I got up at 8:30 and went to breakfast where I was told that Nicole was sick. After eating, I went to her room. She had a fever, headache, diarrhea, and a backache. I had the hospital call a doctor. Dra. Yaquelin Condori soon arrived and diagnosed another bacterial infection. She gave me 5 prescriptions which Rafael and I went out and filled. Cipro was the one that would do the trick, I was sure.

I skipped lunch and wrote. At 1:30 the bus came for the city tour. Before we left, I checked on Nicole. Her temperature had gone back to near normal. Her only complaint was her back. I gave her a back rub and found her muscles to be in tight knots. The massage brought some relief.

Our city tour started at the main cathedral which is built on top of the Inca Temple of the Sun. The amount of gold leaf and silver on display there is astounding. The paintings on display provide an insight to the colonial history of the city. Our guide, Marco, knew what he was talking about.

We proceeded to the Qoricancha or gold courtyard which had the Santo Domingo Convent built on top of it until the 1950 earthquake destroyed part of the convent.

Originally many of the Inca walls were covered in gold leaf to give the site its name. We visited the Temple of the Three Windows and enclosures dedicated to rainbows and lightning as well as the main courtyard. The classic trapezoidal doors and windows are everywhere.

While visiting the observatory, Sammi told me she was sick. She definitely had a fever. She and I took a cab back to the hotel. I had the hotel call Dra. Condori. Jay and Emily had stayed with Nicole. She was much better but her back still hurt. Jay said her back was still in knots when he rubbed it.

Dra. Condori ordered the same barrage of medication for Sammi as she had for Nicole. She also ordered a urinalysis for Nicole, to see if the back pain was being caused by a UTI. Emily and I went to the farmácia. The cobblestone streets were slippery after the afternoon downpour. We took a cab back. It was a comical and terrifying adventure.

After the others returned from the city tour we ate at the Pachapapa and returned to the hotel. At 9:15 our vans took us to the bus terminal. We checked our bags and boarded our Marco Polo bus for the 14-hour trip to La Paz . It was better than our first Cama Bus but not the quality of some that I've been on.

The mood was merry as we drove through the night. A couple of bottles were passed around. One by one everyone fell asleep.