Does the availability of Vicks Nyquil and Vicks inhaler make a civilized country?
Before we headed out to Colombia, a close friend of mine asked me if the country we were visiting was civilized. I was not quite sure what to make of his question, given how well-read he was, and how vague the question sounded to me. Aboard Continental Airlines I absorbed all useful basic information about Colombia and Bogota to whip up my excitement, but with one reserve. My sinuses were on the verge of getting clogged. They did not affect my experience of flying, but my cold surely went bad on our first not-quite-comfortable night in a so-so hostel in the historic La Candelaria district of Bogota. The icky bedsheet, blanket, and pillowcase, the occasional loud noises from passing pedestrians, vehicles, and yapping dogs on the narrow quaint street, and the stress on what type of person was sharing our room took a toll on my ability to sleep well, not to mention the high altitude (pulse was a little too high, I noticed) and my occasional sneezing and coughing. Needless to say, my health was on a downhill trend. What a way to start a three-night stay in Bogota!
A nice breakfast of cafe con leche and pastry at a coffee shop in the more bustling Centro, accomplishing the important errand of getting our SIM card, and checking into a far better 3-star hotel (Dann Hotel) seemed to have cast a promising spell to my health. Only after realizing that two of the drogerias did not carry, let alone have heard of, my indispensable colds survival kits, aka Vicks Nyquil (heaven forbid they have heard of Dayquil) and Vicks inhaler, and that in my desperation I got a cough syrup (which contained an expectorant) instead, did my health turn for the worse. Amazing how clogged sinuses, frequent pulsatile sneezing, and a constant need for toilet paper, tissue paper (panuelos) and handkerchief could make the difference between enjoying vs. tolerating every minute of my just-started vacation. Add to that inhaling the fumes of a city that did not seem to have strict emission controls (fumes inhaled while visiting Plaza de Bolivar and rounding up La Candelaria, and checking out the New Year`s Eve events in El Centro and the financial district (capped by the Colpatria-sponsored outdoor concert)), and I was most certain that I would rather be back in cold Cambridge nursing my corhiza with a box of softer facial tissues, hot tea, DVDs, and my godsend Vicks products.
Somehow I had to enjoy our second day in Bogota and start the new year in better health, so, my disappointment with not getting Dimetapp or Sudafed notwithstanding, I got what the drogeria seller recommended and was resolved to end my misery with one tablet of Sinutab every 4 hours. Despite the Palo Alto-perfect weather on the first day of 2011 atop Cerro Montserrate with a commanding view of the city, I was drowning in my upper respiratory tract fluids. I had to avoid embarrassing myself from sneezing and nose-blowing in my tiny little nook in the Internet cafe reorganizing our accommodation plans for the next three stops in our trip. Even after downing cups of cafe con leche and mouthfuls of arepa, papas, and pollo asado (thank God I still had an appetite), my misery seemed interminable. Who cares about taking the still-expanding Trans Milenio bus line and exploring Chapinero, when all I wanted was just to get better? After four tablets of Sinutab, I went to my safe hotel cocoon, hoping to recover but resigned to the fact that I never enjoyed Bogota with clearer sinuses.
Well at least I got to enjoy our last few hours in the city as soon as I realized I slept through several hours without sneezing and clearing my nose! Thanks to Sinutab, or just the natural course of incubation and recovery, I went to the Terminal de Transporte by taxi and took the seven-hour bus ride to San Gil with the brighest and merriest of perspectives! I was enjoying every minute of my vacation! I do not remember sneezing and blowing my nose in the entire bus trip and was not the least bit bothered by the cold temperature in the bus. I was back in my element–taking pictures, reading the guidebook, and just simply enjoying the scenery and the sociocultural landscape–and was convinced that an integral part of enjoying a vacation is good health. Indeed a heck of a difference when you are drowning in a runny nose and an interminable cold.