12 October

We are currently in Lima trying to buy a pick up. We've looked at a couple of used ones, which don't really seem like such great deals. Most of the Toyota Hilux and Mutsubishi trucks are bought by the oil or mine companies so the used ones are usually offered by these companies after a couple of years. These trucks are used hard and may not be that well maintained. Most private consumers don't buy the pick-ups, but tend toward the SUVs. We have a couple more to look at tomorrow, and then we'll have to decide what we want to do. Aparently when you buy a vehicle in Peru, regardless of whether it is new or used, you have to wait 7 to 10 days before you can take possession. So unless we buy the Toyota we saw in Los Organos, we will be here in Lima for at least a week.
On Tuesday of last week, I became ill. By the morning I had a raging sore throat and had trouble swallowing. I had Doug take me into Los Organos and our driver, Juan, took us to a clinic. I was able to see the doctor at the clinic within a few minutes. He diagnosed tonsilitis and prescribed some anti-biotics and some anti-inflamatory medication. The consultation with the doctor cost me about $7. The medication, about $40. By the next morning things were worse and I was in considerably more pain. So, we went back to the clinic. The doctor then asked me if I had been drinking or eating anything cold. Well, of course I was; weren't you given ice cream as a kid? The doctor said anything cold would only agravate the tonsils and impressed upon me how important it was to stick to warm liquids. I guess the ice cream came after surgery.... He also gave me a shot for the pain which put me out for several hours. By the next morning things were marginally better, but still very painful and the infection had spread into the sinuses and my right ear. We checked with the doctor once more, and he then prescribed a stronger anti-inflamatory medication. The doctor never charged me more than the original $7.
It was that very afternoon we boarded a bus to Lima. The trip is an 18 hour trip which I wasn't looking forward to in my condition. We left Los Organos at 6:00p.m. and got ourselves settled into our seats on the second class upper level. The seats were surprisingly roomy and reclined quite a ways so sleeping was not too uncomfortable. Because it was such a long trip, they also served us dinner and breakfast. However, at about 8:00 in the morning, we were delayed because of a head on accident with a bus that closed the highway for about two and half hours.
Once arriving in Lima, we were picked up at the terminal and taken to our hotel.