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
No comments:
Post a Comment