Final Day

I won't keep you in suspense, I'm still pretty sick today.  I'm only sick about every 3 hours, but it is still severe enough that I'm starting to feel the effects of dehydration.  I did my googling and decided that it is best for me if I get started on an antibiotic as soon as possible so that I can try to shorten the duration of this infection.  I called my family doctor who didn't hesitate to call in some Cipro and a prescriptive low-motility drug to start when we return tomorrow (Sunday).  From what I was told, if the persistent watery diarrhea continues for more than 24 hours, the body might need a little help. Otherwise, I could be suffering from this for up to 7 full days.  As the saying goes, "Ain't nobody got time for that!"  Given my low blood pressure and low iron stores, I don't feel good about allowing an infection that might weaken my system even more to continue any longer than necessary.  A big shout out toe Healthlink Family Practice (and Dr. Linker's on call partner) for working with me so quickly and kindly.  Even though I don't have time to get the medications here, they will be waiting for me tomorrow.  There ar plenty of clinics here that I could have visited, but my roommate had an unusual experience with one last summer and I would prefer to work with my own doctors.  As someone with lots of GI issues over the years, I don't take strong antibiotics lightly.  Bring on the probiotics!

When the kids got up, we decided that we were "well enough" to spend our last day exploring the Chapultepec Park.  Similar in size and in features to New York's Central Park, Chapultepec Park is a wonderful place to spend a beautiful Saturday.  There are open spaces, a castle, several museums, lakes, a free zoo, a carousel and much, much more.  Once again, the weather was gorgeous.  It has been every single day.  Not a drop of rain.  No clouds.  Not too much wind.  Just simply beautiful!

We started our visit to the park with a climb up to the Castillo de Chapultepec.  This large castle sits atop a hill at the entrance of the park.  It has been used for many different purposes over the years.  It was once a military academy, a presidential palace and now a museum.  The views from the balconies are spectacular.  You can see all the way down Paseo de la Reforma.  Mexico has a smog problem, but it's not nearly as bad as it was in the 1990s.  The views from the Castle were breathtaking.  

View of Paseo de la Reforma from the Castle balconies.

Standing in history with a modern city in the background.

There are murals inside the Castle by Orozco and O'Gorman.

After the Castle, we walked through the park to the Chapultepec Zoo.  This free zoo is one of only a handful of zoos in the world that have Giant Pandas.  If you look closely, you can see one of them in the second photo.  The first photo is a Dama Dama (similar to a deer, but not found in the US).

Of course, by this point, we were starved for some connectivity and refreshment.  All three drinks were about 9 bucks at Starbucks. Things are definitely cheaper here in Mexico.  I had a mango maracuya which is a fruity iced drink that you can't get at US Starbucks stores.

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No trip to Mexico is complete without a visit to the National Museum of Anthropology.  I didn't think the kids would like it too much, but they surprised me.  We spent about an hour wandering from region to region reading about the various tribes in pre-Columban Mexico.  Kevin is enjoying the large fountain sculpture at the entrance.  

Everyone things that this large rock is the Aztec calendar, but it isn't.  It's actually called the Piedra del Sol (rock of the sun) and was where Aztecs would have battles or stage sacrifices.  It had days and times on it which has led many people to think that it was their calendar.  Anthropologists now agree that it was not a calendar.  It's huge and heavy.  It's also a great place to take a photo!

Trying on typical headdresses from the Teotihuacan era.

A trip across the country to see some Mayan ruin replications.

After the museum, we walked to our main meal of the day in the Polanco neighborhood.  This is the most affluent neighborhood in Mexico City. There are world renowned restaurants, shops and hotels.  We decided to return to Ojo de Agua for a second meal.  We just couldn't get enough of this modestly priced, whole food cafe.  Today, I had the Strike which is a digestive cold-pressed fresh juice made with guayaba (aka guava) and plums.  Anna had a Vita C (made with all fruits high in Vitamin C to fight colds).  She and I both had a jamón serrano, cheese, fig, chipotle sandwich with the amazing side salad of lettuce, sesame seeds, cucumbers, tomatoes and avocado. Kevin had an organic burger that he admitted was pretty good.  We also picked up some freshly cut jicama, mango and watermelon along with some amarinth granola to have for breakfast tomorrow morning at the airport.  What a great restaurant!  I can't think of anything like it in the US, especially nothing as reasonably priced.

