0°Latitude

The Equator – Been there!

I have stayed in my Kampala hood of Muyenga for so much of my time here. This past Saturday I ventured much further, and I made a real adventure of it.

First, early last week I consulted Trip Advisor for things to do around Kampala. I used the app so much while in Cambodia, so it is a tried and true friend.

I found Free Guided Walking Tours Kampala, who offer a variety of outings and accept payment through tips at whatever the customer can afford and feels appropriate. I will be doing some walking tours in the city, hopefully one this weekend but first – the equator!

Steve, our guide set our meeting point as Cafe Javas right center in a very busy part of the city at 9am (not downtown though per m coworker) I got a SafeBoda to the spot with enough time left to get a caramel mocha and croissant.

You can take the girl away from Starbucks but she will find a way to scratch the itch!

Soon Lucas joined us and the three of us trecked through some very crowded busy streets to the even busier “taxi station” It was a crazy busy massive lot loaded with mini vans, matatus, mainstream affordable transportation in Africa.

*Steve is a young man from Uganda. He lives in Kampala but grew up in the country. Lucas is 20, from Belgium and here on an internship with a company from home*

I chuckled along the way as Lucas and I followed Steve single file like little ducklings. Every now and then someone would shout “Hey Muzungo” at one of us. I read that was common but it doesn’t happen in Muyenga which is heavily populated with muzungos.

We piled in to our matatu. We were the last 3, giving the taxi its full compliment of 12. And off we went on our 70some kilometer journey to the center of the earth (hey, sort of)

We arrived safe and sound to, well not very much other than the equator.

There some shops, a restaurant and the equator to see when you get off the bus. Thankfully Lucas paid the 10 000 shillings to see the Flower Experiment. I’m sharing his videos and you can also find it on YouTube.

There are three funnels/bowls set up, one in the northern hemisphere, one in the southern and one right on the equator. Water is poured in and steadied, the flower is dropped on the surface and then they let the water drain out through the funnel. It spins in opposite directions in each hemisphere but on the equator – nothing!

They are so close together that it seems impossible that such extreme differences exist. The equator is more than an arbitrary line!

After the experiment we popped into a few shops and then back into a matatu home!

I picked up a shirt for my son-in-law and a key chain for myself. The shops had some pretty interesting stuff.

It is worth adding that the washroom at the equator is quite clean. It costs 300 shillings but it is worth it. I discovered after use that the stall to the left had a western toilet that was already occupied, but this clean porcelain international model served just fine!