After wasting two days leisurely wandering in Northern Brazil, I began my southbound journey with the capital of the Amazon as my destination. In Manaus, a city on the river, home to 2,100,000 inhabitants, after handing over the black HONDA XRE 300 RALLY to the people of #taginoadventuretour company, I went on a day trip by boat to visit traditional indigenous settlements...
...I saw the pink dolphins of the Amazon and visited the iconic Amazon Theater (a splendid architectural masterpiece from 1896). Afterwards, I collected my luggage and took a flight to the city of Porto Velho.

Starting from Porto Velho, Plan B of AMAZONAS 2023 included an extensive exploration of the provinces of Acre and Rondonia, located south of the Amazon River.
For the next 4 days, while traveling on the outskirts of Acre province, I wandered through the towns of Extrema, Capixaba, and Brazileia, with my presence in the city of Rio Branco (550 km west of Porto Velho) serving as a reference point.

The condition of the road axis (with countless potholes and few unpaved sections) was not the best, the brief but intense rains made driving quite challenging, and the solitude of the road scared me at times.
On the contrary, my interaction with the everyday life of the Brazilian province only brought me positive emotions. The locals, friendly and kind-hearted, immediately gained my trust, dispelling any fears and reservations I had about the inhabitants of the lush Brazilian countryside.
The scent of wet soil, the kind eyes of the locals, the sound of birds in the forests, the intensity of tropical storms, the musical sounds of the locals...

In the southern Amazon, besides the humidity and the heat reaching 32-33°C, and the bloodthirsty mosquitoes I had to deal with, I had to protect myself from tropical diseases lurking around. Throughout my stay in the tropical zone of the Amazon, I took malaria pills (Malarone) on a daily basis, insect repellents and long-sleeved clothing were in high demand, and a yellow fever vaccine was deemed necessary prior to the trip. The traveler's health protection was of immediate priority!

With my return to the riverside Porto Velho, the AMAZONAS 2023 came to an end.
An unwritten (travel) law states that, "The more wonderfully you experience a trip, the more intense the feeling of sadness you feel upon returning." And indeed, at the airport of Porto Velho, I was quite saddened and melancholic...