Day 85 - Cusco

Thursday, 6 November 2014

My wish did not come true.  I arrived in Cusco at about 4 am, with a sore throat and the ubiquitous phlegm, I know not what colour this time. I took a cab to my hostel and went straight to bed. I slept most of the day because I really didn't feel well, I think on top of the sore throat and phlegm I also developed a fever.

In the evening I made my way to the local market to look for some food. Here I found shops selling all kinds of herbs, and after explaining to them (with a lot of action rather than words) that I had sore throat and phlegm, they sold me some kind of flower which they said is good for the throat. I had to then bring this flower to another area of the market where drinks were sold, and I asked one of the old women there to prepare the flower for me; which I believe involved boiling the flower and drinking its juices. It didn't taste so bad, and if anything, it was good for the fever because it made me sweat and then the fever was gone. I felt a whole lot better after that so I had dinner at a local restaurant; grilled chicken and fried rice (called chaufa here) of all things! 

Then I took a slow walk back to the hostel for more sleep.