Can you believe it?
I got sick again. The first night I was wandering around Arequipa, my throat started to feel a little scratchy. Arequipa is a quaint little city with a lot of hustle and bustle at all times of the day. The streets are narrow and ordinary buildings alternate with colonial-times structures and churches. As you walk along the streets, you catch glimpses of the mountains El Misti and Chanchani. There are miradors (viewing points) spread throughout the city where you can catch a better view of the surrounding beauty. The other thing you see a lot here are tiny, little, diesal-spewing (usually yellow) taxis. And, I assumed, it was from the fumes of these, and all the other cars that try to run you over when you cross the street, that I started to have an irritated throat.
The throat got worse. It was accompanied by a fever and exhaustion. So I took a trip to Clinica Arequipa, a hospital in a pretty part of town on the other side of the Rio Chile from the center of town where I’m staying. I demanded a throat culture, to be sure it was something for real and to avoid the instant antibiotics that are usually doled out when anyone has any kind of problem. But later that night, when all the over the counter solutions did nothing, I called a pharmacy and had them deliver self-prescribed amoxocillan (later I found out it was in fact strep throat). That’s right, you can call the pharmacy at 3 am here, and they’ll deliver anything, as long as it comes to 20 soles (about $6.5). The amoxocillan only cost $4.
Despite the sickness, I went out yesterday afternoon, and I’m so glad I did! I just had to see some sites to make up for the nearly three days delirious and in bed. I went to a museum, which was very cool, and I made some friends. Today these friends convinced me to stay in Arequipa for another week and really see what it’s like. So I changed my ticket to Cusco for $24 and booked my weekend trip to the mountains to view one of the largest canyons in the world. Can’t quite take in the night life yet, but I think I can finally start enjoying this beautiful region.
