Goodbye to Bolivia

So, I'm about to leave Bolivia for Sydney. I know I've run behind in my blogging. It's been hard to have time to sit down and write about things. This past weekend after coming home from clinic late Saturday night, we departed for Samipata on Sunday morning. Samipata is a small village set in the green mountains at the end of the Andes Mountains. The scenary was gorgeous. I felt like I was in Switzerland, only hotter. We stayed at this beautiful hostel owned by a Dutch couple, Peter and Margarite. They built the hostel surrounded by beautiful gardens. They also run a small cafe, where every dish you order is freshly picked from their garden. Delicious! After a day of breathtaking scenary, and after a long 3 hour taxi drive to arrive in Smaipata (5 people squeezed into an old beat up station wagon), we relaxed and enjoyed ourselves. The next morning, we took a 2 hour breakfast. It was brillant, eating out in the garden. Afterwards we went to see pre-Incan ruins. The car ride there was an adventure that I couldn't really handle! We again climbed 5 people into an old beat-up station wagon and attempted to drive up a single dirt path that was really rocky. Our driver seemed to enjoy driving on the very edge, were there was no guard rail to protect against steep drop offs. At crucial points, the engine would cluth out and we would slide backwards. Finally, at the steepest point, I no longer could handle it and shouted "I'm done" and got out of the car and walked the rest. The ruins were quite a hike, but the ruins themselves looked like some weird petrified space ship.


After our excitement, we went to a waterfall to go swimming. We had a picnic lunch packed by our hostel. Afterwards, we headed back to Santa Cruz. This morning we went on rounds at the public hospital. It just always amazes me there. I saw 2 patients on ventilators on the floor, not on any monitors. Their vents are the oldest vents I've ever seen. They only have 2 modes , CMV or IDV. But everyone's vent settings were the same, whether they weren't breathing over, or if they were breathing 50 BPM. Weird. They also assume that everyone has dengue and treat accordingly, and if it turns out they are wrong, oh well. Not the greatest examples. Today was scorching hot. It was oppressively hot. I'm glad to get a break. It will be a long flight, but I'm looking forward to Sydney!