Tropic of Capricorn

What has living along the line of the Tropic of Capricorn done to me, or changed in me thus far? Hard to say as of now. Due to the pandemic it had been more difficult to get “out” and really see and feel the geography. One thing is for sure, I know now, what it’s like to live where thunderstorms converge and bring fury as fast as emotions can rise within the body and bring rage. The vibe here on the line that separates the tropics, from the near tropics, is fine, and the lines one needs to walk here in the biggest city in South America can also be constantly shifting. Goals and ideas, are always in flux here, more so than in the calm Mediterranean climes I’m more accustomed to. I suppose it will be some time later when I will understand how living along this line of latitude has changed me, if at all, and it may be a change that I will never fully understand.

As of now I am very disappointed that the pandemic made it so hard to travel to places such as the Pantanal and Cerrado regions, where the biodiversity these places harbor would impress any naturalist around the world, and worse so, the recent fires that have ravaged the Pantanal leave me wondering if I will ever be able to see it as I had imagined it in its ‘pristine wonder’. Fire seems to follow me, or at least to follow my dreams and my places of interest. First the Santa Monica Mountains, and now the Pantanal, places that I wanted to get to know, or have known deeply, are now just coming back from the ashes. While the government here and at home do their best to downplay the threats of climate change and disregard the environmental destruction taking place under the auspices of “Growth” I feel I have not done enough to sound the alarm or right the wrongs. I hope to one day soon enter the regions of Brazil’s natural wonders and at least, see them for myself. I’m not sure what I can do to try and save them, or even how us Sapiens will be able to do it, but for now I have the Mata Atlantica here at my doorstep and it has breathed life into me, has shown us the neon colors of the tropics, the allure of the leafy green lands under hard sun and cloud, the perfect beaches, the struggling communities, all of it juxtaposed together here so beautifully, one has to see it to believe it.