Been out of action for a couple of days. Tried to log-in earlier but was getting error messages. Finally succeeded.
That trek didn't do me any good at all. Apart from the millions of bites, I got overheated and had headaches on the journey. I thought I was feeling better that night when I last posted here, but I was very feverish after going to bed. The next day we were due to head back south to the airport to fly back to Manila, so I had no option other than to endure the seven-hour bus journey, with a large box of tissues and a streaming nose, before getting the plane.
I spent all next day in bed. I did have a Sunday paper delivered to the room, (and had a chuckle at the Andy Capp strip within). Lucy went out for much of the day, with a long list of things she wanted to do, and eventually returned buzzing with news about what she'd achieved. Lots of positive things regarding the business mainly. She's sorted things with a couple of supplier-contacts, fixed up a bank meeting, arranged for some printing to be done, and even managed to get several people interested in investing potentially. She's also arranged a meeting for later when we will see if these offers of investment are viable. When I told her my news, that I'd had a little bit of diarrhoea, it didn't sound quite so interesting after that.
Anyway, Lucy persuaded me to get up and have a small bowl of soup in the hotel restaurant, which I didn't feel I wanted at the time, but as I hadn't eaten for two days she was getting concerned. I actually enjoyed it, and did feel better having eaten it, so it was the right decision, (although I was soon back in bed, as I was still feeling far from 100%).
I have to say at this point that Lucy's been a real "Florence Nightingale" this week. My excruciating discomfort of a million insect bites has been gradually relieved as she's carefully applied a local "dragon balm" ointment to each and every one, and at regular intervals too, all without complaint, even when I had to wake her to do so. She's always had a marvelous gift for massaging my aches and pains away. She can feel where the "knots" are, and her magic thumbs put things right, especially if I'm irritable, because she's turned up late or something. I don't know what I'd have done without her on this trip, to be honest, and when I think back to the early days of our relationship, when I was still "playing the field" and persistently tried to dump her, I'm glad in a way that I didn't succeed and that she kept her claws in me! Funny how life turns out. Maybe I'm not the best judge of all things after all.
I'm feeling a lot better tonight, which is just as well as we're off exploring north of Manila tomorrow. I'll be sharing the driving with Lucy's brother. I'm hoping to manage a couple of ice-cold San Miguels tonight, and a small glass of red wine as a treat for Lucy. (She can't drink much without being ill, which is an added bonus on the pocket.)
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P.S. I just thought of a gag. Woman on way to slimming class:
"I've had no self-control this past week."
"If I've lost any weight, I'll eat my hat".
"There, you see!!"
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Maybe I can sell it to Roger...