Hola, amigos!
It's been an action packed couple of days here in Iquitos, so here's an update about our recent goings-on.
Yesterday morning our four Team Iquitos members met with our project coordinator, Dr. Luis Rodriguez, to discuss our upcoming research ventures in Belen -- Iquitos' most impoverished municipality -- and to establish a relationship with a microbiology lab in Punchana that will be carrying out our desired water analysis test: fecal coliform count. [Fast facts on fecal coliform testing: Increased levels of fecal coliform bacteria in drinking water are useful for exposing shortcomings in water treatment, distribution and/or storage methods. Heightened levels of these bacteria typically go hand-in-hand with an increased risk of gastroenteritis and other not-so-enjoyable health maladies.]
Our ultimate goal is to demonstrate the need for a public health intervention in Belen by showing relationships between (1) the type of drinking water source in a given household (2) the degree of contamination of that household's water supply with coliform bacteria and (3) the frequency of gastroenteritis experienced in the household. With our objectives firmly in place, we felt it was about time for a short break! Thanking Dr. Rodriguez for his assistance, the four of us hailed a pair of motor taxis and headed to a unique tourist destination: Quistococha Park.
Located about 25 minutes from downtown Iquitos and featuring a tropical zoo, aquarium, local lore "museum" and placid beach area, Quistococha basically has something for everyone. Of particular interest to our group was learning about the many curious myths relating to life along the Amazon. We surely got our money's worth in this respect, as the park's main entrance way features a long, winding wall full of colorful murals that both illustrate and spell out local mythologies. One of the more memorable myths, titled "El Bufeo Colorado (The Pink Dolphin)," involves a rare pink dolphin assuming the form of a man and seducing young women to follow him to the dark river depths where he lives. Locals say that that these "false men" can be spotted by the large hats they wear to cover up their bald heads!
Take-home lesson: Ladies, beware of sweet-talking men (with or without hats), as they
just might be transformed dolphins with BAD INTENTIONS.
After satisfying our curiosity relating to local myths, we explored the zoo area, featuring a vast array of tropical fauna ranging from comical spider monkeys to insidious crocodiles to instantly lovable bottle-nosed dolphins. While it was difficult to see some of these dynamic critters confined to such small spaces, the zoo still afforded us a close-up look at the awe-inspiring biodiversity of Peru's jungles.
Crocodile at Quistococha Park, creepin' through some lush greenery.
Next up: BEACH TIME! Located about 100 meters from Quistococha's zoo area is a huge inland lake with designated swimming and lounging areas. Seeing as how it was a Tuesday afternoon (not your typical tourists' day out), we practically had the sandy beach to ourselves. While cloudy for the first hour or so, the sky eventually opened up and intense, summery sunlight shone through. We were wise about reapplying sunscreen on a regular basis and so avoided anyone's being burnt to a crisp. Upon exiting from this veritable paradise we enjoyed a delicious lunch consisting of locally caught/grilled fish, grilled plaintains, tacacho (local favorite; mashed plaintains rolled with bacon fat), and coconut milk direct from the source itself. After a satisfying lunch, we journeyed back to home base and did a bit of organizing/planning for the following day.
Life's a beach: View of the stunning inland lake at Quistococha Park.
Today, Wednesday July 13, marked the beginning of our research endeavors in Belen. As mentioned previously, Belen is a highly impoverished area of Iquitos, and stretches from the banks of the Amazon River to higher elevations that overlook the water. The majority of houses located in Belen's low-elevation areas are located on high support beams (roughly 4-5 meters in length) that prevent the flooding of personal living areas when the river's waters inevitably rise each year. We are told by Roger, our new guide from Belen's Seis de Octubre Heath Center that the river waters achieve a maximum height of 3 meters (9.84 feet) above the streets of Lower Belen. Thankfully for us, the river water height is currently at a minimum so we were able to travel between houses on foot rather than in canoe!
Our completed work in Lower Belen today consisted of 11 home visits and 9 collected water samples, which we subsequently submitted for testing to the microbiology lab in Punchana. Already we are noticing some sharp contrasts between water access in Belen versus water access in San Juan and Punchana. A considerable number of homes in Lower Belen admittedly drink water directly from the tap with no additional treatments (e.g., boiling and/or supplemental chlorine tablets) carried out. In addition, several homes had no running water source currently in place and are forced either to purchase potable water from homes with running water or to pay someone in possession of an expensive, pressurized pumping system to suction potable water their way. In either case, not an ideal situation.
We'll be back in Belen tomorrow and will update with more findings and photos ASAP. As always, thanks for your readership and support!
Abrazos,
Derek
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