I picked the wrong place to look for a doctor. As well as having a perfect year-round climate, Vilcabamba has a reputation for having residents who live to a very old age and never get ill. No wonder half the town now consists of ex-pats from Europe and the USA who arrived and never left. There is health food and organic cafes on every corner, but the doctors are nowhere to be found because they are rarely required. I was trying to hunt one down after three months with an intermittent stomach upset on which I had tried the usual methods such as self-prescribed antibiotics, and ignoring the problem hoping it would go away. Neither was working. I got a test done which was inconclusive, but the finger of suspicion is pointing firmly towards amoebic dysentery. Convicting and sentencing an amoeba to death are notoriously difficult though, which I am finding out the hard way!

I was in need of a nice room with a patio, a hammock and a garden with regular visits from hummingbirds and surrounded by beautiful countryside. This I found, and did barely anything for five days. Hardly even a photograph was taken, and I certainly didn't have the energy for climbing the magically named Mandango mountain.

Posted from Arequipa, Peru on 17th June 2012.