Something happened on the way to the equator

Other things they should teach in Spanish class:

“Is this a tax?”

“You’re the taxi driver. How should I know?”

“My friend is very dehydrated/ vomiting/ etc.”

South America has not been kind to T. She was sick all through Lima, came down with something else in Cuzco, recovered in Guayaquil only to lose part of a week on Santa Cruz. In retrospect, it's clear that she hasn't been herself for a while, but each time she started eating again and had more energy, it seemed like she was better. Until we were literally on a bus to the middle of the world, just north of Quito, Ecuador, and had to get off and take a taxi to the emergency room. 

The bottom line is a kidney condition T. has, which was sitting there inert for years, has obviously started acting up since she last had a scan in England. And on this particular day it acted up spectacularly. I don't know how much blood she lost, but I know we could have lost her. Or as she said, "this could have happened in so many worse places."

Fortunately we were in Quito, not Laos or the Amazon jungle. We still are in Quito, and I cannot imagine how tired T. is of it, but we have no choice. She is on strict bed rest in the hospital until, and this is what we're all waiting and hoping for, her body heals itself enough for her to go home. I have suspected for weeks that further travels would be unwise, given that T. just kept feeling bad in each subsequent city, but this emergency and the consequent anaemia have confirmed it. We need to go back to the United Kingdom; we just can't plan when until we see how her recuperation goes.

Here is my well-traveled daypack, decorated with the flags of 28 countries that we have visited since June 2017. There appears to be room for one more flag, and it will be from the U.K.

I have lots of time to write while we're waiting, so this is not the last chapter. I hope when T. recovers she'll be able to enjoy looking back at the Galápagos Islands and some of the great pictures she took there. South America has not been kind to her, but we made it and we're getting the help we need while we are here. Stay tuned.