When travel goes from bad to worse. Listen to your gut.

Listen to your gut. My tears come and go out of pain, frustration, and loss of situational control. I am independent and don’t like relying on others or bothering them. The feeling physically and mentally of being in the wrong place at the wrong time is hanging over me. This is not supposed to be.

Sometimes travel goes wrong. And keeps getting worse. Listen to that gut and pivot. Because I didn’t and after almost three years of solo travel this trip has been my worst. I have never wanted to abandon a plan and get out as fast as possible. And these are really my first “tours” with groups of people I don’t know.

My lungs give out. At an altitude of more than 3,500 meters or 11,000 feet, my oxygen levels sunk to 78% (should be 100%). My heart is beating at more than 100+ per minute (usually under 70 at rest) to compensate. And I had been sitting in the van for about an hour.

I did not feel well. A kind fellow traveler offered an unused inhaler which I took and sat down. Some relief.

The next 45-minute drive to lunch brings us to lower altitude. I’m ok, but still not feeling 100%. I step off the van and miscalculate the distance landing too hard the wrong way. I hear a pop near my knee and sharp pain. I let the tour guide know that I need a doctor. We are two days out of town with medical care, so I wait. At lunch, sitting down, the swelling starts, and pain begins to build.

Five hours later after another walking tour, which I limp through, I have anti-inflammatories, tension bandage and our tour guide got me a bag of ice. I am in my shared room, leg elevated, iced, and waiting for drugs to kick in.

Next morning is not much better.  There are two more days of walking and touring before the doctor appointment. We are changing hotels so there is no place to stay while the tour goes on.

I limp along on a solo tour since I am moving so slow. Swelling and pain along with it. 

I am separated from the group. We are on two different tours now. Gatherings and meals are awkward. We are no longer sharing the same experience. I am a solo traveler within a group on the same tour but not.  

I don’t like it or feel good mentally or physically.

I am done. I am over long drives, over bumpy roads filled with speed bumps and the same roads we have more than once. Up and down the same mountains. The longer I sit or limp along, the more swelling and pain. I need to rest this leg. I don’t need a doctor to tell me that.

I miss the evening doctor appointment because of a delayed train and road traffic. Rescheduled for tomorrow morning 9am. I was hoping to get a diagnosis tonight and leave the tour tomorrow.

I called travel insurance. All is covered including any changed to flights and hotel rooms. That gave me a little more control back.