AdventureDad

The second week of our four week stay in Mexico was spent in Ixtapa - Zihuatanejo (they are very close to each other), which is in the state of Guerrero and a couple of hours from Acapulco.  It’s a decent size town with beautiful weather and  calm atmosphere.  We decided to drive down there, which is roughly 7 hours of driving time on superb highways.  The first leg is a four hour drive to Morelia which is a medium sized town famous for it’s nice handicrafts and colonial architecture.  We checked into a hotel right next to the zocalo in the center of the historic district.   Morelia is a gem and not a tourist trap since it’s a bit out of the way fro normal tourists.  If you are in the area I highly recommend a visit.  Great food, relaxed setting, fine shopping for handicrafts, old beautiful buildings, and affordable lodging.  We finished off the evening with some nice tacos de camaron (shrimp tacos in a creamy sauce).  Yummy!  Little did I know that 24 hours later I would be sicker than ever before in my life. 

The next day we drove the three hours down to Ixtapa, checked in to our resort, and did some shopping.  Beautiful warm weather and not a cloud on the sky.  As I was getting ready for a few evening beers around 7 pm I suddenly felt that something was terribly wrong.  One minute I was fine and the next I was urning green in the face.  I told Sandra in a muffled voice that I wasn’t feeling good.  She knows what that means since I rarely get sick and when I do complain there is definitely something serious.  During our two months stay last year I got sick twice, both times some kind of food poisoning from seafood.  Before that I hadn’t been sick in Mexico since 1989.  Now I felt exactly the same as last year.  I knew it would be a long night but this time was even worse than the others combined.

My face was green as I was sitting  on the couch waiting for the inevitable.  About  half an hour later the barfing started.  And it was bad.  I hugged the porcelain bowl again and again.  It just wouldn’t stop.  After each time I staggered out of the bathroom, barely able to walk, and tried to drink something.  But my body refused.  Sandra and her mom looked very worried since they had never seen me like this.  Daniel was even more confused since it was his bedtime and I was doing funny stuff in the bathroom.  But he quickly got the point.  After each barfing incident I flushed the toilet and heard his cheerful voice, "Pappa!".  He now associated each flushing with me which was kind of cute.  I tried to smile in between flushing and barfing but failed.  This was bad.  I had never felt this bad before.  In my life. 

After barfing for three hours I was so weak I had to hold on to something while staggering around the apartment.  My body was still not accepting any liquids and just the thought of food made me even more sick.  My stomach was now empty, thank God, and the last thing that come out was that delicious shrimp taco.  Sandra and her mom went to sleep while I struggled to even sit down.  When you are really sick some weird things go through your mind.  Suddenly I felt really good about myself since the bathroom was still looking fresh.  I’m so neat when I barf I though to myself.  Then I rolled over and tried o sleep.  I woke up a couple of hours later and tried to puke a few times but failed.  There was absolutely nothing left in my stomach.  If anything else would come up i would be my lungs.  I was feeling incredibly weak and if this continued through the morning I would probably have to visit he local hospital.  The thought had barely left my mind when my body suddenly started to function again.  I was able to drink some water and a little Gatorade.  It felt like heaven.  I just knew that the worst was over and I was on the way towards recovery.

The next day I only ate some bread and drank water during the day.  But I wasn’t worried since I could feel my body coming back to life.  Believe it or not but my ribs where sore from the previous nights barfing.  Pretty incredible. Later in the evening I had a light dinner and it felt great.    I thought about that delicious shrimp taco that caused my so much problems and decided to hold off seafood for a couple of days.  I believe very much in the saying that when you fall off a horse you should get back on it again asap.   And I did.

Next up, the beautiful beaches of Ixtapa - Zihuatanejo

Categories: Travel
Tags: