Last Friday we said goodbye to Quito and began our journey towards "la selva" (the jungle). Along the way we stopped in the town of banos(there is a ~ over the n but it does not seem to work when typing). Banos is in a river valley and while there we took part in white water rafting, canyoning (aka repelling down waterfalls), and hiking. It was an adventure!
Our journey continued on to Puyo, a small town at the edge of the Amazon jungle, by way of a small bus ride on winding roads. Our hosts have welcomed us with open arms into there families. We have started the week with 2 days in clinic. Kimmy, Jason and I went to a clinic in the nearby village of Pitirishica (1 and 1/2 hours by bus away from Puyo). At the clinic we worked with two young ecuadorian doctors who are in their first year of practice that is mandated before they can specialize. We saw many patients with bites, abdominal pain and infections. Our Spanish is improving and we are also practicing our physical exams.
Tomorrow our journey takes us deeper into the jungle. We will spend 5-7 hours hiking to a Shaur village, where we will spend two nights getting an introduction to jungle life and Shaur medicine. Knee high rubber boots have been purchased (for wading through mud), sleeping bags and "mosquetero" (mosquito nets) have been borrowed, we are prepared for the adventure to continue.
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