Cusco Musings

Well, Marcia and I reunited in the bustling Lima airport after a impromptu game of Marcia Polo. We spent the night taking in Lima and chatting until an ungodly hour of the morning. We left at 6:45am to catch our flight to Cusco, which was a fun adventure. When Marcia passed through immigration in Lima, the customs official failed to give her back her immigration paperwork that is required to leave Peru. Uh oh. So we spent a good chunk of time before our Cusco flight trying to figure out how to resolve this issue...in Spanish. Perhaps we get to stay in Peru forever!

The flight to Cusco was complete with some of the most epic views I have seen in quite some time. We flew over snow covered peak after snow covered peak of the Andes  - some so ominous you expected to see ice climbers dangling off of the edges of them. Beautiful green glistening high andean lakes nestled within the harsh terrain and meandering glacial streams (even some huge waterfalls!). The views were so epic, even the locals were gathering over to our side of the plane to catch glimpses of such majesty! Cusco was quite a sight from above as well. It was if the plane grazed just over the mountains that surround the city in the valley below; we were so close we could even see hiking trails! The red ceramic rooftops and multicolored houses that filled the valley beckoned us.
Marcia and I were last off the plane because I was trying to muster up enough Spanish to ask the pilots how they deal with cabin pressure when they go from sea level to a high altitude destination (Cusco is at 3400m/over 11k ft). Oh altitude. The first advertisement we saw getting off the plane was for an altitude sickness medication. It was a family in front of Machu Picchu - the sister looking disgusted, the dad confused, the mother horrified, and the son vomiting just outside the field of view of the photo. How funny. Then we passed some locals selling coca tea, which is known to really help with altitude sickness. Lastly, the advertisement by the baggage claim was for portable oxygen tanks for trekking at high altitudes- good grief what did we get ourselves into?! We were serenaded with a group performing indigenous song and dance while waiting for a bags. Their brightly colored ponchos and mesmerizing choreography made for quite the welcome!
Driving into Cusco was so beautiful - was an awesome city! We drove past some plazas which flew the exact same rainbow flags that are flown high at gay pride parades. My ignorant self thought they were in support of DOMA being declared unconstitutional. In reality, this is Cusco's flag and it's EVERYWHERE. Clearly not everyone is homosexual because we saw lots of small children...
The steep hills and altitude made for quite the winded experience of exploring Cusco. But Marcia and I stayed on top of mission Coca tea, ridiculous amounts of hydration, and taking it really easy. The almost unavoidable part of any city in South America is being perpetually bombarded by people trying to sell stuff. A little girl and mother in traditional garb posed with a baby goat (wearing a stupid hat), letting people take a photo of them for a fee. It was cute the first time, but that trap was nestled all over Cusco. Literally dozens of folks approached us with portfolios of artwork, flipping through it and telling us they would give us a good price and that they painted each one themselves. So explain to me how every single person selling artwork that they supposedly painted themselves all have identical collections of paintings? The most tragic yet enjoyable of the peddlers were the children. A boy who could barely even walk, let alone speak, came up to me today and dropped a hanger full of bracelets into my lap. Guess they start them young, huh? A group of 12 year old boys tried to sell us postcards that they 'made themselves' which matched every other 'original' art piece we had been shown that day. It was very easy to change the conversation by asking them questions about their family, how they liked Cusco, what they were learning in school, etc. But they would somehow always get back to selling their artwork. When that clearly didn't work, they pulled the "I'm starving. Will you buy my lunch?" card. Yeah, you gotta take that up with your parents, bud. Then they would switch to the flirty mode, "lady, you have nice legs" and then hand over their portfolio of postcards.
The persistence and aggressiveness of some of the peddlers got a little frustrating. I began resorting to just ignoring them, and crossing the street if they used the 'poke tourist with artwork', 'block tourist's walking path', or 'grab onto tourist's arm' methods of distraction. Marica is too friendly for this, so she just started sneezing when folks approached her. Allergic to fake authenticity, are we now? A woman with her young daughter on her back, holding a baby goat bombarded us when we left the Inca Museum. We know this trap! When we declined to take their photo, the woman pushed the baby goat towards Marica. Marica jumped back, fake screamed, and started fake sneezing. This scared the poor little girl and her crackers went flying. Oh man, I was on the other side of the street crippled with hysterical laughter. Good times.
On that note, the Inca Museum was super cool! Marcia and I realized we didn't know a whole lot about the indigenous history of Peru and were quite curious. The museum didn't quite piece it all together for us - but it was cool to check out where different indigenous groups lived and how the artifacts from each group differed. The museum sold textiles from the Center for Traditional Textiles of Cusco, which is a really cool organization that tries to preserve indigenous weaving techniques before it's lost. Marcia heard about it from a friend from the Cleveland Museum of Art who spoke very highly of the center. It was very difficult to find the place, but we did it! Marcia was in heaven and I'm pretty sure she tried on every single scarf in that place. Women sat on the floor and were weaving the most beautiful creations. I asked one of them if she could teach me...and there I was learning this ridiculously complicated art. The women all laughed at me for being super slow and being left handed, but they were totally awesome. We had such a good time!

