Day 836
Fever
Another day, another hill, or two. Though we had nearly 3,000 feet to climb none of it was super steep, well apart from the 36% into Neira at the end of the day! We also had been given a tip on where to stay tonight by Aaron who we rode with yesterday, that helped so much, to feel we had a nice hotel waiting. Tom mentioned he felt as if he had a cold but was keen to get on the road. I’m finally slowly regaining my fitness, certainly feel can cope with the hills as long as we keep the days short. So it was up, down to the river and up again. The beauty in the hills inspired again, we saw wires being strung onto new electricity pylons high above us. Then in contrast, we spotted a wire stretched between a hilltop house and one by the river, there to transport a metal chair from one house to another, so that’s how they get there. The modern and old world working cheek by jowl.
Tom seemed to be riding OK but mentioned he was feeling worse and would be heading straight to bed when we got there. Neira finally arrived, we by-passed the dirt track that Komoot had suggested and found a slightly less steep way in. Google or maps.me had no idea where our hotel was, getting around Neira was a nightmare, packed with people, steep roads, and apparently hotel free. Finally after what seemed like hours but probably only 30 mins Tom found a hotel. We could even wheel our bikes straight into our room. It was pretty quiet too. Bliss. Tom headed straight to bed and we both realised just how poorly he was.
The next two days passed in a blur. Tom was clearly very ill with some sort of infection. On the second day I bought a thermometer, his temperature was 39.2, pretty high, but I felt confident it was actually quite higher the previous night. I felt calm but very concerned, if Tom deteriorated I wasn’t certain the small town of Neira was the best place to be. We are due to stay with a Warmshowers host soon, and he offered his support if needed. I messaged Paul our friend in Medellin and between us we came up with a plan. Stay put, keep Tom cool with towels and if needed he would arrange a doctor to come to us. Thankfully today Tom is definitely on the mend. His body is fighting this infection. I just need to persuade him to rest properly until he is well enough to tackle more of those hills.
