AP PHOTOS: A rural doctor traverses mountainous terrain by donkey to visit far-flung patients

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Public health agent Santos Ramos guides Dr. Jorge Fusaro on rented mules through the rocky terrain of the Cerro Chañi as part of Fusaro’s medical tours of the rural communities in the Jujuy province of Argentina, Friday, May 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

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Dr. Jorge Fusaro cools off by a stream during a rest from descending the Cerro Chañi, after completing his medical tour of the rural communities scattered across the mountain considered scared by the Kolla Indigenous people, in the Jujuy province of Argentina, Sunday, May 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

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Dr. Jorge Fusaro examines Issac Santos during a home visit in the rural community of Pie de la Cuesta on the Cerro Chañi, in the Jujuy province of Argentina, Friday, May 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

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Dr. Jorge Fusaro leads his rented mule along a mountain path on his way to treating families scattered across the Cerro Chañi, in the Jujuy province of Argentina, Sunday, May 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

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Dr. Jorge Fusaro, left front, joins in a pick-up game of soccer in Despensa on the Cerro Chañi, in the Jujuy province of Argentina, Saturday, May 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

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Public health agent Santos Ramos guides Dr. Jorge Fusaro and their rented mules, along a path of the Cerro Chañi as part of Fusaro’s medical tours of the rural communities in the Jujuy province of Argentina, Sunday, May 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

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Virginia Gutierrez saws off a rack of lamb to prepare for the celebrations honoring Justo Juez, a representation of Jesus Christ, in Despensa, on the Cerro Chañi, in the Jujuy province of Argentina, Saturday, May 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

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Residents prepare plates of food to be served to the community during celebrations honoring Justo Juez, a representation of Jesus Christ, in Despensa, on the Cerro Chañi, in the Jujuy province of Argentina, Saturday, May 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

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Celebrants take part in the “Cuarteada”, a traditional adoration dance holding and shaking goats’ hind quarters until they are ripped apart, during celebrations honoring Justo Juez, a representation of Jesus Christ, in Despensa, on the Cerro Chañi, in the Jujuy province of Argentina, Saturday, May 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

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Patrocinia Santos, left, and Cintia pray after taking part in the “Cuarteada”, a traditional adoration dance holding and shaking goats’ hind quarters until they are ripped apart, during celebrations honoring Justo Juez, a representation of Jesus Christ, in Despensa, on the Cerro Chañi, in the Jujuy province of Argentina, Saturday, May 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

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Dr. Jorge Fusaro visits with residents while warming himself by a fire in Despensa on the Cerro Chañi, in the Jujuy province of Argentina, Saturday, May 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

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Dr. Jorge Fusaro listens to the heart beat of Patricia Lujan, inside a mud wall home serving as a temporary medical clinic, in Despensa on the Cerro Chañi, in the Jujuy province of Argentina, Saturday, May 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

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Eduardo Ramos, who lives alone, holds a bag of medicine delivered by Dr. Jorge Fusaro, who takes time to sit and chew coca leaves with his patient, in Encrucijada on the Cerro Chañi, in the Jujuy province of Argentina, Friday, May 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

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Issac Santos holds his doctor’s visits log card after a home visit from Dr. Jorge Fusaro, in Pie de la Cuesta on the Cerro Chañi, in the Jujuy province of Argentina, Friday, May 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

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Residents gather in a circle for an Indigenous ceremony to pay tribute to the land and to begin the celebrations honoring Justo Juez, a representation of Jesus Christ, in Despensa, on the Cerro Chañi, in the Jujuy province of Argentina, Saturday, May 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

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An interior of the home where Eduardo Ramos, a patient of Dr. Jorge Fusaro, in Encrucijada on Cerro Chañi, in the Jujuy province of Argentina, Friday, May 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

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Dr. Jorge Fusaro, wearing a beret, eats lunch with residents during the celebrations honoring Justo Juez, a representation of Jesus Christ, in Despensa, on the Cerro Chañi, in the Jujuy province of Argentina, Saturday, May 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

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Dr. Jorge Fusaro, left, takes part in the annual religious procession honoring Justo Juez, a representation of Jesus Christ, in Despensa on the Cerro Chañi, in the Jujuy province of Argentina, Saturday, May 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

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Dr. Jorge Fusaro drinks mate while residents prepare lamb shanks to cook in a clay oven during celebrations honoring Justo Juez, a representation of Jesus Christ, in Despensa, on the Cerro Chañi, in the Jujuy province of Argentina, Saturday, May 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