I would love to fill you in more on our Cusco explorations, but I must be getting some sleep. We have a 5:20am departure tomorrow to start our 4day/3night trek along the Inca Trail through the Sacred Valley. We'll be leaving our 3rd campsite at 4am so we can watch the sunrise through the sun gate at Machu Picchu! But before that, Marcia and I will be trudging along this difficult trail - which Lonely Planet describes as cartilage crunching - with our big packs and good spirits. We plan to survive Dead Woman's Pass at 4200m, but maybe we should be more worried about the sheer cliff faces and narrow trail we'll have to pass hikers on...
Anywho - check back in 4/5 days for the lowdown on our sacred valley march. Also check back for pictures of our 2 days in Cusco!

Keep Calm and Trek On
GO TEAM!

Part II

Well here we go, team! Part II: The Return of Katia to South America dun dun dun! I must admit, that whole leptospirosis bacterial hepatitis whatnot was quite the adventure, and something I would never want to ever do again. Type 4 fun*. I was absolutely devastated when I had to come back home to Cleveland almost 2 months earlier than planned. I was becoming so comfortable with the backpacker lifestyle. I felt so healthy and content (one of the most underrated emotions of all time) in mind, body, and spirit. I was learning so much every day - I felt engaged and challenged. I crossed paths with some of the most beautiful people from all over the world. My sense of adventure was finally be satiated. I was in it for the long haul.

When I got sick, my mind remained in exploration mode while my body was completely debilitated for 10 days in hospital beds. This SUCKED. My condition only worsened as the departure date for my plane ticket to Argentina crept closer. I still refused to believe that the illness was as bad as it was. Obviously it’s a little bit difficult to travel if you’re dead, so my health had to become my top priority. I had to let go of my dreams of gazing at the Iguazu falls, biking around dozens of wineries with friends in Mendoza, having my breath taken away by the mountains in Cordoba, and marveling at the profound city of Buenos Aires. Sigh. Lessons in acceptance of the things we have no control over, even when they get in the way of the most tangible of dreams...

My time in Cleveland was surprisingly pleasant. I soaked the simple pleasures of things like clean clothes, toilet seats, real coffee beans, gardening, long chats with my friends on the phone, cooking, snuggles from my guinea pigs (<3), ice cubes, and a great visit with my bestie. It was so lovely to see my family and enjoy some summertime weather. I was able to completely relax - literally do nothing - for days, which was a wonderful reprieve from the exhaustion of traveling. That said, I spent quite a bit of time wrestling with whether or not I would be returning to South America if/when I was healthy again. I left South America on such a low note that I felt a need to take care of unfinished business. However, the environmental and economic costs of heading back down for just 3 weeks seemed hardly worth it. In the end, I decided I had to go back. My decision was made possible by the awesome and extremely generous friends, family, and doctors who had my back through all of this. I think that the fact that I’m writing this from a rooftop in Lima, Peru is a testament to the incredible folks I have in my life.

