Straddling The Equator

February 17

Almost exactly 24 hours after we leave Belem we are docked on the outskirts of Macapa, Brazil in a squalid seaport section of town. The boat is rushed by about 100 porters to help with bags and supply taxi rides. We make your mind up to let the boat empty before plying the screaming crowds. The excitement dies and we make our way out of the marina. We consider a taxi but end up finding the bus and saving a few bucks. We see the monument ahead of us and it's much more than I thought it would be based on the half a sentence it received from the guide book but undergoing a remodel. Despite the construction we were allowed to walk about and take a few photos. Sadly there were no toilets on either side of the equator to observe the phenomenon of water spinning in different directions as it goes down. One of the most interesting thing we saw there were piles of huge, formerly flying dead bugs the size of small birds. We were glad they weren't buzzing around our heads. 

We took the next bus further into town and walked around looking for a laundry matt that we never found. We ended up in the nice part of town, on the river with a nice tourist pier that had an electric train that brought you to it's end and riverside cafes. It started to rain and we just sat and watched to day go by over a beer. Nap time called and it was back to the boat. It was leaving at 10:00 the following morning and we were again permitted to sleep onboard. We weren't the first to arrive and make a stake but we had plenty of real-estate to choose from. This time we studied our strategy even more closely and went about our mission of establishing and guarding our territory with reverence. Dan took to the challenge like the commander and chief himself. After studying traffic patterns, the floor plan of the boat and went through numerous hypothetical situations he had a sure boundary set. When he got out our trusty duct tape and taping off neighboring hooks I thought him a little over zealous. But this was war! Between us every hook had a piece of luggage and it was expertly hung at varying heights to completely eliminate the possibility of someone sneaking behind our offensive lines. Feeling a job well done we napped.

The Story continues as I "See Things In A Different Light"