{"id":2564,"date":"2023-05-05T09:14:32","date_gmt":"2023-05-05T14:14:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/test.pegasuslectures.com\/blog\/?p=2564"},"modified":"2023-08-15T18:08:01","modified_gmt":"2023-08-15T18:08:01","slug":"bringing-vsi-imaging-to-the-amazon-of-peru-chapter-5","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pegasuslectures.com\/blog\/index.php\/2023\/05\/05\/bringing-vsi-imaging-to-the-amazon-of-peru-chapter-5\/","title":{"rendered":"BRINGING VSI IMAGING to the AMAZON of PERU (Chapter 5)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Another travel day starts brutally early as the alarm sounds at 5:40 am \u2013 I\u2019m sure I am not the only one who hates alarms.\u00a0 Thankfully, packing was brief since we did not take out any equipment for our one-day stay in Iquitos<\/a>.\u00a0 I had no idea what to expect for the day, other than we were starting off on an Amazon<\/a> tributary (the Rio Itaya<\/a>), then 20+ miles up-river on the Amazon<\/a>, followed by a meandering 100+ miles up-river on the Rio Napo<\/a> to Santa Clotilde<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Arriving at the docks, we paid local porters to bring our baggage down.\u00a0 We weaved through alleyways and down steps to find ourselves in front of some warehouse-type building with ramps and a partially submerged, wobbly board that took us across in front of our boat.\u00a0 As we waited to board, we were presented with a quiet sunrise over the river.<\/p>\n

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<\/a>The boat operators loaded our luggage on the boat roof.\u00a0 We were met at the dock by Gabriela Filonowicz<\/a> and Dr. Norberto Aramburu<\/a>, who were traveling back to Santa Clotilde<\/a>. Dr. Aramburu<\/a> is from Spain, but has been working at Santa Clotilde hospital<\/a> for two years.\u00a0 Three of his old college mates had flown out to meet him and I guess see what life was like, practicing medicine in the jungle.\u00a0 We started off the trip comfortably enough.<\/p>\n

We were told this first leg was only about one hour and that we would be stopping at a town called Maz\u00e1n<\/a>, where we would disembark, take moto-taxis across a two-mile strip of land, and reboard a different boat for an additional 7 hour journey up the Rio Napo<\/a>.\u00a0 As seen in this map, the Napo does flow into the Amazon<\/a>, but the junction is further down-river and would require an extra loop, likely adding a few hours or so to the total travel time.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/a>On the boat, Brian<\/a> and Leslie<\/a> bought fans from an enterprising vendor who came aboard for sales.\u00a0 I sat with Gabriela<\/a> and listened to a little of her background. She is a Catholic lay missionary from Poland<\/a>.\u00a0 She started off working in southeastern Africa, and then northern Peru.\u00a0 She has been in mission work for twenty years.\u00a0 In Peru, she started out working with children in Iquitos<\/a>.\u00a0 If I heard correctly (recall it is a noisy boat and my Spanish is only mediocre at best), she had worked there for nearly fifteen years.\u00a0 Every two years, she goes back to Poland to meet with the Diocesan Bishop<\/a> to renew her assignment.\u00a0 She told me this has worked out very well, as it provides her the opportunity to request what she needs to help the people<\/a>.\u00a0 A few years back, the opportunity came up to help run the hospital at Santa Clotilde<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/a>To capably administer this job, Gabriela<\/a> took classes in management.\u00a0 It was evident that she is very bright and has a winsome personality.\u00a0 All of the taxi drivers, porters, and boat drivers know her and show obvious respect. \u00a0I found it particularly impressive that they found a way to make happen whatever she asks of them. \u00a0This was very encouraging, because for a project to be successful you need the right partners.\u00a0 You can have amazing technology, a dedicated team, and the best intentions, but without someone in the local region who has the appropriate clout and serves as the project\u2019s champion, it will not succeed.\u00a0 We are very fortunate to have Gabriela<\/a>.\u00a0 She understands how the project can help people, and she seems committed to making this a success.<\/p>\n

We had to disembark at Maz\u00e1n<\/a> and as you can see, this entails walking a gangplank.\u00a0 By now, it was very warm and sunny as we waited on the river bank for our luggage to come off the boat roof and load into moto-taxis for the short ride over to the Rio Napo<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/a><\/p>\n

While awaiting the next departure, we walked into town where we bought egg sandwiches and water.\u00a0 I am including some pictures to give you a sense of what the market is like.\u00a0 (For all of my Massachusetts die-hard fans) you may notice a backpack with the Boston Celtics<\/a>\u2019 logo for sale \u2013 even here in the Amazon<\/a> jungle. You can also see a moto-taxi with some chickens hanging in the back.<\/p>\n

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We boarded the boat last \u2013 this was a mistake!<\/p>\n

