5 am and I’m awake! And very sick. I’ll spare you most of the gory details and simply say that I was talking to Ralph, from both ends of my body, on the big white telephone in the bathroom. I almost passed out at one point. Went back to bed and slept a bit more. Had to be ready for an early pick up so I tried to swallow my altitude pill with a few sips of Sprite. Immediately back to Ralph ! No medication in my system. At 7 pm, still not feeling any better, I went down to the breakfast area to try to eat a few pieces of bread and try to swallow another pill. I mentioned to the waiter that I was not feeling well and he suggested that I not have any fruit, juice or coffee; hot tea and bread would be better. So I had a nibble of bread, a sip of tea and tried to swallow my pill with another small piece of bread. Good thing the bathroom was nearby! The waiter was so worried he came with me into the washroom, helped me clean up and walked me back to my table. He thought it might be food poisoning, but I didn’t think so. He picked up my prescription bottle for altitude sickness and asked if I had been taking any aspirin. I had been taking both medications I had purchased in Chivay. It was possible that one or both contained aspirin. (Not like in Canada. Here you only get, for example, 12 pills in a pressure pack and only the name is printed on the back of the pack. No instructions, no bottle.) He showed me the label on my bottle of altitude pills which clearly stated NOT to take the pills with aspirin. SUCH A NICE MAN.
Anyway, I decided to go ahead with my 2 night excursion to Aguas Calientes and Machu Pichu since I had to check out of my room anyway. Pick up went well. The waiter came to the door to inform the lady who was picking me up that I was not well and that she should keep an eye on me. Once in the taxi the lady asked for specifics with regard to my age and medical condition. She then advised me to purchase some rehydration drinks and offered a few suggestions. She dropped me off at the bus going to Ollantaytambo, where I would switch to the train for Aguas Calientes. At Ollantaytambo I had a bit of time so I tried to find a pharmacy to purchase the rehydration drink that had been suggested; No luck. At the railway station they were selling Gatorade, which I don’t particularly like, but I figured I needed something in my body, and water was not working. They had one with clear liquid (Apple Ice flavour) and that seemed to work by taking very small sips. By the time the train was ready to leave I had managed to sip about ¼ of the bottle. There was a lady waiting for me at the train station in Aguas Calientes to help me to my hotel. We made a few stops along the way at each of the pharmacies we came across but no luck there either. The last one however suggested a drink called Electrolight. Well that sounds like it should do the trick. Unfortunately she did not sell any. I decided to just go to the hotel, settle down and rest.
Aguas Calientes is a very small community situated in a deep valley (the term gorge might be more appropriate) and the majority of its streets are therefore hills. Very steep hills. And wouldn’t you know it, the hotel I would be staying at Hotel Pachacuteq, on Avenida Inca Pachacuteq, was at the very top of the #$&#%$&*# hill. I’m sick, I’m tired, I’m huffing and puffing up this hill with Doris in charge of my small backpack on wheels. We needed to stop a few times along the way so I could catch my breath. No idea how steep the grade of the hill is, but to me, on that day, it was a killer. Finally got to the hotel, checked in, went up two flights of stairs to my room, had a nice hot shower, got into bed, and went to sleep for a few hours. I woke up around 4pm and felt a bit better. I decided to try to go purchase some Electrolight before the Gatorade ran out. Only one block down I located a very small grocery store and went in to check it out. They had Electrolight in a few different flavours. I’m not crazy about these neon coloured drinks (artificial colouring) so I checked out the clear bottles. One was Granadilla and that name rang a bell because I had seen the fruit when I was in the Colca valley; the inside looks exactly like a kiwi and I had it in a blended drink with Pisco. I bought two bottles of that one. The other was slightly orangey and was named Maracuya; bought one bottle of that one (found out later that it is Passion Fruit). Three bottles of water to go with that and back to the hotel I went. I did not eat, I just drank electrolyte and tiny sips of water.
No idea what time it was when I fell asleep, but the phone woke me up at 9:30. WHAT ? Someone from the travel agency was downstairs to explain procedures for my visit up to Machu Pichu the next day. Got up, got dressed and went downstairs to talk to the lady from the agency. I have to get up at what time ? 6:30 am ! Kill me now.
Have you noticed that I haven’t posted any pictures of my travels from Cuzco to Aguas Calientes? For those of you who have travelled with me before you know that this is a very rare occurrence. My camera is an extension of my arm when I travel. Sorry, no pics. I couldn’t have cared less. That’s how bad this day has been.
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