For once we ended up being huge skeptics

When we woke up that morning, our memories still fresh from the nasty mosquito bites of the night before, Caroline looked at her itchy belly and to her surprise, saw it covered with red hives. She had them all over the tummy but also on her sides and back. This is what was driving her nuts last night, no wonder. Could be sand flies from yesterday due to the sand boarding or something else. We would wait the day and see how it evolves: hopefully it will go away. Not the best start for the day. We left our favorite oasis towards the town of Nazca, famous for the lines carved in the desert that represent various shapes such as a spider, tree, hands...that can only be seen from the sky. A tragedy had hit Nazca a few days ago when a flight with seven tourists from Peru and Chile had crashed while flying above the lines, leaving no survivors. Experts from Lima had put on all the flights on hold to assess the situation and ensure the security standards were met.

A more down to earth way to look at the lines

As we arrived in Nazca early afternoon, we went to the travel agencies to get more information about the current situation. There were no flights allowed and at best, the authorization would be given the next day or Monday for the flights to resume normal schedule. In the meantime, if we wanted, we could go to a viewpoint on the Panamerican from where we could observe two figures: the hands and the tree. We could then come back later and see if the flights would leave the next day. We took Chad's bike and drove back north. We finally saw the observation tower that was right on the side of the road but if it wasn't for the big sign mentioning the Nazca lines, you would have no clue that they were right here, a couple of meters away from the road. The story of these lines is pretty weird: they were discovered by a German women who spent thirty years “cleaning” them in the desert with a sort of broom so that they would be fully visible again. No one knows their significance and only thanks to a few sticks at the end of some lines that could be carbon dated did we know that they were very ancient.

We climbed up that little tower and up there, got our first view of the lines. They were so much smaller than we anticipated and really looked like a drawing in the sand that a kid could have done, with the lines no wider than 10-15 centimeters. They also looked like they could have come straight from the imagination of that German lady who discovered them in the 40's. We were thinking the same thing: a tourist scam to sell expensive flights above the desert close to a desert town that would have nothing to offer otherwise! We can say it: we were no beleivers of the Nazca lines and at that point, made the decision to pass the flight experience, regardless of when they would start again. We gave the lines a quick other chance from the ground and climbed a nearby hill: you could see straight lines once up there but that even a truck driving in the desert could have done. Time to go back to the hotel and wait for dinner. We would leave this town tomorrow.

And yet another unexpected visit to a hospital
We were both reading and catching up on the internet until it was dinner time. As we walked to the restaurant, Caroline kept complaining more and more about the itchiness of the hives she had and as we looked at them again, they seemed bigger and redder than in the morning. Chad knowing better this time dragged her to the local hospital. The verdict was quick: she had a severe food allergy. They did not have the ability to run tests to know which food exactly had caused the allergy but she had to be put on IV with hydro cortisone right away, with an injection every eight hours for the next two days. They had a room available and we should start the treatment now before it could endanger her breathing. We could not believe what we heard: this was really a hard blow and spending the night in the hospital was not what we had in mind. We asked if she could take tablets instead but the answer was no: it would not be strong enough.
Caroline sat down and a very friendly nurse put her on IV and pushed her to her room while Chad was buying all the medical supplies and drugs she would need. We got lucky as she could have a room by herself and there was even a spare bed for Chad to spend the night there. She got her injection and started sleeping, in her own clothes as they don't give you other clothes there. The room was bright, with Disney characters on the wall as they were also using the room to consult for small children. We both slept a little until the next injection. In the morning, the hives were almost gone and the itching much more tolerable but they wanted to keep her until the next morning to control all the injections. She would also have to change her diet over the next week: no acid, no fat and no fish or other products from the ocean, which pretty much means boiled chicken and rice for a week. Nurses and other patients were stopping by, checking how she was doing and listening to her story. A doctor we had seen the night before even invited us for lunch and to enjoy some cocktails but since Caroline had to stay another night in the hospital and stick to her diet, Chad went by himslef. Lucky him: he had a delicious meal and drinks with Innes while Caroline was sleeping in her room.

After the second night in the hospital, Caroline felt much better and the doctor was ready to let her go, with more pills to take in the next few days. She was happy to be released from the hospital but also a little concerned and sad about the health issues she had had to deal with lately. Maybe this was a sign? Chad tried to comfort her, telling her how unlucky but strong she had been to go through all this. We both are still loving this trip and cherish every experience we have when traveling on our bikes but these health issues make it challenging to keep our spirit high, for both of us. Hopefully, this last one will pass quickly and soon enough will only be a bad memory that we can forget about.