A Bad 10 Days

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I have not had a very nice time of late due to several illnesses, so theres not alot to tell you.

We left Lima on tuesday 4th Dec on a daytime bus to Nazca which took around 5 hours. The views were amazing along the way. Huge mountains of sand everywhere & we also went through Pisco where they had the earthquake earlier in the year. There was still alot of rebuilding works going on & you could see the devastation that was caused.

At this point I had just got over a 24 hour stomach bug, followed by a cold which went straight to my chest. We planned to do the flight over the Nazca lines the following day, but Tina´s ATM card got captured so we had to go the Bank first thing in the morning to get it back & had to re-arrange it for the following day. By lunch time I had no appetite & come 4am I had another stomach bug, but alot more severe this time.

Needless to say I missed the flight over the Nazca lines, which the others really enjoyed, & we had to stay in Nazca for an additional day as I was so bad. My cough was getting worse as I spent so long laying in bed. I felt really sorry for myself! I wanted my mum & my bed.

We got the night bus to Arequipe & I was ok, but very weak. We had a short walk around town & booked a trip for the following day to Colca Canyon which is the deepest in the world. I felt ok but I still had no appetite.

The trip was amazing. We climbed as high as 4900 metres & were all a bit breathless with the alltitude. The views were absolutely incredible. We stayed in a town called Chivay for the night & they were having their Fiesta to celebrate the immaculate conception of the virgin mary. They were all in traditional dress dancing round the streets with brass bands playing. Highly emotional.

In the afternoon we went to some outdoor thermal baths. We all sat there drinking beer surrounded by mountains. Stunning.

I was awake really early the following morning with really bad chest pains & I could hardly breath. We carried on with the trip, but in the end I had to get some oxygen & a doctor. He said I had high blood pressure & was suffering from alltitude sickness. He gave me some antibiotics & a blood pressure tablet & said I should feel better when I get back to a lower level. I couldnt wait for the day to end. (Sounds more dramatic than it was).

We are now in Puno & have planned a trip round Lake Titticaca tomorrow. I feel alot better now & weigh about the same as I did when I first met Miles. My appetite is coming back slowly. Puno is a lovely town & we are staying here until saturday.

Sorry its such a boring update. Next one will probably now not be until after Machu Picchu.

Missing you all xx

p.s. Sorry no photos once again, we are still having problems

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Photos

Nazca Lines
Humming Bird

Colca Canyon
Where did you get that hat?

Chivay
Thermal Baths

Chivay
Fiesta Time

Comments

[mark]

feelings
hope you are feeling better

[John and Wendy]

HAPPY CHRISTMAS TIME
Hello Mandy and Miles Sorry you have not been feeling well darling girl, hope you will get over it soon. We have been reading your travels with interest, it seems a whole world away Anyway, a Happy Christmas to you all and a very enjoyable 2008 Lots of love John and Wendy C xxxx

[Kate & Sean]

Hello
Happy New Year to you all, I'm sitting reading your travel news on a miserable day wishing I was with you. Apart from your horrible illnesses it still sounds amazing. We've all had flu this Christmas which put a bit of a downer on it,but at least we had our own beds to curl up in!!!Love reading what you get up too, love you loads xxx