Camp, Mitad Del Mundo and a Crazy Soccer

On June 12 we went to Ecuador´s claim to fame, Mitad del Mundo or the middle of the world. A great tourist creation where you can supposedly have both feet on different hemispheres. The joke is that it´s actually 240m off the real equator. The identification of this spot at the time (1736) was impressive and spurned some great discoveries about the equator. We took the pictures and moved on to a solar museum. It was an interesting multi media presentation that provided explanations for indigenous people creating the real middle of the world monument 1000 years ago. It offered some thought provoking insights into religion, culture, history and science.

From June 13 to 17th we were at the beach on the coast being the nurse and life guard for about 40 high school aged kids. Camp was awesome. We were able to get so involved. I was a bit stressed the first two days until I figured out my routine. One of the kids reminded me a little of my brother Andrew. The worst thing that happened was someone fractured two toes by kicking someone else´s heel. She got a cast. That sucked for her but she was tough and very good natured. The funniest thing was a guy who got hot pepper juice on his fingers and wiped his eyes and mouth. They puffed up nicely. There was the usual cramps and blisters. The speakers son just wasn´t himself so I helped them out as best I could.

Wed June 18th we hooked up with our friends from camp, and some more people they knew and headed to a soccer game... 4 1/2 hours early!! The tickets are sold primarily in large blocks of general admission, so you've got to get there SUPER early to get seats. The way the stadium is laid out there aren't any awful seats, and ours were really quite good. It was nice and sunny for the first while of the wait... but then it started to rain... then rain harder... then hail... then rain.... so we spent most of the rest of the wait, and the game soaking wet and cold. But, still, the game was awesome and the players fantastic. Sadly it was a 0-0 tie, but Ecuador had WAY more chances, they just couldn't finish.

Camp, Mitad Del Mundo and a Crazy Soccer Game