Well for the past few days I have been really ill. After a series of late nights brought on because I could not sleep, I finally came to the point of exhaustion. That was when the worst of it hit me. That night was a sleepless night of some quite fearful random dreams and oscilations between being freezing and sweating profusely. The night over, I found myself exhausted and surprisingly without a fever. My day consisted of lying on the bed, drifting into and out of a sleep that was still greatly disturbed by temperature fluctuations and bizarre dreams. Occasionally I would be visited by a friend but found it difficult to talk as the effort was huge. Somewhere late in the afternoon, after almost two hours of uninterrupted sleep, I was encouraged to enjoy the last rays of sunshine. So with great effort and a spinning head I staggered my way over towards the main building. I never made it. At least not that attempt. My spinning head worsened with every step and I soon had to sit down or I would have fallen. Even sitting was not enough however, and I half staggered, half crawled my way over to a clear patch of grass still bathing in the last rays of the sun. Here I lay, recuperating from my efforts and enjoying the warmth of the sun. Here too was where the children found me and before any instructions could be given them I was bounced upon, struck on the head, and prodded and poked for a while. Without anger or annoyance (for they did not realise I was not well) I explained to them the issue, and was treated well thereafter. Even feeling as weak as I was, I stayed around for a number of hours, eventually eating a basic soup which gave me a little more strength. It was the first thing I had eaten all day. Soon enough though I returned to my bed to sleep. The second night I still could not sleep, and although the dreams were less fierce, they still came thick and strong. I woke the next morning feeling somewhat better, but still weak. More food this day, and a deep sleep during that afternoon helped tremendously. It is now the fourth day, and I still cannot shake the lingering effects of the light-headedness and the weakness that came at the onset of this illness. After a few more days it will be gone though, as each day sees a noticeable improvement. What it was that hit me, I really do not know. Probably something unique to South America that I have not had the displeasure to experience before. Most unusual about all of it was the fever-like symptoms but without the temperature of a fever. Whatever it was, it had a pretty powerful punch that left me reeling for a few days afterwards.