Post by gallito on May 25, 2016 11:06:15 GMT -5
This is passage from my travel memiors:
The Purace journey.
This chapter deals with the effects of high altitude and hemorrhoidal bus rides;a trip I took along the gringo trail back in the mid seventies.
Years ago I did a trip on the old road from San Agustin to Popayan.We stopped in the town of Puracé and hiked down the hill towards Coconuco,actually we tried to hitch-hike but it was bugger getting anyone to pick us up in the middle of the night.We finally got a ride after an hour or so;a large truck stopped and we piled into the back,it was dark,couldn't see a thing...started hearing noises,scared the crap out of me.There were a bunch of Indians - composinos,chickens,sleeping in the back of this covered truck and you couldn't see them tucked under their hats and ponchos.
To complicate matters I stumbled over a crate filled with chickens and fell into bunch of these sleeping composinos. After my eyes adjusted to the dark I could make out the scenario that unfolded before me;the cargo truck was filled with composinos and wares on the way to a Plaza Mercado. We exchanged the usual greetings and everyone settled in,back to sleep under their ponchos.
Finally around daylight we got to the Coconuco x road,walked into town.It was cold as a witch's bosom and I had a bad case of roids;dog tired we got a room at a cheap pension and slept till noon.Got up, had a big breakfast;after that started to hike our way up the trail to the hot springs...well I started feeling dizzy,couldn't walk;sat down,then crawled and stumbled up the hill.To top off my crappy assent,my buddy was bugging me about my misfortune and to top it off the natives would breeze by me as I lay useless on the trail. OK, we finally get into the hot springs to soak my roids,which by the way were feeling a little better after applying a poultice made out of coca leaves.Got my butt into the hot-springs and spent what seemed like hours soaking my sore arse and bones.I climbed out,looking like a wrinkled prune and started feeling dizzy again,started puking and felt feverish.Buddy seeing my discomfort beckoned the help of a local and they bundled me into the guys's finca and I laid down in his hammock.They started rehydrating me and fed me a coca tea and an asprin. I passed out and when I came to;felt disorientated,here I was in this strange finca,my host and travel companion were relieved to see me wake.My diagnosis was altitude sickness,heat stroke coupled with a severe case of haemorrhoids.
The Purace journey.
This chapter deals with the effects of high altitude and hemorrhoidal bus rides;a trip I took along the gringo trail back in the mid seventies.
Years ago I did a trip on the old road from San Agustin to Popayan.We stopped in the town of Puracé and hiked down the hill towards Coconuco,actually we tried to hitch-hike but it was bugger getting anyone to pick us up in the middle of the night.We finally got a ride after an hour or so;a large truck stopped and we piled into the back,it was dark,couldn't see a thing...started hearing noises,scared the crap out of me.There were a bunch of Indians - composinos,chickens,sleeping in the back of this covered truck and you couldn't see them tucked under their hats and ponchos.
To complicate matters I stumbled over a crate filled with chickens and fell into bunch of these sleeping composinos. After my eyes adjusted to the dark I could make out the scenario that unfolded before me;the cargo truck was filled with composinos and wares on the way to a Plaza Mercado. We exchanged the usual greetings and everyone settled in,back to sleep under their ponchos.
Finally around daylight we got to the Coconuco x road,walked into town.It was cold as a witch's bosom and I had a bad case of roids;dog tired we got a room at a cheap pension and slept till noon.Got up, had a big breakfast;after that started to hike our way up the trail to the hot springs...well I started feeling dizzy,couldn't walk;sat down,then crawled and stumbled up the hill.To top off my crappy assent,my buddy was bugging me about my misfortune and to top it off the natives would breeze by me as I lay useless on the trail. OK, we finally get into the hot springs to soak my roids,which by the way were feeling a little better after applying a poultice made out of coca leaves.Got my butt into the hot-springs and spent what seemed like hours soaking my sore arse and bones.I climbed out,looking like a wrinkled prune and started feeling dizzy again,started puking and felt feverish.Buddy seeing my discomfort beckoned the help of a local and they bundled me into the guys's finca and I laid down in his hammock.They started rehydrating me and fed me a coca tea and an asprin. I passed out and when I came to;felt disorientated,here I was in this strange finca,my host and travel companion were relieved to see me wake.My diagnosis was altitude sickness,heat stroke coupled with a severe case of haemorrhoids.