For Everything There is a Reason (11/12/00)

Here's the very quick update.

Steph was starting to feel ill again at the end of the Cave tour we took on Thursday--it was pretty strenuous.

Once in Port Elizabeth, she had a full-on relapse, throwing up in the middle of the night and feeling very weak.

Nevertheless, she was determined to make it to Pretoria by Sunday in order to make the tour of Kruger Park we had already booked (and paid for).

She decided that rather than ride, she would take the bus to save her strength. She insisted that I ride ahead.

Steph had been fighting this bug for two weeks now, and I knew that if she rested she would be OK, but she refused to let me wait for her.

So, I headed out on Friday morning at about 9a.m.

I rode for the next 10 hours through farmland in an area known as the Karoo. It is beautiful country, but basically a long, straight, boring, blistering hot, incredibly windy ride! (Like riding the 5 freeway between LA and San Francisco, only with massive wind gusts.)

And to top things off, my bike started cutting out on me--something to do with the heat.

750 kilometers later I stopped in a very small town called Winberg and checked into the only guest house I could find.

I immediately called the Calabash to see if Steph had gotten onto the bus OK. But, alas, she was still there.

We spoke, and she informed me that she had seen a doctor (her third on this trip) and he said that she had some type of intestinal bacteria and that he advised that she go home.

Now, don't everyone get alarmed. Steph is weak, but she is OK. We decided to downplay it at first, because we didn't want everyone worrying, and we thought it would pass.

But Steph realized that it was more serious than she originally thought and decided that returning home is the right thing to do.

We talked about how to proceed and both decided that I should continue on to Pretoria while Steph would head back to Cape Town at her own pace.

So, it is Sun. evening. I'm leaving for Kruger tomorrow morning. Steph is headed home, and assures me she will email me if she needs any help.

My bike is still giving me a hard time, so I will assess my situation when I get back from Kruger and keep everyone apprised.

Thanks for your email support. Even though we don't manage to answer them all, we really appreciated receiving your messages.