Would you believe: Altitude Sickness!?

"Day of the Tourist" has a double meaning here. It is a local celebration in Peru, but at the same time, it describes an ailment that afflicts many travelers to Cusco. Read more to learn of my bout of altitude sickness.

Sunday, October 7: My dad is feeling a little under the weather today, so my mother and I journeyed off to the plaza square. My only mission today was to get a massage. Little did we know, it is the Day of the Tourist. The main square was blocked off from traffic, and was filled with local dancers in costume, the local military, and local travel companies, all assembled for a parade.

We watched the dancers for a little while and took pictures of dancers and the military. I then went on to get my massage. For only $17, I got a 1.5 hour professional massage. I wish I wrote down the name of the company so I could put them on the “Do not recommend” list! Enough said.

After my massage I began to feel sick (I’m sure the two are just a coincidence). I got a splitting headache, my stomach is uneasy, and my body is weak. I turned in for an early sleep immediately after dinner.

I woke up many times throughout the night, with stomach problems, the persisting headache, and hot and cold flashes (second night in a row). The cool thing about not sleeping soundly was I was able to tune into the pounding rain, thunder, and lightening storm that lasted all night!

Monday, October 8; I skipped breakfast and stayed in bed this morning. I also missed out on my private lessons at the school. My body tells me to rest today so that my immune system can fight its battle without having to move me around all day. Today was a holiday too, so none of us had group lessons. I’ll make class tomorrow, then rest the rest of the day. We are going to Machu Picchu this weekend, so I want to be 100% by then.

--Posted by Shawn, October 8


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