Visiting Marco Zero do Equador/Equator Monument or the Meio do Mundo, in Macapá, Brazil.
The highlight of any trip to Macapá in Brazil surely has to be the Equator Monument, known localñy as the Meio do Mundo. This is the fourth time that I have backpacked the equator, the line of zero latitude.
First of all, just to keep you all informed, What is backpacking?
Backpacking is the art of going places with a backpack, a rucksack, a sac a dos.
If you travel with a suitcase, then you are not a backpacker.
If you are visiting, wearing just a fanny pack, well, for those of you from north of the (Mexico USA) border, please Google the english meaning of the word ‘fanny’. Yes, it’s true, it’s a female name (as well).
Fanny Packer sure makes for a good name for a blog.
The Equator – Quick Facts
The Equator is a 40,000 km imaginary line that divides the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.
It passes through 13 countries:
- São Tomé and Principe
- Gabon
- Republic of the Congo
- The Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Uganda
- Kenya
- Somalia
- Maldives
- Indonesia
- Kiribati
- Ecuador
- Colombia
- Brazil
Only 20% of the equator crosses land.
I backpacked the Equator in Sumatra, Indonesia in 2014:
In Kenya at two separate locations, Nanyuki in 2016;
And near Maseno in 2023 (I did have my backpack with me, just wasn’t wearing it in this photo).
Where is the Marco Zero do Equador in Macapá
The Marco Zero do Equador in Macapá is in the middle of a roundabout, about 5 km southwest of town.
To save my legs, I took an InDrive (Uber alternative) moto taxi from the Hostel Meio do Mundo for just 9 Reais (plural of the Real).
And such is life, the Equator Monument has been closed for some months whilst it is being remodelled.
So there is sadly no opportunity to buy some Equator souvenirs or drink a beer or coffee as the imaginary line splits you in two.
The gate was open, so like a tourist behaving badly, I wandered in and snapped a sneaky shot before the construction guys said that I should go.
There is the small and tacky Parque do Meio do Mundo, which is open from 6 pm and the Letreiro Turístico do Parque do Meio do Mundo, which is accessible 24/7.
There is the Arena Zerão do Macapá, the stadium which is also under the state of being renovated.
The Equator forms the halfway line on the pitch, which is a great bit of trivia for all Ground Hoppers and pub quiz fans.
I then followed the Avenida Equatorial all the way to the river and walked back to town. Clocked up 8 km in the intense humidity that day.
Cool name for a street.
This is the Amazon in Macapá.
Just imagine, I travelled 1600 km from Tabatinga to Manaus on a slow cargo boat, a journey that took 78 hours. Manuas to Belem takes a similar time. You can also get to Macapá from Manaus too. All by boat. An incredible journey.
The Amazon is the mightiest river in the world. Maybe one day I can go to the source, which is somewhere near Iquitos, high in the Peruvian Andes.
The next day I also backpacked the Fortaleza de São José de Macapá which was very underwhelming, not to mention a very wet underfoot experience due to all the rain.
But I went, what did you do today? It was also free to walk around.
Lunch was at the Mercado Centrale:
Excellent snaps as always. Interesting equator facts too. I learned the meaning of “fanny” from a humorous British reader once. Rear end for all people in the States means something quite different in England.
As for Iquitos, my wife spent a week there doing Ayahuasca. She said the city was neat. A jaguar walked into the retreat one night. She saw its footprints. Also the biggest city that one can reach only by air or water that is not on an island.
FannyPacker dot com would attract lots of unwanted attention.. haha. I need to get to Iquitos one day. Boat to Leticia to connect the dots??
LOL!
Sounds about right. I do want to get down there eventually. I’ve only seen Cusco and Lima in South America. The Andes are something else.
Colombia seemed very easy after the rigours of the Guianas.. i will get to the other places someday… :))