I had slept all night, maybe due to the 2 Paracetamol pills or simply due to my physical state of pain and exhaustion. The night had been short though and I woke up at 05:00 hours in the morning, I had slept pretty much all day yesterday and now all night. The pills had worked and were still working, I was feeling slightly better, I was feeling that I was ready for breakfast; yes a nice toasted egg sandwich and a fresh Maracuja juice. I had woken up that early and now had to wait for the kitchen to open but then again I was pretty much first. My friends arrived one after the other, actually the girls first and then the boys. I had my toasted egg sandwich but already with the last bite, I could feel that the fever was coming back.

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After breakfast, the preparations started for the arrival in Manaus, the passengers all went to take a shower and dress up for this event. Brazilians dress up for the smallest thing, leaving the house and walk to the supermarket around the corner without taking a shower and dressing up is impossible. The dress code gets more sophisticated the more important the event. Arriving in Manaus was important and required the best dress of the luggage. Once ready, the majority lined up for the “meeting of the rivers” and so did my friends. When the Diamante turned into the Rio Negro, the time was up and the arrival in Manaus was imminent.

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The passengers queued up at the lower deck and before the captain  had given the final signal the hectic started; arriving passengers getting off and leaving passengers getting on, family members getting on and leaving again, delivery companies picking packages up and dropping packages off. The carriers started with their work and loaded the few cargo from Tabatinga off and in the middle of all this, the port authorities had to check the documents of the 6 cars that had arrived and charge departure fee. My friends were last and I had the time to have a quick look at the Voyager V for my friend the captain but he was not on the ship. I spoke to some of the staff and insisted to transmit my greetings. I would have loved to see him one more time.

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Back to the Diamante and time for the vans to leave the ship and time to enter one of the vans, I decided for Yonathan because he had definitely the biggest van and therefore most space. Driving in the city of Manaus and between the destinations was now responsibility of modern technology, GPS for orientation and APP for final destination, information and parking, resting and sleeping places.

First we stopped at the Amazonas shopping mall in the north of Manaus and I had time to buy some drink at the Carrefour supermarket. Irene hated shopping malls and preferred to wait in the van. Free parking time was up and everybody had paid for 3 hours, enough time to go back and stay in the shopping and enough time for me to get to know the sophistication of a German car manufacturer. Irene was a Volkswagen T3, T2, T1 freak and Volkswagen had fabricated the van to its optimum and this more than 25 years ago.

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We left the shopping quiet late and then Claudio even had to change money at the airport. Finally, we left Manaus, driving into the night and towards Presidente Figueireido. 3 vans full of Gringo’s made it to Presidente Figueireido and the backpacker APP indicated the parking of the Municipal Park “Cachoeira das Orchideas” and the backpacker APP was right, a fenced parking at the outskirts of the city, secure and quiet. I found my sleeping place on a bit of green grass right next to the van of Yonathan, which would turn into my roof in case of rain.

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For a small understanding of the days travel, I have included a Google Earth map. The red pins mark the locations I have stopped and taken pictures. At the bottom of the page you will find a link for all the pictures I have taken. The link will open in a Google+ Album.

Please click on map to enlarge!!!

See map and distances / Siehe Karte und Entfernungen / Ver mapa e distâncias / Ver mapa y distancias

0 km      Manaus

130 km  Presidente Figueiredo

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