Tag: geography
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In Macau the Flat Friends found an interesting mix of Portuguese and Chinese culture.
#flathal #flatstanleyproject #macau The A-Ma Temple has the classic swooping roofline so often seen in pictures of Asian countries. After our visit to the temple we drove by a Las Vegas style area, with golden hotels and casinos competing for our attention. Several times we got confused, trying to figure out if we were looking…
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The Flat Friends Discover Singapore, A City-State
#flathal #flatstanleyproject #Singapore Singapore is an amazing place. Home to six million people it is a city-state, which is a fancy way of saying the entire country is really one big city. Athens and Rome were city-states, hundreds of years ago. There are basically three city-states in the world, each famous for different reasons. Monaco—famous…
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Do You Dream Of Sailing The Seven Seas?
#flathal #flatstanleyproject #7seas #geography The Flat Friends love sea days! We can play games, relax—and look up the answers to any questions that have popped into our heads! We sailed out of Bali in the Lombok Strait, to the Bali Sea. Now we are in the Java Sea headed north to the equator and Singapore.…
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Exploring What Makes Indonesia Unique…
#flathal #flatstanleyproject #Indonesia The Flat Friends visited just 2 of the 17,000 islands that make up the country of Indonesia! (Bali & Komodo) Even though they only saw a small part of this giant archipelago (a big chain of islands), they learned so much. A group of local dancers performed on our ship. They wore…
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Learning About Australia— Its States And Territories
#flathal #flatstanleyproject #Australia The Top End of the Northern Territory has a lush, green, tropical environment. The rest of the territory might also get a lot of rain in the wet season, but it is mostly desert, and red rock. Looking at our path sailing around Australia: For countless generations—long before European ships arrived—First Nations…
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The Flat Friends Are Sailing The Coast Of Australia…
#flathal #flatstanleyproject #australia The Flat Friends are moving between seas, through the Torres Strait as we sail Australia’s coast from Sydney to Darwin.
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Did The Flat Friends Sail The Great Barrier Reef?
#flathal #flatstanleyproject #greatbarrierreef #australia While Flat Hal and Flat Halena were spending a day on the Kuranda Scenic Railway and the Skyrail Rainforest Cableway, friends and fellow passengers went snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef. The Great Barrier Reef is the only living thing satellites can see from space! It is the world’s largest coral…
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The Flat Friends have tried to compile a list of the waterways we have traveled so far.
Periodically, the Flat Friends try to visualize where we have been so far. This time, as we looked at the map we found ourselves wondering how many oceans and seas we have sailed. How many rivers? We are trying to compile a list of the waterways we have traveled so far… can you help? #flathal…
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What If South Was “Up” Instead Of North?
#flathal #flatstanleyproject #map #geography #history North is “UP” or the top on maps because it has been agreed upon, and we need consistency to help maps be useful. That doesn’t mean north is better, or the South is under it. In 1979 an Australian published a map he had been working on since he was…
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Taking A Moment To Get To Know The Flags Of Australia And New Zealand…
#flathal #flatstanleyproject #flags #newzealand #australia We don’t have to know what the symbols on a country’s flag mean to recognize and appreciate the flag. However, someone (usually a lot of people) worked hard to design each flag—it was a major class project for them (with “class” being “country” here.). Let’s take a moment to understand…
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International Waters — the common heritage of all humanity
The deep blue waters of the Earth are important to all of us, so no one person owns them. #flathal #flatstanleyproject @#internationalwaters When we first sail out of a port it feels pretty obvious we are in their waters. We are within sight of land, often local residents are out on their boats, fishing, and…
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The Flat Friends are Australia bound!
#flathal #flatstanleyproject #australia Do you know why some of the first Europeans moved to Australia? Hint: it wasn’t by choice! They created a culture known for kindness, humor, and funny songs called “bush ballads”
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Neither Flat Hal nor Flat Halena has been to New Zealand before!
#flathal #flatstanleyproject #newzealand Our arrival in Auckland (a day early thanks to cyclone Urmil) started with a chance to walk around the city center (downtown)/ central business district or CBD as the locals call it. Auckland is a great city for walking! We were amazed how many intersections let us go diagonal across the street.…
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The Flat Friends Are Looking At The Map…
#flathal #flatstanleyproject #cruising #southamerica Appreciating where we have been, the waterways we have sailed, and some of the amazing discoveries we have made. The Flat Friends have been having a lot of fun trying to understand the international dateline, but it was a real brain bender when a friend explained there is a period each…
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Adventure! Sometimes Adventure Means Adapting and Changing Plans…
#flathal #tonga #tropicalstorm Today, the Captain announced we are adjusting our course to avoid a tropical storm. While we could get to Tonga, we would be hit by 30-foot waves leaving, because of the storm by Fiji! Fiji is approximately 500 miles from Tonga, which sounds like a long way to the Flat Friends. However,…
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A Little Easter Island Reading…
Rapa Nui (Easter Island) has captured the imagination of the Flat Friends, just like it has for millions of other people around the world. Its remote location means we have sea days before our next port. Sea days are proving to be a great time to find answers, and dig deeper into the history of…
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4 days in a row at sea? Where are the Flat Friends going?
