Bedridden In Ecuador (Country 124): What A Shame

Intro

Ecuador and I have a long history together, consisting of the first time I tried to go and I had to cancel my flight, the second time I attempted to go and got denied boarding (a long story), and now this... Sometimes I think a place is not for me, and I think Ecuador really is that place.

Nothing against the country at all, it's just a funny misfortune of events... 😅

Unable To Get Out Of Bed

Following a lovely couple of days in the Hamptons, I was excited to get my skates on and head down to Ecuador. With the past two attempts failing miserably, I headed to bed somewhat early to be rested in the morning.

Upon waking up, it was as if hell came up from below and breathed fire into my throat. I honestly felt sick as a dog. However, my mind was determined, and when I put my mind to something, it is going to get done.

I made my way over to JFK and the Delta One Lounge before boarding the LATAM 767 down to Lima, Peru. The whole flight was consistent with night sweats and blood coming out of my sinuses. I was properly sick... Not just the sickness where you can push through, but the sickness where you should probably be in the hospital, hence why I was not posting for a few days.

The Delta One Lounge has dropped off service-wise, I'll make a post about it shortly...

I do have a review of the LATAM 767 coming soon, initial thoughts out in a few days.

5 cups of chamomile tea later, I landed in Peru feeling as if I had just been exorcised by the devil himself. I spent 2 hours in transit and later boarded a gruesome redeye in premium economy up to Ecuador. Let's just say, I slept the whole flight... 😂

Obviously, this is a post where it is like, "This happened, and then this happened, and then this happened". Sorry, but I am still sick and will break all the reviews down eventually 🥴.

I paid 36 USD to upgrade, perhaps my best upgrade yet, considering I was first through immigration...

Arriving at 2:35 am (whoever plans the schedules for LATAM, I have a bone to pick with you 😉), I headed off to the Swissotel and slept for the next 36 hours straight.

This bed became my safe haven, couldn't get me out of it for 17 hours, until eventually I went to the toilet. 😅

I had previously arranged a backseat tour of one of the few "cocinas" in Quito, which I had paid a lot of money for in order to write a long piece about. What was set to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience was soon turned to ashes. Ugh...

36 hours after landing in Quito, I am writing this from the United Club in Houston, still sick as a dog.

The Moral Of The Story

So I know that hearing me rant about my life probably isn't what you want to hear 😅, but I promise there are a couple of points to this story, which are as follows:

• If you can, do not fly when you are sick; it is not worth it. Not only does it delay recovery, but you can also infect other passengers with your sickness. However, there are also certain times when you have to fly, I get it, and if so, bring a mask and sleep as much as possible.

• Most importantly, for the fellow travelers out there, listen to your body. I get it, you have spent all of this money on vacation/trip, and you want to explore every single day. However, sometimes it is just better to lie in bed and rest, if that is what your body dictates. For the first hour of lying in bed after waking up on day one in Ecuador, I thought I might regret lying in bed, but then I realized I should just listen to my body. Cancel the excursion, cancel a fine dining dinner, and sleep...

Final Thoughts

Look, first off, I am very sorry for being inactive for the past few days. It's quite cool to see that I've built up a small but modest following, and my apologies. Being sick and unable to move in Ecuador was not on the plan, but sometimes life throws you a curveball, and while I used to respond by throwing a grenade back, I guess I just take it and heal. A sign of maturity? Or perhaps I am just getting old (23)??