I am not going to annoy you with numbers on the Amazon; everybody knows that it is the largest river in the world. But there are two facts most favorable to imagine the enormity of this giant. The first one is that at times one cannot see the opposite shore. The other one, and this one really impressed me is the island of Marajó: Located at the mouth of the river, it is larger than Switzerland! Another curious detail: some millions of years ago, this Amazon flew into the Pacific. As the Andes rose, they diverted its course, and it is in the Atlantic that his long road ends now.

Our boat can carry up to 480 passengers, but only some 20 in cabins. The others stay and sleep in hammocks on two decks. I am the only foreigner on board; chatting with the other passengers is very laborious. My little Portuguese knowledge is insufficient to understand their Brazilian accent.

This is not at all on a journey through an uninhabited jungle, as I imagined; the area around the river are often cultivated, and I see a lot of cattle. There are small villages, many isolated fishermen houses, pirogues pass us regularly. There is cell phone coverage on some parts.

As they see our boat approaching, children jump into canoes and paddle our way, call and shout something I cannot understand. Then passengers throw plastic bags with their waste into the river, which the kids are eager to recover.

The Amazon flows very slowly from Macapa, my departure town, and Manaus, my destination. Manaus is some 1000 km away, but only some 40 meters higher. Currently the water is low; the flood season is just beginning. We meet a lot of ships carrying livestock to higher pastures before the waters start rising.

At Santarem, a town half way in my journey, I have to change boat. Since there is no free space on the dock, our boat docks with another ship, which is already docked on two others. The passengers simply pass through these three boats to reach the shore.
But this does not work with a motorcycle. A small boat approaches, and once again by bike transferred by manpower. And again, despite my warnings, they drop it. It’s a wonder that with all these falls nothing is broken yet, but in the meantime my bike is scratched all over.

Besides the well known piranhas there are also pink dolphins in the Amazon, very beautiful, but even more difficult catch with a camera.