Crabby and Hoarse

Friday I felt so much better, thanks to my super horse pill-sized antibiotics and a good shower at the gym. Then I went and spoiled all of my recovery progress yesterday. Unintentionally, but still...the end result is the same. I feel like crap again.

The day started out fine enough. We still had problems with the water in the flat so I decided to have a bath, something I am motivated enough to do about 3 times a year here in Maputo because it's so much work. The bath tap doesn't work in our shower, so in order to fill the tub (even when there is sufficient water flow in the apartment), one must do it manually. I boiled 5 kettles of hot water from the storage jugs we had in the kitchen, then added a couple full of cold for good measure. The bath was lovely. I even lit a candle in the corner of the tub.

Later in the day we went out to lunch at Costa do Sol with our friend Marcos. I thought it would be a good idea to get some fresh air and have a proper meal. Unfortunately, the only seating available was inside the covered portion of the restaurant, where the acoustics are terrible. It was only at the end of lunch that I realized I'd just spent the entire 1.5 hour meal practically shouting at the top of my lungs to have a proper conversation with the guys.

I guess I really did a number on the old vocal chords, because now my cough is the worst one I've possibly ever had in my life. Unproductive and hacking, one of those coughs that you can't avoid or supress no matter what kind of honey/medicine/lozenge you coat your throat with. Last night Rico and I took it easy and watched "Chocolat" on dvd; I easily coughed through 80% of the movie, no exaggeration.

Also, I ate too much crab. I had 2 giant boiled ones, and spent most of lunch wrestling with their shells and sucking the meat out of crevices. I didn't realize it as I ate, because the process was so distracting and drawn out, but I ate way too much of a rich food that I'm not used to, right on the heels of a week practically without solid meals.

So today my voice is shot, I'm still hacking away, and my chest and back muscles are sore from all the effort. And I feel like I have a hangover from all that damn crab. I suppose I've learned my lesson, at a price, as always. Today I am eating fruits and veggies again, drinking tea, and avoiding speaking as much as possible. Good thing I have tons of work to do...