I promised you, and myself that I wouldn't return to South America unless I was completely healthy. So I'll address this now: with the exception of just a little bit of liver recovery to go, I am good as new! Once that worry had passed, I was able to focus on one of my incentives for coming back down south. The last 3 weeks of my trip were the only 3 weeks I had planned when I first started my trip. Let me introduce you to Marcia, the most badass world citizen with a heart of gold and a laugh that makes you feel like you're smiling from the inside out. Her children are around my age, in fact her son is only 3 days older than I am. Our families grew up together and overlapped in so many ways through the interconnected community of Cleveland Heights. I have quite a bit to learn from this remarkable woman, and I feel so lucky to be traveling to her! We met when I was in Cleveland to put together our itinerary for our travels. Planning my trip with Marcia was so much fun! 

We poured over guidebooks, compiled recommendations from dozens of friends, and exhausted internet search engines as we took on the daunting task of filling our 3 week trip. I say daunting not because it’s a long trip to plan, but because it is so difficult to narrow down everything that we want to do. Tackling even just some of the highlights of 2 countries in 3 weeks is quite ambitious, yes. Good thing we make a great team! Here’s proof: Figuring out how to cross the Peru/Bolivia border crossing was kind of like playing the traveler’s version of rock, paper, scissors. I outlined the pros and cons to each mode of transportation but I needed an extra person to bounce ideas off. I asked Marcia, “How do you wanna cross the border? Land, air, or water?” Her response? “Alive.” That is an extremely valid point! We will make a great team! Now, mind you, this is the same person who brought it to my attention that the Dead Woman’s Pass on the Inca Trail was in fact singular and that she had no intentions of kicking the bucket...so....perhaps maybe you should be a bit worried...

I'm headed off soon to go meet her at the airport. I had a very mellow day in Lima, and I was so thankful I am already familiar with the city and have my bearings. I spent some time trying to reconnect with folks I met in my previous travels which was semi-successful. Jesus, the guy from the bus ride to Huaraz in April, ran past me on the sidewalk today! I shouted his name, but he looked like he was in quite the rush. I hung out with one of roommates from the hostel for a while - a really cool guy from Holland who's headed to Iquitos in 2 days. We had a great conversation about gay rights, civil rights, equality, etc in honor of SCOTUS ruling DOMA unconstitutional. This is the first day of my trip I've felt proud to say I'm from the US! I also took a glorious nap this afternoon, which is pretty easy in the misty gloomy cloudy weather that has taken over Lima. I thought I would sleep on the airplane ride down here, but I was kept awake by the person next to me. I feel like I always have a complaint about the person I sit next to on a plane, but I always think they're valid complaints. This time around I was sitting next to a teenage girl who had headphones in and was singing out load for about 5 hours of the flight. Even worse, her music selection included playing the albums of Bruno Mars, Taylor Swift, and Justin Bieber on repeat. It was too much.

I'm meeting Marcia at the airport soon, so I'm going to finish this post up. We're headed to Cuzco tomorrow morning! We've got some serious acclimating to do before our June 29th departure at the start of the Inca Trail.

