Not far from the emblematic site where the black waters of the Rio Negro join the brown currents of the
Solimoes, two chief tributaries of the Amazon, what once was a lake has given way to a vast stretch of cracked mud.
His immediate surroundings are sucked dry, even as the greenery of the planet’s largest rainforest is visible all around. One large two-story passenger vessel is clearly listing to one side. Its name is visible: the Victory of Jesus.Graciete Abreu, a 47-year-old farmer, sells her vegetables at a market in the Colonia Santo Aleixo district, near the vanished lake, some 20 kilometers east of central Manaus.
But beyond the logistic struggles of the drought, Abreu is also concerned about the “psychological effects” on local residents from seeing the once-flowing landscape turn parched.