Well, a strange week during the journey, I came down with a peculiar illness, one that once I was on the mend in Tiznet, I realized I'd suffered before. Head and body aches, fever, chills and night sweats for almost a week from March 7 to March 14, 2019. There were no stomach problems, congestion, cough or sore throat. The last time I remember these symptoms was my first week in my Peace Corps Panama village living with my host family.
This was a peculiar illness in that it affected my thinking. I began to cancel my trip, purchase a flight home and basically call it quits. A stroke a luck caused me to cancel the flight within the 24 hour grace period (thinking I was going to purchase a different ticket, but fortunately I didn't). My sons were taken back a bit when I told them, of course they're always supportive. Gabe said, "Dad, don't make any decisions until you're well." That was wise advice in that it made sense, and there was nothing to lose, but everything to gain.
Well, my next step was to get into town where I had access to doctors and pharmacies. So I packed up my things and got a ride to Tiznit where I checked into a nice little hotel where I had stayed before. It was very comfortable, clean and healing. I went to the hospital the next morning and that went smoothly regardless of a complete language barrier, but we managed. Everyone was very polite and helpful. The doctor understood my symptoms and wrote me a prescription which I was able to fill across the street, and after 3 nights in Tiznit I was ready to go again. I needed to re-book several Airbnb reservations that I canceled during my illness. And by March 17 I was back on schedule with my bus tickets I had already purchased in advance.
So a slight interruption and little fire drill to keep me on my toes, and then back on the road.
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