Diarrhea and Pink Bicycles

So I was riding the newly acquired pink/rust colored bicycle through the middle of Almirante, shorts sopping wet carrying a backpack, when I realized that I'm probably the closest thing there is to a living Forest Gump. I've done a lot of things in my day. A lot of stupid things that I've been just thrown into without the sense to get out of. I guess I can add this to it.

I left my site about 3 days ago because I had been sick for the 3 days prior. My stomach had been revolting against me and (sorry for the next part) I hadn't had a solid bowl movement in a week. I called the medical office and was told to take the 5 hour trip to David so that is what I did. After hiking for about 40 minutes to the top of the road and waiting on the roadside, backpack in hand, stomach in turmoil, I caught a packed bus where I was then smashed against a window with knees in my chest. When I got to David it was pouring and by the time I reached the hotel where Peace Corps volunteers stay my two dollar umbrella had completely given up on life. I was soaked. I threw my things into a room, checked to see what other volunteers were staying, and dodged taxis and rain puddles on the way to the hospital.

After giving a sample of practically everything my body produces, it turns out I had a head cold, a stomach virus, and worms. Worms? Yes, worms. Getting directions in spanish on what medications I needed to take and when became a task I gave up on so I had the pharmacist right it down. Apparently taking spores kills the worms which is great because its an easy fix. I do have to have to wait two weeks for the the worm eggs to hatch in my tummy so I can kill those suckers too. There will be no safe haven for parasites in my body as long as I have my spores.

I was feeling pretty terrible in David and on the verge of puking, but was able to handle solid food which I had been neglecting for a good part of the past week. You would think with so many mouths to feed inside of me that I would be hungry but I guess the worms weren't that hungry. So I ate delicious real food and washed it down with more medicine and rum. At about 2 in the morning I woke up realizing I had made a mistake by mixing the 4 medications with the alcohol and forced myself not to puke it all up for the simple fact that if I did I would have to go back to the hospital to get more medication. I made it and after a big breakfast I was feeling semi normal.

After receiving an e mail in response to the flier I put up around town asking for a bike donation, I headed out back to the Island of Bocas Del Toro. The bus ride wasn't bad. Only one incident where the driver careened into a ditch and then slightly over corrected on wet cement with an overloaded bus of people and a semi coming the other way, but once we got that out of the way it was smooth sailing. I was falling asleep anyways and needed to be woken up. My stomach was still boiling and my hopes for a smooth boat trip out to the island faded when I saw that the waves looked rough out there. Apparently there has been a storm out here for the last couple days. The ride was rough and my worms were pissed. They threatened to exit my body orally but I refused.

Once on the island I was better and after securing the bike from the book store I made a reservation at the Gran Kahuna as it was too late to return on a boat. I was also not about to puke all over my brand new pink cruiser. Speaking of the bike, I would like to personally thank Jack, the owner of Bahia Del Sol for donating it. If you come to Bocas go stay there. It looked nice on a flier which means its probably too expensive for me but I'm sure someone reading this has money. The bike needs some work. A new seat, back wheel(which I found out the hard way), and a chain that doesn't look like its been at the bottom of the ocean since WWII, but it will work great and I will be sure to send Jack a thank you letter when we are completed with project bike grinder.

After staying the night on the Island and coming the realization that being around people that are always on vacation might not be a good thing for my psyche, I grabbed a boat off the island with my newly acquired bike strapped to the back. Once again the ride was rough. From being sick here I lost 10 lbs and have only been able to gain 3 back so there isn't much cushioning for bumpy rides left considering I was already clean out of stock in the ass department. I got off the boat and swam through the usual harassment of people trying to get taxis for me, take me to Costa Rica, or sell me drugs, and I hopped on the bike and rode into town. I became self aware of what I was doing about half way through town after about 7 people almost fell out of their chairs trying to watch me go by. Almirante is mostly Afrotillian which could be a made up word but means; People that descended from the Antilles and were of African descent before that. Anywho, I looked more out of place than Where's Waldo at Muscle Beach and it was laughable. It was even more laughable when I got a taxi ride to the entrance to my community and when I got out the cab driver asked if I had breaks on the back considering it was a steep down hill ride from there. I laughed and said yes and started my decent.

The thing is is that I had breaks. Its just that the entire back axle froze up and then broke open spitting 100 year old grease on my wet pants and rendering the bike not only brakeless but possibly dangerous to be on. It seemed that the wheel was just going to fall off at this point as it bounced from one side to the other hitting the inside of the bike so I put both feet on the ground and smoked some pavement. I made it out fine and after trying to ride it slowly and having the seat fall off and a spring almost entering my backside I decided to walk it.

I got home and the community people seemed pretty happy about the bike. They don't have many here. The little kid here named Melvin was extactic about it and wanted to name it. Its name is Legend which is just was was written on the side. I think after some work we can make this thing grind some chocolate. If not, we are going to waste a lot of time and most of the money that the chocolate group has and I will probably never be forgiven. No, I'm sure it will work out. They need this more than anything right now and getting the bike here was the first challenge. Actually getting it to work without killing someone is going to be another...