San Sebastián

It’s Friday and it’s St. Patrick’s Day. We got up early and decided to go for a walk to where the mines used to be. For me, it was a perfect hike through a lovely mixed forest filled with birds and at the perfect temperature for walking. It was fun thinking of what it used to be like here when miners with their equipment and mules loaded with stones were coming and going to the mines that made San Sebastián del Oeste so rich a few hundred years ago. We started at the curved bridge.

After about 45 minutes of walking, we arrived at the entrance to the Santa Gertrudis mine, which had the highest productivity in its time and remained in operation until the 20th century. It is the only one open to the public, and you can go in a few yards to take a photo.

We continued up the road a short ways but them decided to turn around and head home. As I was coming down an incline covered in small rocks and leaves, I slipped on a rock and fell forward cutting and hurting my knee. So after cleaning the bleeding knee, but with no bandages to cover it, I hobbled back to town (3km), using Chris as my walking stick.

On the way, we passed a house where a lady felt sorry for me so she sprayed my cut with a marijuana concoction and gave me gauze and tape to contain the bleeding somewhat. When we got to town, we stopped at a restaurant for breakfast. The waitress ran in and got her aloe vera spray and some clean gauze and tape. She also cut off a leaf of her aloe vera plant for me to take home.

On Saturday morning, the cut was still bleeding and my knee was very sore so I thought it was time to see a doctor. Luckily for us, there is a tiny clinic that opened at 1:30 pm, just on the outskirts of town. But the emergency doctor said he could see me at 11:30. But how could I walk there? Wouldn’t you know, the local police commandant offered to have a police officer drive me there in his 4x4.

After a wheelchair ride to the office and a quick check, the doctor assured us that I would be okay. I had sprained my knee and it would take a while to feel better. He cleaned up my cut, wrapped up my knee with a tensor bandage, gave me a prescription for Tylenol, suggested rest, ice, compression and elevation for at least 2 days. Then simple exercises. It all went well, and no charge. The police officer was there to pick me up and take me back to the hotel. Everyone had been so nice. Now time to do nothing for a few days.

Chris found me a good book to read from a hotel’s trading library and I settled in. The knee got worse but the Tylenol helped. As the doctor had predicted, by the 5th or 6th day, the knee felt much better. A week later, wanting to ‘get into the saddle’, was able to slowly and carefully and with Chris’ help, walk ‘back to the scene of the crime’. I was pretty proud of myself and once again loved the walk. Hope to do it again in the coming days.

I should mention that we returned to the restaurant and the lady recognized me and wanted to inspect my knee again. She offered me a special salve to help out the ligaments when she saw the difficulty I had while in the process of sitting or standing up..

The pharmacist, who is also a dentist, suggested a white powder to put on the cut that didn’t stop bleeding for a week, I probably needed a stitch or two. The powder disinfected the cut and dried it up. He also suggested something to bring down the swelling. Everything that I got really helped out. People here are so caring.

Now I have until April 3 to continue to get better before our flight home.Read more