Visiting a medical clinic and village
Visiting a medical clinic and village
The sun comes up about 5:30 and the sun goes down about 6:00PM. Consequently we were awake around 5:30. Breakfast was about 7:00 – scrambled eggs, bread, fresh juice and fresh fruit such as watermelon, cantaloupe, bananas, oranges. Coffee is instant and is always available. We tended to wear light weight long pants that have been treated with insect repellants, T-shirts, and have light weight long sleeved shirts along in case the bugs get aggressive. Hats and sunglasses were worn all day long along with DEET and sunscreen. Shoes were either athletic shoes or hiking boots.
After breakfast we hiked to a medical clinic funded with the assistance of the Lions Clubs. There is a doctor there for six months each year and a trained health care technician all year. It is small, simple, very clean, and is able to provide basic health care to those from local villages who seek medical care.
After lunch we got back on the small boat and cruised to a village and a school. The village had about 300 people in family homes, built on stilts, with wooden half walls, wooden floors, a palm leaf roof with wide overhang to keep out rain and sun, and very little furniture. Cooking is done over open fire and the food is primarily locally grown vegetables and fruits, home grown or hunted meat (chicken, duck, turtle, goat, cow, water buffalo, or wild animals). There are no beds; people sleep on the wooden floors. There is no electricity except from generators which some families have. We saw several antique pedal run Singer sewing machines much like the one I learned to sew on when I was a kid on the farm. Travel to Iquitos is 22 hours by boat (pictured at the top) and passengers must provide their own food and hammocks. The school was closed due to the time of day – the heat of the afternoon, but the children gathered to sing some songs for us. Lovely and polite children but very energetic out of doors. They saw us off at our impromptu boat dock. The people here use the Amazon river as a source of drinking water. They also bathe in the river and do their laundry in the river. People and animals live in close proximity.
We returned to the lodge for more cold showers a dinner of beef, rice, lentils, plantains, cucumbers, cake and watermelon. It began to rain about 8:00 and rained for several hours. Fortunately the paths to our sleeping quarters, to the showers and the latrines are all under palm roof coverings that are waterproof. We went to bed early and slept under the mosquito netting.
Helen’s Journal
Tuesday, Oct 10, 2006