Worlds away.

Remote. If I were to think of one word to describe the Amazon that would be it- "remote". To give you an idea as to how remote this region of the world is, in state of Amazonas there are sixty-four municipalities. Of the sixty-four municipalities only four are accessible by road. The bulk of the region is only accessible by boat within the complex network of rivers that comprise the Amazon. In addition to "remote" I would also think of the of the following words: hot, humid, exotic, another world, humongous, fascinating, amazing people, extremes, teeming with life, mysterious, wild, alive, and a great deal of need.

The purpose of my trip was to participate in a discussion on the health programming in our Amazon program. It was a wonderful opportunity to gain a better understanding of this beautiful, and extremely important, region of our world, as well as help to improve the quality of our health interventions.

As excited as I was to travel to the Amazon, I really didn't want to leave Steph and Ava alone. However, Steph has been so supportive of my work and encouraged me to go. As busy as I was not an hour would pass where I wouldn't miss them. I just couldn't wait to get home. I need to thank all of those people that either stayed here at the house, invited them over for dinner, of connected with them throughout the week to check on them. I made it a little easier to go knowing there was such good support from others. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart.

I have included a few photos from my trip below. I hope you enjoy this glimpse of my week in the Amazon.

One of the three species of dolphin in the Amazon.

Fishing for dinner.

Sunset over the Amazon.

WV Medical Boat.

Opera House in Manaus.

Manaus, Brazil.