What was supposed to be an oasis in the middle of my stressfull year, turned out to be hell in form of vacations.I had a throatsoare for a couple of days but didn´t feel really bad until yesterday when I was flying to Salta.
I got my ticket after acumulating miles in the OneWorld Mileage Program and it was not refundable so here I am.
Anyway, If I knew I was going to feel this bad, I had never left home...
I´m all alone here... feeling like a dying cow...
So, I was telling you how I boarded the plane feeling crap. I slept most of the flight and started to feel agitated. I couldn´t sleep well, I couldn´t breath, I couldn´t talk... Crap, crap, crap!
I never get sick, but well, I´m sick.
I took a cab in the airport to the city right to my hostel.
I ussually stays in hostels. I think it doesn´t make any sense to spend looots of many in a hotel if you are going there just to sleep. But this was not the case...This was going to be different.
The hostel was nice, an old house, probably from the colonnial times, with a nice courtyard in the middle. I booked a private room, with private bathroom, that was just ok. I had my own desk to sit and write my postcards, and use my laptop... It would have been perfect if it wasn´t for the humidity you could feel in the air.
As soon as I get to the hostel, I lay down in bed for half an hour. I felt exhausted!
After a while, I took all my strength to walk to main square and grab a bite. Those 3 blocks felt endless... I got agitated every two steps and I have to make a pause almost every block.
The city looks great in the evening. The main square is quite crowded since it´s surrounded by restaurants and bars. I took a short walk around it, grab some tourist brochures and then sit in a bar, to have some empanadas de carne. I ordered some tea and try to inhalate tha vapor to breath better. It worked but only for a short time.
I wanted to visit some tourist offices but I didn´t feel like walking anymore.
When I got to the hotel, it turned out was feverish.
I went to bed and spent a crappy night, shivering and hating myself for pretending being a brave girl that travel alone.
This morning I felt even worse. My fever had gone up, I couldn´t breathe at all and I almost panicked. Last night I was already planing to go to the doctor , but not like this! Not feeling this bad...
So, I called my med insurance to find out about my coverage in the city and it turned out I had a private clinic only a few blocks from the hostel. Great!
It took me around 45 minutes to walk 6 blocks. I´m not kidding. I had to walk slowly and make constant pauses.
People from Salta and the Northwestern region in Argentina is well known for taking life easy, taking naps and living life slowly, one short slow step at a time.
Well, I was walking even slower than them!
Anyway, the doctor checked me and it turned out I have bronchitis and spasms. That makes sense! It explains how bad I´m breathing and how much I get agitated for nothing. It explains how much I want to cry every step I make.
So, the doctor prescribed me lots of medicines, and a spray for the spasms. But I have hypertension and it turned out my cardiologist prevented me from taking that spray... So here I am still moaning like a dying cow. I was suggested not to move, not to walk, just to rest and forget about my holidays...
But, after resting for the entire day I felt better. So, I took a short walk around the main square, once again, and I realized it was the only thing I´ve seen from the city. So, I visited some tourist offices and made some research about the tours:
All the spots I wanted to visist in Salta and this region have high altitude. And you know... more altitude equals less oxygen. Ohhh, I´m so pissed off...
But well, I booked some tours anyway. I was more conservative in terms of the altitude, and rule out some of the options. And, I ordered the tours according to the altitude they covered. The Cafayate wineries is the lowest point so it would be the first one, the Salinas (Salt Plains), the highest would be the last one, and I placed Cachi, in the second day of tours.
Of course, I´m not suicidal, so I´m doing nothing tomorrow... Well, not nothing. I will walk again around the main square! Again! That would be in the morning. And in the afternoon... I booked a spa day!
Well, this is it for now... Hopefully tomorrow I will be feeling better.
So that you can see how bad I look, Im sharing some pics of today!
Wish me luck and a fast recovery!
Cheers,
Bel
My bronchitis and I felt like hell on my wine tasting tour to Cafayate, but it didn´t stop me from taking pictures...
Closing my eyes, pretending i´m not moaning like a dying cow...
After driving for a few hours through the Calchaqui Valley, we arrived to the first winery!
Cafayate - 1.650 mts above sea level 
