Center of the World

Originally thought to be the center of the world.

A little bit further down the road.  The actual center of the world.

It’s one of those places I dreamed of going to but never thought I would.  It finally hit me how far away from home I was as I stood at 0 degrees latitude, 0 degrees longitude.  As I stood at the center of the world, all of my family, all of my friends, and my girlfriend were thousands of miles away.  The next 65 days were not going to be easy for me.  Then my thoughts were interrupted, because the guide said that this monument wasn’t actually at the center of the world.  The monument was found to be inaccurate when satellite technology was used to make a more precise measurement.  Some people thought it was funny, but I thought it was amazing. Just think about it, a few hundred years ago people used surveying equipment on mountaintops near the monument to pin point a spot that was extremely close to the exact spot. What struck me as even more significant is that even though the technology had changed and proved the old way wrong, the government still used the monument to symbolize the center of the world.  It was known as the center of the world, and even though technology changed and proved it wrong, they were still reluctant to the change the spot. If this were in the United States, it probably wouldn’t be accepted.  We would demand that the true spot be found and the monument be moved, yet the Ecuadorians don’t seem to mind.  I think either it is because they have more important things to worry about like keeping a stable government and economy.  I’m not sure if this is a cultural difference or just a matter of priorities. This is just one of the small differences that I have began to notice.