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From Tortel to Cochrane, "Super Enfermo"

By Dan Wallace - 2009-03-23

“Super enfermo“, we’ve learned, means super sick; which is what Mike and I were when a break in the weather prompted the team and I to head out of Tortel, and make for the town of Cochrane a couple hundred kilometers away. It’s no fun being super sick, but through it we witnessed some genuine acts of kindness by total strangers. For example, while Mike and I waited at our campground/public pavilion that morning in Tortel, we managed to look so pathetic that a couple of tourists passing by gave us food (two cans of peaches) and another couple even gave us money! I didn’t think we looked so pathetic as to warrant these gifts, though. At the time I was fixing some parts on my bike, coughing and fending off an over-curious puppy; and Mike was passed out on the deck “starfish-style”, soaking up the precious rays of sunshine. We apparently looked worse off than I thought! It is also worth noting that at this time Mike was dealing with an intestinal parasitic infection which wreaked havoc on his digestive system for the next week.

We met up with some old friends before leaving Tortel who had been stuck in town for six days due to the massive amount of rain/flooding, and took off shortly after they left. It was interesting to see the exodus of bikers, trucks, hitchhikers, and cars after the “all clear” was given by the police about the flooded roads. We were the last to leave that day, but encountered the same bad roads everyone else did. At times we had to ford sections of road that were still flooded by knee deep water. “At least its not raining,” was all I could think.

We camped for two nights and rode for two days to arrive in Cochrane where we immediately got Mike to the hospital. He was diagnosed and treated for free, what a blessing! I was still dealing with my head cold that wouldn’t quit, so in order to cheer up I decided to go buy some food for us while Mike was pooping for the nurses in the hospital (they needed to analyze his excrement after they gave him the medicine). Mike was released at night and we camped in a nearby park amongst packs of city dogs that were feigning “Fight Club.” Remember rule number #1.

The next day, after I finished my daily lung hacking, Daniel and I searched the town for a church to attend. We rode up to the local Pentecostal church, met some of the youth, and found out that the service was at 7:00 pm. We had time to kill so we used the internet, relaxed, and enjoyed the sunshine. Chris spent the whole day at the same church hanging out and meeting the locals. We all ended up there later in the day and before we knew it the service was over and the guys were rolling out their sleeping pads in the basement of the church!

I didn’t stay at the church the first night because I had told a man named Washington I would camp on his ranch and already had my things out there. My three-kilometer ride back to Washington’s ranch was dark and cold, but I got out there safe and sound. The next morning I was up bright and early to help Washington milk a cow. Everyday is an adventure down here! I spent the day swimming, fishing, eating fruit and relaxing before heading back into town to meet up with the other guys.

Getting sick is part of the adventure I suppose; and looking back its amazing to see that when you are down and need to rely on other people, they come through big-time.