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14.01.2020: Quito - La Mitad Del Mundo
Before leaving the garage we managed to get a website update online - it was only one report from November almost 2 months ago covering only four days but it had taken us 16 days to complete! Hmm. We're doing too much travelling!!
We left just after 11am and hit roadworks straight away. Several roads were blocked so we had to find a different route out of Quito. The bad news was ... we still heard the knocking noise when turning sharp right or left, which we had to do a lot because of the difficulty getting out of the city. So our repairs on the drive shaft joint hasn't worked. Damn, damn, damn!
But now there was another problem. Every time I used the brakes they "pumped" my foot and leg, so I was literally juddering!! What on earth is that?
All this was happening whilst going wrong, doing U turns or taking yet another different route! Also we noticed a forest fire up on the hills to the west of us which didn't look too good. We kept an eye on it as we headed north.
We managed to get some money from a Western Union office and some shopping done so it was 3-15pm by the time we got to Mitad del Mundo (literally the centre of the Earth) at the Equator, our next stop. We paid $4 each to go on a very interesting tour of the "real" Equator run by indigenous people who say the very large Equator monument about 500 metres away isn't actually on the Equator!!
The tour included chocolate tasting, a sun clock, a water test showing that water drains clockwise south of the Equator but anti-clockwise north of the line. Next came the egg on a nail balancing trick - apparently this can only be done at the Equator because north or south of the line there is barometric pressure that will force the egg off the nail. This is also the reason why there are no hurricanes, cyclones or typhoons on the Equator. Our guide had had a lot of practice at it but even some from our group managed it. When it was Kirsten's turn she did it aswell and earned herself a certificate!!
The next test was closing your eyes and walking along a straight line - it's the same principal as the egg, i.e. pressure from both north and south will unbalance you. Actually, not a lot of people can do it no matter where in the world they are!!! The Earth isn't a perfect sphere, it has a bulge at the centre which is why the Chimborazo volcano is further from the Earth's centre than Mount Everest.
The final parts of the tour included a head-shrinking lesson ... at least they don't do that anymore!! - and we saw the original house built on this land which is 144 years old. The last owner was born in the house and died aged 110!! It was a very good tour for the price and afterwards we took a look at the large monument. It costs $5 per person to enter the grounds but you can see it from outside the fence. We were a bit confused because it wasn't the monument we remembered from 2002. So we spoke to the security people who told us there was another one which we would pass on our way north.
It was already getting dark so we parked in a side street for what we hoped would be a quiet night. Well, it would have been except two cars turned up after 10pm and blasted us with ear splitting music until 12-30am. At least they left afterwards!!
15.01.2020: La Mitad Del Mundo - Piscinas Calientes De Guachala
We got woken up by two things the next morning: firstly, the heat; secondly, helicopters flying over us!! We found out why as we drove out, heading north.
The wildfire was getting very close to some houses at the northern end of Quito. (In these countries the rich always live in the north of cities!!) Numerous helicopters were being used and we thought they were filling up their bags from a lake behind a fence. Wrong!!
Fire fighters had set up a small inflatable swimming pool no larger than 7 or 8 metres in diameter. No kidding! It was a real challenge for each helicopter to get low enough and close enough to the small pool, fill their buckets, and fly back out. Then other fire fighters filled up the pool from an engine. We read later that they used 19,000 gallons of water and there were 200 fire fighters plus 100 military involved in tackling the fire.
We parked on a dual carriageway with several others who also wanted to watch and as we drove further we stopped again to watch them digging a fire break on the hillside. Eventually we drove out, paid a toll at the toll station, and then heard an extremely loud knocking noise coming from the front. Oh God, what now??!! I slowed down, we tried to work out what it might be, and discussed options ... none good!
We decided we had to go back to Autoexperts but had to drive 5km to get to the first place where we could turn around. I drove slowly with emergency flashers and got back to the toll. I pulled over and Kirsten got out to check. I was turning the steering wheel left and right and drove forwards and backwards but she couldn't find what was wrong.