_________________

*Types of Fun
Type 1: This is awesome, I want to do it again in a heartbeat
Type 2: This is hard/stressful/overwhelming/etc, but a week or month later I decide that it was awesome and i want to do it again
Type 3: This is hard/stressful/overwhelming/etc, and even in a year's time I still think it was hard/stressful/overwhelming/etc and I never want to do it again, but it was awesome I did it
Type 4: Leptospirosis. NEVER AGAIN EVER

Protozoa: The Most Dangerous Part of South America

I owe you all an update! Great news: I'm doing way way way way better and feel like a human again! I am out of the hospital, with the exception of a gazillion doctors appointments which my parents have had to also suffer through with me. My team of doctors have been AWESOME - especially the ones who decided it was safe to eat after 5 days of not being allowed to. You all know me and my love of food - yes, it was downright miserable. I was having dreams about hummus for goodness sake. I'm a little sick of getting stabbed with needles for blood work and IVs, but hopefully that will be over soon...I look like a heroin addict...

So you all are wondering - what happened?! Well, good question. There is still no diagnosis, but lots of good possibilities and theories. You can play this game too! Here's the riddle: It starts out with a sudden onset of high fever, headache, body aches, severe fatigue, fainting, and rigors. It progresses to joint pain, another high fever, body aches, renal issues, and a super inflamed liver. It progresses further to an even sicker liver, fluid in the abdomen and lungs, troubled and painful breathing, and an inflamed gallbladder that wants to rupture. Obviously, this is accompanied by terrible abdominal pain. CAT scans, ultra sounds, X rays, and blood tests confirm the above symptoms. 5 different kinds of antibiotics are administered over the week in the ER, and tests for viral hepatitis (A, B, and C), mono, CMV, dengue, salmonella, and malaria are all negative. There are no symptoms of skin rashes, vomiting, nausea, diarrhea, or decreased sexiness of the patient ;) . The patient was exposed to 'contaminated' water while canyoning, rafting, surfing, bathing in the Amazon, and brushing their teeth with the tap water. The patient also was in the jungle 3 weeks prior, the rainforest 3 days prior, and sustained dozens upon dozens of mosquito bites. The patient's only medication is a weekly dose of the anti-malarial medication, Mefloquine. *** Jeopardy Thinking Music***

The going theory is Leptospirosis - I'll let you do your own research about it. What I will tell you is that Leptospirosis has been known to cause Acute Acalculous Cholecystitis. Translation: exactly what happened to my gallbladder. That was the light bulb moment for my infectious disease doctor! Leptospirosis also can cause bradycardia, which would explain my resting heart rate of 28 that I presented with in the ER when I arrived in the States. The crazy bombardment with antibiotics kicked the bacterial infection, and my body/organs have been making a slow yet steady recovery. My gallbladder was rather insulted in this whole ordeal, so the question remains whether I need to still get it surgically removed or if it is able heal on its own. Now I don't know about you, but I'm a huge fan of keeping all of my organs. It's not like I need my gallbladder...especially with a vegetarian diet...so it has plenty of time to sit back, relax, and heal itself.

DUN DUN DUN Today was gallbladder investigation day! Today I had something called a HIDA scan to see how well/if my gallbladder was working. They injected a radioactive tracer into my IV and imaged it's progress through my body with a nuclear scanner. The tracer was successfully filtered through my liver and into my gallbladder (as indicated by the glowing orbs in the shape of the respective organs on the computer screen). Sweet! This means by gallbladder wasn't obstructed and was back to being BFFs with my liver. The second part of the procedure involved injecting a chemical that caused my gallbladder to squeeze in the same way it would as if I ate a greasy meal. OW OW OW OW that didn't feel too good. But my gallbladder is recovering from a pretty rough week, so I guess that was expected. It didn't empty completely and the pain was worrisome, BUT it worked kinda sorta which means it's healing and I probably don't need surgery! At least not immediate surgery. Happy dance!

There are still so many unknowns, but this is the update that I can confidently give you. I feel way better than where I was a week ago and have been taking it super easy. I will let you know when I know if there will be a surgery, what the results of the ELIZA testing for leptospirosis are, and most importantly, what my next steps are. I may have instilled a little bit of urgency and anti-surgery thoughts into my doctors because I want to return to South America to finish my trip ASAP. Google a picture of Salar de Uyuni in Boliva and you'll understand why I'm putting up such a fight! Seriously though, I promise you that I won't return until I'm in great health and at a low enough risk for complications from this crazy ordeal. That is my top priority.

