires patience. Those little blocks take their time getting knocked over. A pendulum in Managua would require extreme patience, over an hour to see a block knocked over. But one in Quito would do almost nothing
Pz, which way does the water go down the toilet at the equator? Clockwise or counter clockwise. Or is it some quantum superposition of two competing states?
I need to know… WE need to know.. For science!!!
#49:
Careful what you wish for. Knowing PZ’s tastes, you could end up with something like this.
I knew a guy from Peru who used to get care packages from his family. Got to try smoked guinea pig. Not impressed. And for some reason (stackability? shipping?), they flatten the things so you can’t help but think “roadkill” as you pick at it’s desiccated flesh. I’d try it again, but only if prepared differently.
Glad you’re enjoying the trip so far, PZ! I’m very jealous.
Re comments #7, 20, 24 etc
Guinea pig just tastes like ostrich, capybara, alligator or hedgehog. Make sure to use a nice sauce :)
It’s very similar to Thylacine.
Which hemisphere’s which? I can’t quite make out the globe on top of the monument to work it out.
Bacopa,
Thanks.
I would have sworn the guy on Bizarre Foods said the guinea pig tasted like chicken.
Re: #61
Amp, that’s an urban legend. Here’s some (*gasp*) science!!!!
http://www.weatherimagery.com/blog/water-spin-down-drain/
Careful what you wish for. Knowing PZ’s tastes, you could end up with something like this.
Yeah, but you don’t know *my* tastes. That would be *awesome*! :-)
Octopii and squids are supposed to be smart. They can open jars (according to a Sam & Max comic I read… is there a more authoritative source? No!) My home guarded by an attack octopus! Thinks about that!
Hmm, I better start on the moat.
Randi had an explanation of one of the many Coriolis ‘demonstrations’ on his site, a year or two ago.
This one was in Uganda. The con artist first stands on the ‘equator’ and takes his finger off the hole in the bottom of a large somewhat square bowl. No vortex.
Next he carries a bowl away from the line a few paces north and turns back to show the tourists the vortex as the water flows out. He can do the same by going south and getting the reverse of the first vortex. Proof!
Well proof of something, just not the Coriolis Effect. The results would be the same anywhere on the planet and the ‘Equator’ could be oriented in any arbitrary direction. All you have to do is turn back to the suckers by going to the left or the right, as appropriate, and the walls of the bowl impart a spin to the water. I just saw a YouTube clip where the guy has his hands in the water just before the demo. Stage magicians, all.
I understand that if great care is taken to ensure that the water is motionless in a quite large round vessel, the actual effect can be demonstrated.
Oddly, I commute daily across the 45th latitude. Interesting how we assign meaning to arbitrary things.
BTW- she really is a trophy wife, although having read your blog for awhile, I suspect she has some smarts to go with. And that is the real trophy…
Your photography is looking fantastic PZ! When you get back you should make your family a book to remember it all with. Keep posting the wonderful shots!
Amplexus #61 and Arthur #55, I second raynfala, it’s an urban legend. Another reference is here:
http://www.ems.psu.edu/~fraser/Bad/BadCoriolis.html
I visited Quite, Guayaquil, and the Galapagos in 1977. Wish I could go again to see the changes. I’m sure some would be depressing, as I have read about population impact on the islands, especially. Have fun, PZ. I love Pharyngula. Joe Willis
Whole half-spheres. Hmm.