Flying Dog Hostel Arequipa, Arequipa, Peru
Man Down.
I had the fidgets on the bus ride. Neck was killing me. Couldn’t get comfortable.
Arrived 5:30 am. Found hostel. No beds yet. Absolutely no energy to care. Slept with my head in my hands inside the “living room”; a decent size room off of an open air courtyard. Paul waited two hours. I drifted in and out. I felt miserable. Finally a room. I undressed, crawled into bed and didn’t get up until noon.
We went out to look for lunch. Found a beautiful spot overlooking the Plaza de Armas. The scenery was stunning. Lunch came. I put my head on the table and prayed for the meal to be over. We went back to the hostel and I fell onto the bed and slept until 6. Shoes, still on my feet. Read for awhile and slept some more.
“Something’s not right,” I thought. It felt like my entire body was being slowly pressed through a wringer washer. I ached in parts of my body I was never consciously aware of before. I took ibuprofen. I slept some more. We were at 7600 ft; was this altitude sickness?
Anybody who knows me well, knows two things are for certain, 1) I never nap and 2) I love my gut. Jokingly, I’ve often said, “If I ever lose my appetite, guaranteed, I’ve only got a couple of days to live”. All I could do was sleep and I wasn’t eating. The smell of food made me want to gag.
A few naps and overwhelming fatigue turned into days that I physically couldn’t move out of the room. We managed to visit a convent on the second afternoon and I swear to God if it were a functioning one, I would have crawled into one of the sisters’ beds and asked them to pray over me.
I tried going out for supper another time and it ended badly. At his point, thinking it was a gut bug, I started pumping myself up with some Cipro (broad spectrum antibiotic that we took with us from Canada). I also took Imodium for another symptom that was becoming increasingly problematic.
On day four, when the vomiting started (though I had not eaten now for 5 days), Paul, holding vigil next to me the entire time, bless his heart, agreed that we should call a doc.
When we no longer could extend our stay at our hostel, we moved locations. Paul made two trips to manage both our bags (he really is the best). We sought the advice of the receptionist at our new hostel and Praise Jesus!, they had an English speaking doctor who makes house/hostel calls!
She came and checked me out. I was dehydrated and needed IV fluids, that was for certain. We also needed to confirm the root cause of my misery. I was admitted to a private inpatient clinic that caters predominately to tourists.
I spent 48 hours there. I had a severe bacterial infection.
IV fluids for the dehydration and cipro for the gut. Within 12 hours I was feeling much better.
Our date with Machu Picchu getting closer and me, feeling ‘top-shelf’, I was discharged around noon, the day after the second night and we hit the ground running.
Already having pushed our departure from Arequipa forward several times, we tried rebooking on Perhop for tomorrow Oct 1. Unfortunately, they had no room. Not wanting to wait yet another day, we spent a couple of hours pouring over the internet and found a way out! Night bus at 8. We threw our bags together, called a taxi and headed for the station.
Concerned with my delicate gut, we splurged for 1st class with leather reclining seats that lay back 160 degrees. There was a stewardess who brought around snacks, tea, pillows, blankets and more! We settled in and tried to get some shut eye!
After 6 days in Arequipa, the city we never really saw, at 6:30 am we finally rolled into Cusco.
Off we go again!
Nancy
2019-10-02
Oh my heavens friend, thank heavens you are okay.
Stephanie
2019-10-02
I was wondering about you and your blog!!! I'm so glad you're feeling better!!! Xo
Daphne
2019-10-02
YES thank God you are ok & found good Dr, hi to Paul, stay safe
OMG. You poor thing. Glad you ar
2019-10-02
Annette
2019-10-02
Chadster
2019-10-02
I Thought that there was going to be a moral to the story.
Jill
2019-10-02
OMG! Thank heavens you’re feeling better. You poor thing. It must have been a very scary time for both you and Paul. Take care and hopefully you’ll both stay healthy for the rest of the trip.
Holly
2019-10-02
Yieeks! Hope all stays top shelf!
Aunt Madeline
2019-10-03
Oh my Dina. This had to be the worst thing to happen on a trip like this. Hope your up and about and feeling better. You never know and it had to get you major concerned. Paul way to go!
Barb
2019-10-03
My goodness! Glad you are feeling better! Some man you have there!
Agnes Penton
2019-10-03
So glad that you have that behind you. Onwards to SunGate and fingers crossed for a clear view at sunrise.Good luck!
Jenny
2019-10-03
Glad you are feeling better. Paul is a treasure. Hopefully all will be clear sailing from here. You have some gorgeous pictures. Stay safe.
Lee Anne
2019-10-03
Oh my goodness. You poor dear. So glad to know you are feeling better!
Patti
2019-10-03
So scary ... glad you are feeling better Dina. Glad Paul took good care of you but you knew he would. Enjoy Cusco.
Aunt Theresa and Uncle John
2019-10-03
OMGOODNESS, Dina! Thank God you found a doctor that helped. Sooooo very glad to hear you are on the mend. Give Paul a big HUG from us for taking such good care of you. Safe travels❤️
Paul
2019-10-03
I’m sorry you missed out on a few days but very glad you came out ok and looking forward to reading lots more !!!!
Susan Sam PIERCEY
2019-10-04
Lard Jaysus! Never a dull moment! So glad you are ok! Sending xoxo to you both!