So about 10 days ago Gus and I started getting sick. Actually Gus was full on sick for 2 days and miserable. I was dealing with a scratchy throat and being tired. I thought my awesomely powerful immune system was fighting something off and I'd be better in a couple of days, without actually being down for the count. That was not to be the case. My scratchy throat turned into a nasty unproductive dry cough, which brought our family to check out how this whole Nicaraguan Farmacia works. After being unwell for 1 week, I thought I better do something about other than rest and drink water. The Farmacias here in Nicaragua operate similar to an Urgent Care in the US, but without those pesky degrees and copays. From what I gathered online, if you are sick and need prescription medicine, you can either just go to the Farmacia and tell them what you need or you can go there and tell them your symptoms and they will get you medicine. The caretaker of our property offered to walk us to the Farmacia, and I am glad he did as it was on the other side of town and I don't think I could have followed the directions and I didn't feel up for wandering. The first thing I asked when I went in was "¿Habla Inglés?" and fortunately she said "a little". I described my symptoms and she went back to the medications, pulled something out, made a phone call (not sure if it had anything to do with me) and brought me expectorant. Expectorant is exactly what I would be taking if I were in the states so that was a good sign. I did ask about antibiotics but she said no, I don't need them. For the record I can't even remember the last time I took antibiotics, but I also didn't want it to develop into pneumonia. I think it's fair to say that I have bronchitis right now. I have been faithfully taking my medicine for the past 4 days and in the past 2 days I actually feel like I am making progress in the right direction. Being sick in Nicaragua sucks.
While we were still at the Farmacia, we decided to ask about medicine for Bridget. She wasn't really sick but she'd been blowing her nose and coughing for the past 2 weeks. We got her hooked up too with an antihistamine, decongestant, pain reliever and expectorant all in one. The total cost for our medications came to $15 US when we were done. That's less than the copay for 1 person and less than I would have paid for similar medication in the US. Expectorant is pricey! Plus we now know a little more about how things work here, and directions to the farmacia.
All that to say that I haven't been the most fun wife and mom for the past 10 days. I am really looking forward to feeling better and having the energy to explore a little more. There is a large statue of Jesus (El Christo) which is on the top of the cliff opposite our house. At night it's lit up. Joe hiked up to the statue (for $1 you can go look at it) when we were in school one day and he's been wanting to go again but now I've been sick for too long. I am really looking forward to going up there and looking down on the beach from the other side of San Juan. There is also a Turtle Tour that we could go on to see the baby sea turtles. It's late at night and an hour away. Joe is starting to get a little bored with San Juan del Sur, but I think part of that is that I haven't felt up to doing anything. I did venture out with the family this afternoon, the power was out, and we walked to the far end of the beach and Joe and the kids climbed over the rocks to check out tide pools. I made the walk but didn't feel adventurous enough to risking slipping on the rocks in my flip flops so I sat on a dry-ish rock and read a book and watched their stuff while they explored. Baby steps to recovery.
So there is the real truth of our trip to San Juan del Sur. It's not always perfect here and neither are we but it's all part of the adventure.
The picture in this post shows our house on the hill. The roof is red and is hidden by the trees and the deck blends into the forest but you can see the white part below and that is the caretakers quarters under our house. Wish you were here....
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