 I cannot even begin to express how thankful I am for the many beautiful, caring, and generous people I have in my life. From the moment I got sick, I had friends and family sending their good vibes from around the world. So humbling, wow. You guys kept my spirits high as I trucked through some pretty miserable and sometimes super scary times. When my condition got life-threatening, so many people bent over backwards for me to make sure I was getting the medical care I needed and that I got home safely. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Especially to Stephanie and her host mom who took amazing care of me on the Ecuador end. To Dr. Jaime Eisen for translating between my Ecuadorian doctors and US doctors and keeping up to date on my condition. To my mother for making sure I got home safely and rounding up the best doctors and specialists in all of Cleveland to work on my case (That woman can jump through some hoops!). To my dad for helping me with all the logistics of my flights home (which changed quite a few times) and dealing with my traveler's insurance. To Norma for taking care of my brother at the craziest hours so my parents could be with me in the ER. To so many of my friends who checked in on me every day to lift my spirits and kept me company as I braved the boredom of ERs. You guys are all remarkable!

GO TEAM!

CotoKate and Hospital Beds

Well team, I still have yet to update you on my last (and final) outdoor adventure of South America: Mountain biking 35km (~22 miles) down the Cotopaxi Volcano (the second highest active volcano in the world!). I set a new personal altitude record at 5897m! Being so close to the equator and only three hours away from the hot and humid rainforest, I sure didn't expect to be standing in snow and braving fierce winds with sleet and hail. Brrrrrr! The snow disappeared pretty early on in our decent and only got warmer the further down we went. Of course it was cloudy, but we still were able to catch

Sexy Volcano!

glimpses of the volcano during the ride. There were 3 others on the trip too: Anthony from France, Pratik from Washington DC, and Brian from Canada. We made for a super fun, adventurous, and optimistic team if I do say so myself! Here's a disclaimer that the pictures from the ride can't even begin to capture the beauty nor geographical wonder of this super cool national park.
We had an insanely fun time descending that volcano! I ended the ride covered head to toe in mud, which we all know is a pretty common thing for me to be. It was my first time mountain biking and I can remember the moment when I began to

taking a rest

Lunch spot: wild horses and Incan ruins

GO TEAM

realize that the limits of what you can do on a mountain bike are pretty epic compared to a roadbike. You can go over crazy big rocks, bike on the side of sandy hills, bomb through puddles you don't know the depth of, bounce through river crossings, completely skid out on gravel but still maintain balance - why didn't I discover this sooner?!?! The ride wasn't too technical so it was a great introduction to mountain biking. I did eat it a couple times, but I learned from mistakes and was pro by the end of the ride. For example, when I coast on my roadbike, I usually have one pedal

yahoo mud!!!

all the way down. But when I did this on the mountain bike, my pedal clipped a rock I passed over, got stuck, and flipped me onto the ground. So I started coasting with both pedals planar with the ground (so both were equally high off the ground) and that never happened again! Lesson's also learned in braking, slippery big rocks, wet sand, changing gears, and when to stand up...
If you ever end up in Ecuador and want to do this day trip, I recommend the Biking Dutchman. They were awesome! We had a really great guide, amazing vegetarian food, bikes that were actually in good condition, and helmets (unheard of for South America). The guide followed us in the 4x4 and had extra gear in case anything went wrong. He was also a park ranger, so he gave us the low down on the landscape, the wildlife, the history of the park and volcano, I couldn't think of a better adventure to close out South America with.


