Our first few days in Lima were fun. Steve was tired and dragging a bit. I thought it was because I was making him go to museums. Lima has some great displays of artifacts from Indian cultures including the Incas. One of the museums we visit had amazing pottery, gold, textiles AND some very erotic pottery. Yes we do have photos but Google would probably censor them....OK, I will show you one
Should you ever visit Peru, be sure to visit the Museo Larco. Later that same day we visit the San Francisco Church and Monastery. Built in 1546, it is one of the oldest churches in Latin America. And it has catacombs. Seems it was an old Roman tradition to be buried under your favorite church. Hundreds of century old bones have been exhumed. What do you do with all those bones? Show them to the tourists!
Steve is hanging in there and going along with the tour guide's plans. He is tired and a bit clumsy. Anne is clumsy, Steve is not. The next day during a visit to Starbucks Peru, he drops his cup of coffee all over himself.....Captain Clean does not do things like that. HMMM??
We rest up a bit at our hotel
We discuss the situation. Should we return to the USA? Steve wants to stay. He needs a rest, that is all. So we leave Lima and head for ICA, about 5 hours south via bus. Once we reach ICA we jump in a taxi and head to Huarachina.
Huarachina is an oasis nestled among enormous sand dunes. Dune buggy rides and sandboarding bring hordes of tourists to this small town. Climbing the dunes makes your thighs burn and your calves scream. We make it part way up one dune and then we are "toast". Back down at our hotel we enjoy a late lunch with a friend.
He is very bold as he steals french fries off Steve's plate.
The next day we catch an early bus for a two hour ride to the town of Nazca. Nazca is famous for large ancient drawings in the desert known as geoglyphs. The drawings are actually made by removing the top red dirt and exposing the whiter ground underneath. You can only see the drawings from a plane..... a small plane, a very small bumpy plane.
Up we go. Steve takes pictures. Here is the famous "spider" drawing. Amazing.
How is Steve feeling now? Pretty good. How is Anne feeling? Not so good!!! Those white bags do come in handy.
Anne cheers right up after some lunch but Steve is feeling weaker. He is especially feeling weak in his left arm. He has a bulging disc in his neck and his left arm sometimes bothers him. Carrying a backpack and sleeping in not-so-comfortable beds is surely bothering him. Maybe? We discuss going home again but Steve thinks we should wait another day. So we leave Nazca for Arequipa.
Arequipa is an 8 hour bus ride from Nazca. We climb 7,800 feet into the Andes mountains where this beautiful town lies beneath the snowy peaks of El Misti. It is cold and we are tired. We find a taxi to our hotel room and get tucked beneath the warm wool blankets.
The next day Steve feels terrible. His left side is weak and he needs help getting dressed. His fine motor skills in his left hand are gone. We have a problem. Fortunately there is an airport in town. We decide to get back to Lima ASAP, re-evaluate our situation and if possible head to the USA.
We arrive in LA 40 hours later. It is 1 am. Our daughter meets us and we head to San Diego. At 3am we walk into Scripps Encinitas Emergency Room. At 4:30am Steve has a CAT scan. The reason for his problems is now obvious. He has a large subdural hematoma on the right side causing left sided symptoms. From Scripps Encinitas he heads to the trauma unit at Scripps La Jolla. It is now 6:30 am. By 8:30 am he is in surgery.
A week later he is home. He has recovered all his motor skills. He will recover completely.
We now look back to June. The fall he took while cleaning the boat has caught up with him. At the time we were concerned but having no signs or symptoms of a concussion we thought he would be fine. We now know a chronic subdural hematoma can come back to haunt you when you least expect it.
At home, showing off his battle scar.
What a difference a haircut makes
We will be in San Diego for awhile. Not sure how long. Steve is already itching to get back and do some cleaning on the boat. Gotta get right back up on that horse.....I mean boat.
Anne and Steve
Carlsbad, CA
