First stop, Lima

Lima. After nearly missing my connection in Miami due to a one-hour delay in Montreal (took a while to get all the ice and snow off of our plane), I've arrived in Peru. As my dear friend Erin pointed out, this is my first time south of the Equator. But I'm not stopping here. I'm going to the Amazon.

Some introductions are probably in order. A little of the who, why, and where behind this little adventure. My name is Erik, and I'm a 4th year medical student at McGill University in Montreal, QC, Canada. Outside of my budding medical career I'm also an avid outdoorsman, cyclist, hiker, skier, and epicurean (I just really like to eat). I'm applying to family medicine this year, and look forward to starting residency in July. 

So why am I going to the Amazon? I've always been interested in global health, and last January I had the good fortune of meeting Dr. Videsh Kapoor. She is a (fantastic) family physician in Vancouver, BC, and also happens to be the head of the global health program at UBC. Between patients and on generous rides home from clinic, we discussed our interests, including my desire to take my medical learning experience abroad. Having lived in Texas many years and being (adequately) proficient in Spanish, she suggested that I go to the Santa Clotilde Centro de Salud. Naturally, I said yes. 

I'm looking forward to seeing what kind of difference I can make with the medical knowledge and skills I've acquired so far. I'm also keen to learn as much as possible about how medicine is practiced in a setting where the resources aren't as abundant as say, the Montreal General Hospital. And finally, I believe that sometimes you need to throw yourself out of your routine to develop as an individual, and sometimes, if you're lucky, you learn something interesting about yourself. In other words, I'm super stoked for this trip.

A little on Santa Clotilde. Santa Clotilde is located in north-eastern Peru, on the Rio Napo. It is accessible mostly by boat, and rarely by float plane. It is north of Iquitos, the nearest major city.

Santa Clotilde is the referral center for a chain of rural health outposts linked by the Napo River.  The territory extends as far as the border with Ecuador, downriver as far as Mazan, and includes a major tributary of the Napo, the Tacsha Curaray, as far as the village of Buena Vista. Santa Clotilde serves as the primary center for supplies, patient referrals, and logistical support. 

I'll be living in Santa Clotilde for just under a month, and can't wait to get there. The plan today is fly to Iquitos, where I'll be staying the night. Then tomorrow I'll be taking a series of boats to my final destination. Today I was greeted at the airport by Father Moe and Raul, who generously took me in and made me breakfast. Can't take your malaria pills on an empty stomach!

So here's the deal: I'm not much of a writer. I plan to take as many photos as possible over the next month, and I'll use the most interesting ones to share my story with all of you. As internet access is intermittent in Santa Clotilde, I'll post updates as often as possible. Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for updates!