The Erie Canal, spanning upstate NY from Buffalo to Albany, and the Camino de Santiago, coursing across Northern Spain, are both substantial East-West pathways, and both share the same latitude line.
Go East from Manchester Vermont, and you will eventually cross the path of El Camino de Santiago, a hiking trail which is also many trails- an ancient journey. Go West from Manchester Vermont, and you will cross the Erie Canal, another kind of pilgramage- one of commerce and expansion in American history.
In 2017, the Erie Canal turns 200 years old. The Camino in 2017 has been traversed for over a thousand years. The Camino by foot, the Canal by boat with mules tugging along the towpaths.
I see a connection here.
The idea of a latitude movement- connecting east-west communities around the world sharing the same latitude line- was more or less born in the Manchester VT area, and it makes sense that this latitude would share some incredible east-west connectivity already- perhaps it is simply in the air. The Erie Canal, at 400 miles from start to finish- a meandering river of sorts dug by the hands of immigrants, and the Camino, a walking path through mountains and the regions of Basque and Galicia among others, show us that east-west connection along this latitude line are already there, in the history books. We can discover this connection anew.
What other ancient pathways might be out there along this latitude line?
Canals in China: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turpan_water_system