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Dr. Jorge Fusaro examines Patricia Santos inside a mud wall home serving as a temporary medical clinic, in Despensa on the Cerro Chañi, in the Jujuy province of Argentina, Saturday, May 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

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Public health agent Santos Ramos administers a vaccine to Hector Lopez, accompanied by Dr. Jorge Fusaro, inside a mud wall home serving as a temporary medical clinic, in Despensa on the Cerro Chañi, in the Jujuy province of Argentina, Saturday, May 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

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Patient Damian Santos holds medication he received from Dr. Jorge Fusaro, during a medical checkup in Despensa on the Cerro Chañi, in the Jujuy province of Argentina, Saturday, May 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

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Dr. Jorge Fusaro examines patient Damian Santos inside a mud wall home serving as a temporary medical clinic, in Despensa on the Cerro Chañi, in the Jujuy province of Argentina, Saturday, May 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

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Residents have a light breakfast prior to the celebrations honoring Justo Juez, a representation of Jesus Christ, in Despensa on Cerro Chani, in Jujuy province, Argentina, Saturday, May 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

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Medical supplie belonging to Dr. Jorge Fusaro sit on a table inside a mud wall home serving as a temporary medical clinic, in Despensa on the Cerro Chañi, in the Jujuy province of Argentina, Saturday, May 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

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Dr. Jorge Fusaro visits with residents inside a communal house during celebrations honoring Justo Juez, a representation of Jesus Christ, in Despensa on Cerro Chani, in the Jujuy province of Argentina, Saturday, May 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

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Public health agent Santos Ramos leads rented mules, one packed with medical supplies, along a path of the Cerro Chañi as part of Dr. Jorge Fusaro’s medical tours of the rural communities in the Jujuy province of Argentina, Sunday, May 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

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Dr. Jorge Fusaro takes a break during a stop along a path of the Cerro Chañi, while making his way to the community of Despensa on the Cerro Chañi as part of his medical tours of the rural communities in the Jujuy province of Argentina, Friday, May 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

By RODRIGO ABD

A rural doctor travels miles of unforgiving terrain by donkey, enduring cold, rain, wind and exhaustion, to visit several dozen families scattered across the highest mountain in the north of Argentina.

Dr. Jorge Fusaro has organized medical tours three times a year for the past four years across Cerro Chañi in Jujuy. Chañi is considered a sacred mountain by the indigenous Kolla people who live there. It has extreme temperatures, year-round snowy peaks, and is home to animals full of symbolism, like the puma and condor.

Fusaro is not only the only doctor many people see, sometimes he’s the only outsider. Doctors may be the only representatives of the state to reach this mountainous region. There are no schools, police, or postal services. Fusaro not only treats residents and leaves enough medicine for their first-aid kits, he also helps them with bureaucratic paperwork, serves as a mail carrier for delivering important documents to relatives in the city, and organizes training sessions, among other tasks.

“Knowing that our medical work gave these communities a better life fills my heart. If we don’t go, no one will,” reflects the 38-year-old doctor. He’s worried that government cuts will make future trips impossible. He’s already had to cancel one trip due to lack of funding.

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For some people, his arrival is the first time they’ve seen a doctor. They are surprised he keeps coming back.

It’s almost noon, and the sun blazes down at nearly 3,600 meters (11,800 feet) above sea level in Ovejería, a settlement where only 67-year-old Doña Virginia Cari, her husband Eustaquio Balderrama, and their son Panchito remain. Inside an adobe kitchen with a thatched roof, Fusaro chops onions and peels potatoes to help Virginia prepare lunch. He asks her about her daily chores, her animals, her husband’s health, the weather, her children living far away, and her medicinal plants.

“My idea of sharing is essential. Making the most of the short time we spend in the communities and trying to live as they do; if we need to chop wood or walk for hours to fetch water, we do it,” he said. “That way, we understand their efforts and worries, their knee or back pain. If they don’t have a bed and we need to sleep on a sheep’s hide, we do it; if they only have soup at night, we drink soup. This helps us think of medical solutions within their possibilities and daily lives.”

Doña Virginia says it’s important for her and her family to see this rural doctor a few times a year.

“I’m very happy when I see the doctor arrive on his mule. He brings the medicines we take here for months,” she said. “The work with animals is hard; we’re old, and our bodies ache.”