Instead of a sled, Santa waves cheerily to the excited children who wait for him at the river's edge as he sits perched on the prow of a rumbling riverboat in the Brazilian Amazon.
His red-and-white costume stands in sharp contrast to the emerald green tones of the world's largest tropical forest and the muddy brown waters of the Solimoes River.
"Merry Christmas!" Santa cries, vigorously ringing a bell as the boat approaches the town of Parana da Terra Nova, 24 kilometers from Manaus, the largest city in the Amazon.
Part of a seasonal initiative by nonprofit group Friends of Father Christmas, he travels to impoverished communities of "Ribeirinhos," where families live along the river.
When he finally sets foot ashore after a three-hour journey, this Not-Your-Average-Santa opens his arms to greet the giddy children who run up to meet him.
"You can't change the world, but you can make children smile at Christmastime," Jorge Alberto, 57, wearing Santa and a fake beard despite the hot weather, tells AFP.
But for the Santa Claus, bringing presents to children in the most remote regions is no cakewalk.
Santa has to borrow a small boat to get into one narrow branch of the river, and he walks with trepidation across a wooden footbridge that inspires little confidence.
But when the Amazonian Santa arrives at his destination, the payoff is huge: the ear-to-ear smiles on the faces of children who are able, for a moment, to forget the harsh realities of life in a poverty-stricken, COVID-19-scarred region.
"Our challenge is to go to places where no one else goes. We don't just come to distribute gifts, we come to bring joy," said Denise Kassama, 50, the coordinator of the project, which aims to bring Christmas cheer to 4,000 children this season.
Although the late afternoon saw a torrential downpour – Santa and his "elves" are undaunted. They organize games and apply cheery makeup to eager young faces.
