Unexpected travel companion

(written last Wednesday)

I found out that I'd been carrying a passenger with me without knowing. It was a pretty annoying one called Plasmodium. It seems that a mosquito bited me in the jungle and left me with that present.
From my last post you may remember that I mentioned having a cold and a funny stomach. Well, actually things complicated a little bit, as I started to be extremely tired and my body temperature to rise. Some aspirines did for a few hours but then I understood that it had to be something else. I checked the brochures I got from the Department of Foreign Medicine in Belgium and they confirmed my fears. It looked like malaria. I had to act fast. I was in the middle of a long trip crossing Bolivia, and it would have been too complicated to get off the train and look for a doctor. So, I took my malaria pills, and followed the instructions for first aid and self treatment. Actually I had enough pills because I had contiously asked my doctor to give me more than I needed for the prevention treatment. My reasoning was that I didn't want to be stuck anywhere without enough medication for malaria. It turned out to be good insight. The treatment consists of three takes separated a few hours, so the whole thing takes a while. For a long time I didn't see any improvement, and in fact when I arrived to my destination I could barely carry my backpack and walk at the same time. Thankfully I had arranged with a tourstic agency to come and pick me up to the station, so they helped me with the luggage. Then we tried to find a doctor, which they warned me would be difficult that late (22.30). We visited two hospitals and one small clinic, and either there were just nurses, or they simply wouldn't open the door. Resigned, they took me to the hotel, and I went to my bed. It was around midnight when I suddently realized that I had no fever anymore, and I was finally feeling at ease. I don't know if it was an answer to my prayers or the pills that finally took effect. Probably both, but at that moment I realized I was cured. As prescribed I still completed the treatment with a last take at 2.30 am, and then slept for several hours. In the morning I was feeling quite alright. Just a little bit weak, but that was normal I guess. I went back to the hospital, saw a doctor, had a blood test, and they told me the parasite was gone. The doctor that did the analysis said that she repeated the test three times in order to be sure. So I guess I can trust her. The first doctor said I could continue travelling.
(...)
Since the other day, I finally found a computer from where I could write a bit. So, some update. After staying one more night in Uyuni I continued my trip as foreseen. I'll write something more about the Salar tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. Concerning my health, I'm doing fine. No more problems so far. I'm crossing tomorrow the border to Argentina.