03 August 2008

Mal de México



You can see my entry for the 6th day (7 July) in Oaxaca: SHIT HAPPENS. Indeed. One of the most common consequences for nortes in México is the so-called "Traveler's Diarrhea."

Page 37 of my log:

lunes, siete de julio

1045 I woke up feeling crappy and then had a serious attack of the mal de México, Moctezuma's Revenge, las turistas.

And here's a bit later (page 39):

07.07.08
1725 I have been bed-ridden all day. Drinking water, had some pepto. Tried to sleep.

My lovely bride managed to avoid the bug, but she is like that. Careful, precise, detail-oriented, hardly ever gets sick. I had been soaking my toothbrush in mezcal--really! I kept forgetting and rinsing it off with the verboten tap water, so I'd stick the head in a shot glass of Benevá blanco. I got all kinds of crap about it from my so-called friends, so I stopped. What a wuss, caving in to peer pressure! I'm not saying that I got the bug because I stopped what I thought was a brilliant travel-hygiene practice, but you never know. I decided that I will keep cheap vodka on hand for toothbrush-soaking whenever I travel to funky-water places. What can it hurt? And it sure wakes you up in the a.m. when you mix your toothpaste with a bit of alcohol.

No comments: