How about the 5th?

"Sorry Scotch lovers - this has nothing to do with booze. That being said, I never have understood the need for a bottle the size of a fifth..."

Okay - this was a bit of subterfuge. It has nothing to do with a fifth of liquor. This is about the 5th Parallel, which is just a stone's throw north (or south) of the equator. As why is this such a big deal one may ask? Well to start with, it is the home to what many call the lungs of the planet - our precious rainforests.

After we had passed through the Panama Canal, one of our shipboard chums asked me if this was the furthest south I had been. No, I confessed. I had been across the equator when I flew down to Australia. But I have always wanted to see life between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. In particular, the area close to the equator.

And by the way, I had also wondered what the big deal was with those two parallels. I remember studying them in school, but only from a cartography standpoint. Doing a bit of digging when I got home, it seems those two lines have everything to do with astronomy - and our seasons. For example, in the Tropic of Cancer (north), the sun will be directly overhead on June 21st (summer solstice). In the Tropic of Capricorn on the other hand (south), the sun will be directly overhead on December 21st (winter solstice). 

That area from 23.5 North to 23.5 South is a pretty big chunk of land. I was really interested in the area from 5.0 North to 5.0 South - the heart of the rain forests. It is true that the rain forests stretch a bit further north and south than those latitudes, but to me, those 10 degrees were the sweet spot. 

It is an area of the world which grows some of the world's best coffee. Some of the best tropical fruits. It is inundated with exotic birds and animals. And it is a land without seasonal change. Our guide in Costa Rica told us that the temperatures throughout the year change very little. Well, it does go from hot to hotter yet. And the sun rises and sets at pretty much the same time every day. And days and nights are very close to the same length.

There really is no way to describe the beauty of the land. It is simply jaw dropping. The topography, the flora, the fauna, everything. And the people seemed to exemplify the land they dwelled on. Happy, relaxed, living in the moment. Proud of their heritage, proud of their land.

So when I say "How about the fifth?", put your glass away for later. What I mean is how about visiting the 5th Parallel? It is an experience you will not soon forget.