Why no updates, Sue?

Hey friends so just as I was leaving Ecuador, I got severe food poisoning. Yup. Fun times. Ecuador has been in a severe drought since September. 70% of their electricity comes via their hydroelectric plant which is failing. So there have been daily blackouts. When I first arrived, that meant 10 am to 1 pm and then maybe 8 pm to midnight. But by the time I was leaving it was up to 6 hours on, 6 hours off. 6 am to noon…off, noon to 6 pm…on, 6 pm to midnight…off, midnight to 6 am…on. However, due to the power surge when power is restored, we had to unplug everything, including the fridge. And that's true throughout the country. Different neighborhoods lost power at different times so it was hard to judge when things would be working, shops would be open, restaurants and markets were operating. With the fridges going on and off, unsurprisingly, there has been an increase in food poisoning in the country and lucky me, got a terrible case.

Very high fever, severe stomach pains etc. My biggest concern initially was maybe it was appendicitis. I was about to fly to Argentina and a burst appendix mid-flight seemed a horrible idea. Fortunately my friends, Angel and Jorge, found a doctor who was able to see me immediately. Tests were run and medication prescribed within an hour. (I just realized that I have two pharmacist friends who are following this blog...I promise it's all good!)

The meds helped but I gotta say, this started overnight on Nov 11/12 and today, Nov 22 is the first time I've felt ok and actually ate a full meal. So I haven't been able to focus on doing much, let alone writing anything.

I promise a real update with photos, videos, and stories in the next couple of days but here's a little sneak preview. Oh and I seem to be locked out of my YouTube channel, so this is going swimmingly!

Thanks for your concern. Onward!