We paid the toll again and the noise completely disappeared??? Then we started getting a grating noise that happened in time with the tyre rotations. Is that our brakes? No idea! We got back to the garage at 2-45pm and explained the problem. We drove over a bay and what was the problem??? We'd lost a screw holding our metal cover under the engine compartment!! We think the screw was still attached and rattling when we got to the toll booth but then fell out once we stopped to check.
To check our brakes they put us up onto a jack, removed the front right tyre, and then wanted me to switch the engine on, go into first gear, pull out the clutch and accelerate!!! We were on a jack ... I thought I'd drive off it and into the wall!!! Are they kidding? Have I misunderstood their Spanish?
Nope, that's exactly what they wanted me to do. I really didn't want to believe them but we didn't move ... the front right tyre just spun! Who'd have thought that!!! Unbelievable!
The grating noise turned out to be our brake pads that were too close and rubbing. We needed new pads but couldn't get them in Ecuador. We're hoping to get them in Colombia. They just pried the brake shoes a millimetre away to stop the rubbing. They didn't charge us so we gave them a tip and left at 4pm. No juddering any more and no more loud noises!! We drove back out and paid the toll for a third time! At least it was only 60 cents each time!
We stopped at another Equator monument on our way but it still wasn't the one we remembered from 2002. There's only one other possibility - there's another monument on a parallel road but it was too much of a detour right now. Maybe we'll check it out on our way south in 3 or 6 months time.
It was already dark so we drove down a steep gravel road to get to some thermal pools and parked on the empty car park for the night.
16.01.2020: Piscinas Calientes De Guachala
The next day we went into the thermal pools and paid $2 for an obligatory swimming cap. There's a larger swimming pool with warm water but the natural pool was smaller. I played a joke on Kirsten who thought the pool was bottomless and said I was going to dive to the bottom. Kirsten started panicking so I had to tell her it's only 2 metres deep. You just can't see it because the bottom is silt. You really can't see it from above!
We decided to stay a second night and I started looking for Fiat car parts in Colombia online.
17.-22.01.2020: Piscinas Calientes De Guachala - Camping Mitad Del Mundo
The next morning a friend of ours sent a photo of the two of us - how we would look in 20 or 30 years. He said it was from all the repairs stress lately!! We obviously needed a rest so, after shopping at a supermarket, we drove to a campground 30km away and ended up staying for 5 nights.
It was a small, private grassy area owned by a local family. There were no showers but there was a toilet and an outside tap. For $5 per night it was ideal for a rest. The owners son brought us a gift of the local delicacy - bizcochos (a bit like Walker's shortbread fingers), with a type of morzarella cheese and some caramel dip. The cheese didn't taste of anything but the biscuits with caramel were yummy!!
The family also own a restaurant at the top of the hill and we thought they served pizzas. So we walked up one evening to have a meal but it was just a café, selling the bizcochos with caramel and cheese along with some lunch items. We got there just before they were about to close and were really disappointed! We'd been looking forward to pizza!
I did a lot of online searching for various parts and mechanics in Colombia. We sent off WhatsApps to some parts places but they didn't have the Fiat parts we needed. On iOverlander we found Henry, a mechanic in Cali, Colombia about 500km north of where we were and 350km north of the border with Ecuador. He was really good, sent us fast replies, and others wrote very good reviews about him. We sent him photos of the parts we need etc and he said he would be able to do the repairs. Super. Let's hope we can get there!!!
Our time at the campground went really quickly and it got really cold overnight - going down to 6°. Brr!! There was also a power cut for 5 hours! It rained heavily on the last day so we extended for another night and did a plan for the next few days.
After a nice rest it was time to leave but we couldn't find anyone to pay!!!! Whilst trying to find someone we noticed a big traffic jam on the road below. A truck had hit the side barrier for a bridge and lost its load which had fallen over the side of the bridge and landed on the riverbank below. We watched as they tried to clear the road.
Just afterwards, the owner of the campground returned. He'd got stuck in the traffic jam! By the time we paid the traffic on the road had thinned out so we could head north.
Very interesting tour at the equator.