Every seat was taken except for three in the back.\u00a0 The very back seat was isolated and right next to the bathroom.\u00a0 I did not want Leslie<\/a> to get stuck with this seat, so I offered to take it myself.\u00a0 The first problem became evident as soon as I sat down.\u00a0 The seat started to rock and tip over because it was not anchored to the floor.\u00a0 There was a 5-gallon plastic bucket next to the seat which I used for lateral stability \u2013 and then by spreading my legs wide, I kept the seat, for the most part, from tipping over.\u00a0 The next issue became apparent when the boat started to move.\u00a0 It did not have a complete set of windows above the gunwale to protect passengers from water spraying up the side into the passenger compartment.\u00a0 This condition was exaggerated by the back of the boat resting the lowest.\u00a0 To make the situation more comical, a tire tied to the side, used for docking the boat, was slapping back and forth with the waves, causing torrents of water to splash up, drenching my right arm and leg.\u00a0 Eventually, I was able to fix this problem by stuffing a couple of life jackets into the missing window\u2019s opening, thereafter only getting the occasional dousing when a wave was particularly aggressive.\u00a0 The third and final issue was the noise.\u00a0 I was virtually sitting on top of the boat motor.\u00a0 The sound was deafening. \u00a0This problem is exacerbated by the fact that ever since I had Covid, I suffer from hyperacusis \u2013 a lovely condition which results in sounds being amplified in your head.\u00a0 \u00a0After the first hour, I dug through my bag to find a pair of foam earplugs.\u00a0 This helped, but not enough.\u00a0 Finally, I decided to get out my noise canceling headphones because I was sure to go crazy from the noise and resulting headache.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/a>By the time we arrived, I thought my feeling queasy was the result of the ride.\u00a0 I\u2019m sure it did not help \u2013 but that was not all of it.\u00a0 As we walked up the stairs to the hospital<\/a> and our living quarters, I knew I was sick, with clear fever symptoms.\u00a0 This is my tenth \u201cmission\u201d type trip and I had never before succumbed to illness.\u00a0 I am very careful, trying to avoid the obvious pitfalls \u2013 but apparently, I was not careful enough.\u00a0 Feeling lousy, I did not take very many pictures after landing, the walk up to the base of the clinic, or the long stairs that go up to the boarding house where we were staying.\u00a0 I did capture a picture of the ambulance they use at the hospital<\/a>.\u00a0 In this case, the patients were our suitcases, sparing us having to carry them up the hill.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/a><\/p>\n

When we got to our quarters, I lay down in bed and skipped the afternoon meetings.\u00a0 I just lay there and tried to recuperate. \u00a0I\u2019d likely picked up some bacterial infection and was now going to experience its power.\u00a0 Ironic how we can be laid low by something so small.\u00a0 The rest of the day was a blur. \u00a0The little personal fan was my redemption.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know how I would have survived without it.\u00a0 \u00a0I was given an antibiotic and some Tylenol and eventually became well enough that I could try to eat a few bites.<\/p>\n

<\/a>This experience reminded me about the value of unexpected kindness and compassion.\u00a0 One of the Sisters, Yanabel, of a religious Order called Las Hijas de San Camilo<\/a> (the Daughters of Saint Camillus), known by a large red cross that is sewn onto their habits, heard I was ill.\u00a0 She went off to make chicken soup for me and then proceeded to brew up some chamomile tea.\u00a0 She was so kind and sweet, trying to make sure that I was taken care of.\u00a0 She works the dayshift as a nurse, and could easily have said after a full day\u2019s labor, that she was tired and had already done what was required of her.\u00a0 Instead, she showed concern for a stranger she had never met.\u00a0 There are angels in this world.\u00a0 I am sorry that I did not get a picture of her \u2013 but I guess my synapses weren\u2019t firing well at the time.<\/p>\n

Again, I am thankful for everyone who is following this journey with me. Look for my next chapter soon.<\/p>\n

Below are hyperlinks to the prior blogs on Bringing VSI Imaging to the Amazon of Peru:
BRINGING VSI IMAGING to the AMAZON of PERU (Intro\/Chapter 1)<\/a><\/em><\/strong>
BRINGING VSI IMAGING to the AMAZON of PERU (Chapter 2)<\/a><\/em><\/strong>
BRINGING VSI IMAGING to the AMAZON of PERU (Chapter 3)<\/a><\/em><\/strong>
BRINGING VSI IMAGING to the AMAZON of PERU (Chapter 4)<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n


Frank Miele, MSEE , President of Pegasus Lectures, Inc.<\/a> Frank graduated cum laude from Dartmouth College<\/a> with a triple major in physics, mathematics, and engineering. While at Dartmouth, he was a Proctor Scholar and received citations for academic excellence in comparative literature, atomic physics and quantum mechanics, and real analysis. Frank was a research and design engineer and project leader, designing ultrasound equipment and electronics for more than ten years at Hewlett Packard Company<\/a>. As a designer of ultrasound, he has lectured across the country to sonographers, physicians, engineers and students on myriad topics.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Another travel day starts brutally early as the alarm sounds at 5:40 am \u2013 I\u2019m sure I am not the only one who hates alarms.\u00a0 Thankfully, packing was brief since we did not take out any equipment for our one-day … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pegasuslectures.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2564"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pegasuslectures.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pegasuslectures.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pegasuslectures.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pegasuslectures.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2564"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/www.pegasuslectures.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2564\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2727,"href":"https:\/\/www.pegasuslectures.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2564\/revisions\/2727"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pegasuslectures.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2564"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pegasuslectures.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2564"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pegasuslectures.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2564"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}