Manaus: a port city

Although the rubber rush lasted only thirty years and the city lost its leading role in rubber commerce at the beginning of the 20th century, Manaus is still an important hub for naval commerce. The port of Manaus connects the city to all places in the Amazones and to the city of Belem in the north, from there to the Atlantic Ocean. Today many multinational companies prefer making business here due to the advantages of a duty free zone. The port of Manaus is a busy place: we see many cargo ships, fisher boats, touristic boats that take you to the ‘meeting of the waters’, the cruise boats, etc. When we are coming back from our daily touristic tour and getting closer to the port we see many gas stations on the river following one another, it’s like driving on a highway, a gas station where the ship stops to take fuel, pay by credit card and continue its trip! We come back to the port and see the table on the ware that shows the maximum level of water for each year, 2012 being the highest. They say this year the rainfall is above the average so it can even be further than this point…