Laid Low

October 14 Woke up around 4 A.M. with an urgent need to use the facilities. Heavy sigh. Dry toast, tea and banana for breakfast with a little Imodium thrown in for insurance. (Ron and I are both advocates of the big "I".) I rallied for a walk through the village that was a stone's throw from La Amatista and was heartened by the promise of a bit of shopping after the visit. Alas, the end of the tour did not come soon enough and I found myself with knees buckling, eyes closing, and absolutely nothing I could do about any of it. I remember nothing of how I went from standing up to lying down. Apparently, Ron and our friend Jack doubled teamed me to insure a soft landing and Ron reported that it was probably 20 seconds before I came to. I later found out that several of the passengers had been felled by intestinal issues and were confined to their rooms, nursing their stomachs. I overestimated myself and underestimated the jungle. When I was finally able to open my eyes, I saw the whole group staring down at me including some of the villagers. Make it go away, already! The passengers included several doctors, a nurse and and an EMT so at least I collapsed in good company. Lucky. They started pouring water on my head - nice look, that - and in awhile, I collected myself, got to my feet, and headed back to the boat with George. Some gross liquid to restore my electrolytes, a nice nap, and I was able to join the group for the 5 P.M. trip to another village where we had a session with the 70 year-old healer. He explained the plants and barks he uses to treat his patients and at the end, blew tobacco smoke on us (no nicotine), waved what looked like a little whisk broom over each person, and recited some words to cleanse us. God knows I needed all the cleansing I could get. Home to my cabin, a round of Cipro, dinner, and to bed.