I say this because this update is coming to you from day 7 in the ER, and day 5 for this particular hospital. On Friday night I started getting those awful uncontrollable shivers, but I thought maybe I had somehow gone mildly hypothermic after biking in the sleet while wearing shorts the whole day. When I woke up in the middle of the night with a pounding headache, sweating and shivering at the same time I knew it was probably something worse. I'm a champ at rallying, but I'm so glad I didn't give into the Kiwi guys pleas of "Put ya face on and come oot wit us!" I spent Saturday in bed because I had literally no energy and my whole body was aching. Just getting up and going to the bathroom took so much energy that I would have to take a 3 hour nap afterward. Yuck. I literally had the best case scenario as far as hostels and roommates go. Marc, one of the Aussie roomies, brought me some orange juice and complimented me on how shit I looked. Wendy, the New Zealand roomie, brought me an apple and vitamin C. James, the other Aussie roomie brought me some medicine, told me funny stories, and played little 10sec "get better soon" tunes on his guitar for me. And Animesh, the Indian roomie came with me to the hospital and kept me company for hours and hours. I didn't ask for a single thing from anybody, but they are all on long enough trips to know how much it sucks to be sick and on your own. Backpackers really do take care of eachother - I'll be so sad to leave the scene! I must have racked up some good karma points or something because these guys were all legendary!
Sunday I wasn't getting any better nor responding to medicine, so I ended up going to the ER. It's never a good sign when the doctor comes back with the results of your blood work and asks, "You've been in the jungle recently, haven't you?" They wrestled with a diagnosis thinking maybe I had mono or some parasite. They gave me some meds and sent me on my way. I felt great! Well, good enough that I wanted to get out of Quito and carry on with my travels. I hoped a bus at 4:30am the next day to Cuenca where Fabian (small world story guy from previous post) and Stephanie (a good friend from Lewis and Clark who is studying aboard here for the summer) are living. But in the middle of the 10 hour bus ride, I started feeling really crappy, really fast. When we arrived into Cuenca I basically fell into a taxi cab and tried my hardest to just keep on as a normal human. It was amazing to be reunited with Stephanie and it lifted my spirits enough for me to make it through a salsa lesson (well kinda, I had to sit down bc my joints felt like I was an 80 yr old),
a short walk around Cuenca, and an entertaining bus ride to the home she is staying in. I went straight to bed, but woke up soon after because it really hurt to breathe and I couldn't get a full breath in. I thought, "Yeah, I'm definitely not better. Time to get to the hospital again." It was so painful and took so much energy to just get in the car and get there, but I'm so glad I did.

Steph and I always keeping it classy

The docs here have gone through all kinds of guesses...malaria, dengue fever, salmonella poisoning, bacterial hepatitis, leptospirosis... but nothing is for sure. I'll spare you guys the ridiculous details of the adventure of me and my organs, but I'll just say I'm ready for it all to be over. Although I'm devastated my trip is cut short, I know it's the best decision to go home to the States for continued medical treatment. There have been a lot of life threatening situations this past week, and I would be lying if I said I wasn't scared about it all. I would prefer to be in an English speaking hospital and a US operating room anyway haha. I'm just a plane ride away, folks! Wish me luck! You all know I'm way too stubborn and optimistic for anything bad to happen so this will be over soon. Go team!
I do want to mention that Stephanie and her host mom have been WONDERFUL. They visit often and her mom has treated me like one of her daughters even though she just met me. They keep my spirits high and have brought a lot of comfort to this situation. Also, Fabian dropped in a few visits too, which totally made my day. He's doing a medical residency here in Cuenca and was super helpful with translating the results of my blood work/ultrasounds/xrays/ct scans etc for me. What a rockstar! He brought over a stack of movies and his computer yesterday which was glorious. I'm so humbled and grateful for all the friends and family who have reached out to me both here and back in the States. Holy smokes! boy do I feel the love, guys! You guys rock! Thank you so so so so much for making today's travel bearable - moreso than you'll ever realize.

Know that the second I'm better, I plan on returning to South America to finish my travels. And I'll come back as the sassiest, feistiest, adventure-woman ever - watch out!

Alright you awesome people, adventure on! Catch ya Stateside.