Just Another Manic Monday...

The fourth day of patient care on the mission started early with a 5:30 am breakfast and then loading all of the equipment and supplies onto the bus at 6 am.  We were in the seats and the crates were in the aisle.

We drove southwest along the Jequintinhonha River to the first bridge where we could cross over...about an hour away.  We crossed the river and drove into the mountains north of the river.  The mountains are more like large rolling hills (like the Allegheny's in PA) but with large granite outcroppings which soar out of the ground at random intervals.

Our trek took us 3 hours total with the last 45 minutes on a dirt road.  Our destination today was the mountain village of Estiva.  It is a village of several hundred residents.  The Eye Team and the non-Brazilian dental team made the trek.  The eye team set up in a school building.  We saw a nice mixture of kids and adults...about 150 total for the day.

While we were in Estiva, we learned that the Brazilian dental team back in the clinic in Jequintinhonha received a visit from the state or local health authorities which resulted in the credentials of all the doctors (dentists and optometrists) being reviewed.   The mayor of Jequintinhonha, a Rotarian, was able to resolve the situation.

After another 3 hour trip, partly through a torrential downpour, we returned to the hotel at 7pm.  Fortunately, we cleared the dirt road part of the journey before the rain started!