Our Rapa Nui (Easter Island) Timeline 1722: Dutch explorer Jacob Roggeveen became the first European to make recorded contact with the island! Because his ships arrived on Easter Sunday (April 5th), he cleverly (?) named the island “Paasch-Eyland” (Easter Island). He reported seeing great statues standing (Moai) and the inhabitants living their lives. 1774: Famous…
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Ferdinand Magellan and The Age of Discovery!
Flat Hal and Flat Halena feel like time travelers bouncing around time. Events make a lot more sense in order, so let’s slow down a moment. Ferdinand Magellan — 1520 — Discovered Magellan’s Straits between the Atlantic and the Pacific. (He saw a species of Penguin, named Magellanic for him!) HMS Beagle — 1831 to…
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Sailing away from San Antonio, Chile… Where To Next?
The Flat Friends were already planning to do a little cabin organizing as we sail from San Antonio, Chile, even before the wind kicked up and delayed our departure. We are going to have four days in a row at sea, on a nice big ship, with over 1,000 other people. Imagine what it was…
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Sailing Into The Sunset
#flatstanley #flathal #geography #west The Flat Friends went forward on one of the upper decks tonight to take sunset pictures. It looked like we were sailing into the sunset — or aiming for it? Remembering our research about the stars, and Peter Pan, they got curious… if a ship points its bow towards the setting…
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Another Sea Day Discovery
#flatstanley #flathal #phytoplankton A striking sunrise started off a pleasant, if somewhat bouncy day at sea. It was drizzling rain just 20 minutes before this picture, offering clouds for the sun’s rays to illuminate. Later in the day the Flat Friends noticed this portion of the ocean between Brazil and Uruguay has areas with a…
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Earth Is An Amazing Planet
#flathal #flatstanley We think the count stands at:31,856 Nautical Miles133 days of travel540+ passengers for all 133 daysapproximately 1,700 passengers onboard for a portion of the voyageOver 100 species (including subspecies) of birds seenIn 67 portsAcross 29 countries and territories The flat fellas visited almost 10% of the nations and territories of the world on…
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Visiting The Fourth Largest Town In Greenland— Qaqortoq
#flatstanley #flathal Greenland has a population of just over 56,000 people. In many countries that would be the population of a single city! Qaqortoq has just over 3,000 people. Qaqortoq has a similar feel to a rural community in the United States with a population of just a few thousand people. Unlike a rural community…
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Isafjordur Proved To Be A Hidden Gem
#flatstanley #flathal Approximately 2,700 people call Isafjordur, Iceland, home. Located on the Westfjords Peninsula, and considered to be the region’s capital, in part because it is the largest town, Isafjordur offers visitors access to waterfalls, Vigur Bird Island, and a variety of hiking trails for those who want to “stay local”. Fog creeped in around…
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The flat fellas visited the second largest city in Portugal — Porto
#flathal #flatstanley #porto #portugal #leixoes The itinerary said Leixões (Porto). The first thing Flat Hal and Flat Stanley set out to understand is why two places were listed — and how far apart they are. It got a little more interesting when it was announced we were being offered a shuttle to Matosinhos. A third…
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Europa Point Lighthouse, Gibraltar
#flatstanley #flathal #gibraltar On the way to Europa Point Lighthouse we rounded a corner and a giant, manmade waterfall emerged from the rock of Gibraltar! Flat Hal and Flat Stanley were delighted with the sight their guide had warned them to watch for. This water is the waste water (brine) discharged from a desalination plant…
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Taking A Moment To Look Back…
Having started in Florida, Flat Hal and Flat Stanley sailed from the Caribbean through the Panama Canal, down the Pacific, around the southern tip, and up the Atlantic, including an unforgettable journey up the Amazon, giving them the opportunity to experience South America from nearly every angle – a virtual circumnavigation of the Continent. From…
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Flat Hal and Flat Stanley are sailing the Southern Ocean!
#flatstanley #flathal #southernocean The Southern Ocean surrounds Antarctica. Whether you are coming from the Atlantic or the Pacific, you can sail as far south as you can, and reach the Southern Ocean. Here you will find a place where scientists from around the world gather to study and do research. Flat Hal and Flat Stanley…
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Hawaii!
Did you figure out our first stop was going to be Hawaii? There are websites where you can follow the daily progress of a cruise ship. This is one way my friends and family can “follow along” when I travel. In this second map you can see the Hawaiian Islands, and San Diego… we had…
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Another day at sea — do you know where we are sailing towards?
There are several places a cruise ship can go to from San Diego, can you think of some of the possibilities? We could be heading North. We could be sailing South… or even going on a cruise through a Canal. After catching the end of a pretty sunset tonight Flat Stanley, Flat Hal and I…