January 2, 2022

10:01

Bruno Pacheco – Cenarium Magazine

MANAUS – With the Ponta Negra beach, in the west of Manaus, cleared for bathing from 9am to 5pm, Brazilians and foreigners took advantage of the first day of 2022 to dive in the Rio Negro and enjoy the day with family and friends. Last year, at the same time of the month, the place was closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

For the autonomous Priscila Machado, of 19 years, although the visitation of the site is released, it is still necessary to maintain all the necessary care to contain the new coronavirus, especially amid the Omicron variant. Along with her Venezuelan fiancé Roderik Hernandez, 20, and his cousin Ana Cristina, 17, Priscila decided to spend the morning of Saturday, 1, at the Ponta Negra Tourist Complex.

“We came as a family to spend the day at the beach and enjoy the vacations. We love to go swimming, and since his cousin just arrived in Manaus, why not come to the Ponta Negra? A beautiful tourist spot. Today is a day to celebrate life. We know that 2021 was a difficult year, the pandemic came, but God willing, in 2022, everything will be alright”, declared Priscila Machado.

For Roderik, going to the beach is also a time to relax his mind and reflect on life. He told CENARIUM MAGAZINE that he looks forward to 2022 with more health, control in the face of adversity that comes his way, and financial abundance. “We decided to come to the beach together. Bathing at the beach helps us to relax our minds, and in view of all that we went through with Covid-19, we expect a better year in 2022”, he pointed out.

For the first time on the Ponta Negra beach, Venezuelan Ana Cristina says she is delighted and intends to return whenever she can. She and her cousin, Roderik, are from the city of La Paz, located in Western Venezuela. “I’m going to take a lot of pictures. Seeing new things enchants me a lot”, said the young woman.

Having fun with your pet

Besides the family, people also took advantage of the holiday to enjoy the day with their pets. The northeastern musician Daniel Lima, 35, and his girlfriend Priscila Lima, 34, took their pet dog Bil, 12, to take a bath in the Ponta Negra beach for the first time.

“I had already brought Bil to Ponta Negra, but not to the shore. As he is already 12 years old, I took advantage that today would be a quieter day to bring him just to see the beach. In the middle of the walk, Bil got excited and dove into the water and here we are enjoying the first day of 2022”, said the lead singer of the band Essence.

For the New Year, the singer said he is looking forward to achievements and advances in health, especially in the fight against Covid-19. “I hope for many achievements and an even greater advance in health, that the pandemic is much more under control and, above all, I hope we have a much better year than we had in 2021”, he stressed.

No occurrences

Cape Evandro, from the Amazonas Military Fire Department (CBMA), told the CENARIUM MAGAZINE that until 1pm this Saturday, 1st, the corporation did not register any occurrence, but that it will be vigilant throughout the holiday, guiding bathers at the time of diving in the Rio Negro. According to him, January 1st is the day when lifeguards usually have more work on the beach.

“We always say, at Ponta Negra, come with your family, enjoy yourself, don’t drink too much alcohol to disturb your swimming, and respect the Fire Department signs. This 2022 is being atypical, because we usually have the party here and, because of this, we have many problems on the first day. So far we don’t have any problems and we hope it will be like this until the end of the day”, he concluded.