Flight Through Landscape, Light, and Well-being at Orla Taumanan

Detaching myself from the daily routine to leave my home in the city of Boa Vista is more than a simple walk; it is a ritual of renewal. Every time I decide to make my way toward Orla Taumanan, I do so with the conviction of someone going to meet an elusive treasure. Going out to enjoy the weekend in this emblematic corner of the state of Roraima becomes a wonderful personal event—an appointment where the main objective is to "fish" for a formidable landscape. But my fishing rod does not seek fish; my tool is the lens, and my prey is the light that fades over the horizon.

This exercise is not merely aesthetic; it is a deeply healthy mental exercise. Observing the chromatism of the Rio Branco is a lesson in humility and living geography. Seeing it flow through its channel with such natural simplicity, ignoring human borders, only to pour its generous flow into the Rio Negro and finally join the torrential Amazon, invites me to reflect on our own trajectory. Like the river, we also flow toward broader channels, seeking immensity.

As the afternoon progresses, the sky transforms into an immense curtain that spans the entire spectrum of the imaginable. The fantastic colors—burning oranges, deep violets, and golds that seem hand-carved—urge me to move along the walkways of the Orla. I enjoy the gardens with a lingering gaze, recognizing in each plant species the wisdom of the Amazonian flora. Fishing on the shore through photography acts as a simple but infallible therapy to clear the chapters of the mind. It is a process of cleansing: I let worries drift away along the healthy paths of the river as it passes through the city, freeing up space for contemplation. My true capture is the image; a hobby that not only occupies my time but dwells within the deepest beats of my heart.

Upon reaching the heart of the park, where the healing chromatism expands like oil on the canvas of the evening landscape, life gifted me a chance encounter. A group of young medical students, representatives of the future and vitality, kindly stopped me. They invited me to use the community service offered by the Federal University of Roraima at their health station. We spoke in the Portuguese tongue—that language that sounds like music in these lands—and I responsibly assured them that, after finishing my visual flight through the walkways and gardens, I would return to have my blood pressure evaluated. There is a special beauty in this exchange: they care for the body, while the landscape cares for the spirit.

This place possesses privileged topographical points for catching images. With phone in hand, I seek that angle that manages to capture the essence of the light. I take several shots, adjusting my gaze to the codes and forms that nature delivers to me. I always return grateful for these images, for they are not just digital files; they are readings and messages for the future of my life of prodigious adventures. I am convinced that my visual and spiritual contact with nature always rewards me with true internal events. My search for new images is bound by a deep respect for the discourse of visual arts, always honoring those paradisiacal sources that the Amazon lends us.

After appreciating the beauty of the afternoon alongside the Brazilian people of Boa Vista—a people who know how to coexist with their river—I begin my return. I receive the energy of the landscape in that mystical instant where the light surrenders to the night. At the end of my journey, I kept my word and stopped at the health station. There, the medical students performed their work with a kindness that deserves to be highlighted. As I sat before them to evaluate my pressure, I understood that self-care is another form of respect for life. At seventy-two years old, the results showed a minimal elevation, a small warning from my metabolism. I have understood that I must reduce my consumption of cinnamon, for even what is sweet and aromatic requires balance.

I said goodbye to those young people, thanking them for their attention and their appreciated kindness. I walked away under the eternal light of the landscape, enjoying this "weekend health" that combines the medicine of men with the medicine of the soul. Every weekend is an opportunity I have to spread my wings and fly through the delicious space of Orla Taumanan, celebrating that, despite the years, the horizon remains new every time I decide to go out and find it.