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travel companion set forth along the vari- ciety, www.pams.org, a non-profit based in
ous “rios” out of Iquitos and the surround- Albuquerque, NM.
ing jungle during a visit to Peru in 2007. The mission of SIA intrigued me from
After exploring several villages of “the for- the moment Franke mentioned it a decade
gotten ones,” as the population called it- earlier. But it wasn’t until 2024 that I de-
self, the pair did an assessment with the cided to join her on her 20th annual expe-
help of local leaders and medical profes- dition. And so, per instructions, I flew from
sionals, and chose the Rio Momón as their Los Angeles to Lima, then boarded a local
zone of “operations.” SIA is today a pro- plane for Iquitos. The heat hit me like a hot
gram of the Peruvian American Medical So- brick when I exited the airport to lunge to-
154 WINE DINE & TRAVEL MAGAZINE FALL 2024
