A Drs visit a day...

Keeps the mounting infections away!

Having been sick for 3 weeks, and not really responding to meds we brought from home, we decided it was time for a trip to the dr.

Step one, find the dr: After asking a bunch of people, we were directed to an office at the right of the church. We get there to realize its closed, but the sign looks like it says it will reopen at 2. So we have a coffee and wait. Our waiter then taps his teeth and asks if we need to get something done. Turns out dr number 1 is a dentist!

Step two, find the real dr (not that dentists arent real drs): the waiter then gives us the name of a dr further down the street to go to. We walk down the street to find the dr, who is once again closed! This time though, the sign says in english he will reopen at 5. A good sign.

Intermission :After stopping for a soda water we get back to the dr at 445. Only to find 4 toddlers waiting to be seen. As we sit and wait, tonnes more kids come in, and we wonder if we have stumbled into a pediatric clinic. The receptionist assures us it is fine to stay and wait.

Step three, see the dr: Fearing the worst, we used google translator to prepare our conversation before getting in the office. However, this was not needed at all. The dr came and saw us, spoke excellent english, even made a couple of jokes! The instruments he used to check us out were clean, and you could see he was not re-using them. Plus he had the most state of the art thermometer we have ever seen (maybe something to do with bird flu?). He wrote up a prescription for craploads of meds (as you can see in the pic), and we had to run to the atm to pay for the visit. 80 bucks for the consult and meds seemed fine to us.

Step four, reassure the tourists: We thanked the dr and headed out of the clinic, which was by now spilling over with toddlers waiting to be seen. Toddlers and one Australian couple with fear and doubt in their eyes! Seeing us leave, the wife quickly came and asked if it was safe! We allayed their fears and headed out to take our first dose of meds. Glancing back the husband had already settled in for what was sure to be a loud lengthy wait.

Step five, get healthy: After two doses, we can already feel the difference and are hopefully on the road to recovery.

Despite what we read in the guide book, the office was clean and we were really pleased with the service. If your travelling and have been sick for awhile, at least go to check out the clinic. If its gross you can wait 'till the next town. But who knows, like in our case, the books may be wrong and you can be on your way to health in no time!