Difference in Latitude

One overnight bus, three planes over three continents and thirty-one hours took me from 3 degrees North of the equator to 3 degrees North of the Arctic Circle, from the North Rupununi in the heart of Guyana to the azul fjords of Tromsø, Norway. Approximately 9100 kilometers separate the humid, lush expanse of tropical lowland rainforest from the stunning glacial valleys carpeted in birch and pine. A passage between such extremes is spectacularly unsettling- the body moves easily while the mind is caught in an unusual balance difficult to describe- a sensation unlike any other that forcefully reaffirms the immense diversity of this beautiful planet. I grew to love the languid flow of the Essequibo River that cut large and lazy ox bow curves through a forest of a thousand shades of green, the unmistakeable call of scarlet macaws flying two-by-two and the distant rumble of a conversation between orange-haired Howlers.

And yet I was immediately blown away by the sweeping views of stone and sea that shape the landscape of Northwest Norway. My arrival into Tromsø couldn't have been more jaw-dropping, as the airplane glided between steep mountain walls framing the aquamarine waters of arctic fjords. A stunning mix of greys and blues seperated by the dark green leaves of endless trees. The elements found in both locations, though so similar in nature, arrange themselves in such dramatically different ways. Beauty presents itself in such dramatically different ways. And Tromsø, unquestionably, is surrounded by it.