The Porto Flutuante is the working face of the Amazon: huge mooring pontoons that float on the water and ride up and down with the seasons, connected to land by long inclined ramps that grow steeper as the river falls. Walking the riverfront here is one of the best things to do in central Manaus — boats of every conceivable size load and unload manioc, bananas, hammocks, fridges and passengers.
The British-built customs house (Alfândega) at the head of the port is itself a small wonder of late-Victorian industrial architecture. Photographs of the river markers on the embankment make it clear just how much the water rises each year.