We are back at the hotel for the night.  We have lots of packing to do before our early flight in the morning.  The time changes here tonight so we actually have to get up an hour earlier than we thought.  Tomorrow will be an exhausting day of travel, but it will be good to be home with family.  It's been a great trip, sickness and all!

Making the best out of a not so great situation

Today started like all other days of our trip.  We slept as late as we could (5am for me, 8am for the kids) and had planned to eat a nice breakfast before grabbing a taxi to the bus station in Cuernavaca.  Little did I know, my body had other plans.  If you don't want to hear about Traveler's Diarrhea or E.Coli bacteria, STOP READING THIS POST NOW!

Ok, for the brave ones who are still reading, I am going to give you a firsthand description of my first experience with Montezuma's Revenge.  This is my 5th trip to Mexico and I have never been sick (other than some mild stomach cramping that could have been related to something else).  I do practice some "risky behaviors."  I brush my teeth with local water and I politely accept foods prepared for me in places I think are safe (I.e. Home stays, hotels, known restaurants and reputable grocery stores).  However, I don't eat street food and as much as it kills me, I don't buy freshly peeled fruits or hand squeezed juices on the streets.  Well, none of that matters when you wake up with diarrhea.  At first, there were no cramps, just an urgency to go to the bathroom.  Then again 15 minutes later. And again 15 minutes later.  I didn't want to worry Marilu so we ate breakfast, packed up and got a taxi for the bus station.  During this time, I was rarely out of the bathroom for more than 30 minutes at a time.  We purchased our bus tickets and fortunately, only had to wait 20 minutes before our bus departed for Mexico City.  Certainly, I could handle a 90 minute bus ride, right?

 Our tickets to Mexico City.

Anna waiting for the bus.

 Who-Dey on the bus with us!

I was wrong about being able to handle the bus ride.  Not only was I physically sick with stomach cramps, but I also had exteme nausea and light-headedness.  Kevin was a great nurse. He rubbed my back with water bottles to try and stop my sweating and to try and keep me from vomiting.  There was a bathroom on the bus, but I was determined NOT to use it.  I sat counting the seconds until we arrived at our hotel.  It was the longest bus ride of my life, but we made it!  All I could think of was getting into bed.

We are staying at the Courtyard Marriott Hotel at the airport for two nights.  Our flight leaves super early on Sunday morning, so I wanted to eliminate and potential traffic issues by being close to the terminal.  This hotel is more modern than any US Marriotts that I have visited.  The doors and elevators are all controlled by a touchcard system.  The staff is extremely attentive and they have a few English language channels.  I will say that the kids have not had much exposure to English at all on this trip.  We have been to places that Mexicans visit, not Americans.  Very few people we have met have spoken to us in English.  That is one of the things I like about coming here as opposed to the coastal resorts where speaking in English is the norm.

Since I was still very sick, we rested in the hotel room for a bit. The kids were hungry so I gave them my permission to charge the room for lunch.  They went to the hotel restaruant and handled the entire meal like pros.  No English used!  They kindly brought me a club sandwich which tasted good.  I was still in the bathroom every 30 minutes, but we had tickets at the Palacio de Bellas Artes for the Ballet Folklorico and I didn't want them to miss it.  We grabbed an Uber and made our way back to the center of town.  The picture below was taken at the Palacio when we arrived and the other pictures are of the performance.  Apparently, everyone takes photos during performances, even flash.  We were so surprised at this behavior, but decided to take a couple of pictures to help remember this performance.  It was 90 minutes of traditional Mexican music and dance.  The music was incredible and the costumes were gorgeous.  We felt that it was a tad on the long side (probably because we didn't know much about the different dance styles or costumes), but overall we enjoyed it.  Anna started feeling sick and was running a fever by this point and I was still feeling very weak and having cramps every half hour.  My bathroom trips had spaced out to every 2-3 hours.  I made a point to drink as much as I could and prayed that things would continue to improve.  With Anna, we tried Motrin not knowing if she was starting to experience symptoms of traveler's diarrhea or if she was developing a sinus infection.  Her allergies have been very bad here and probably would be at home if we were there right now.  Spring is spring everywhere, I guess.  By the end of the performance, we were stable so we continued with our plans for the rest of the night.

After the performance, we walked down the street to a place called El Moro.  This is a place that only sells churros, hot chocolate and malts.  For $4.00, you get four freshly made churros and a cup of hot chocolate.  There are about 10 varieties of hot chocolate.  Kevin chose the Spanish kind which was very thick. I had the "especial" which had flavor of caramel.  Anna opted for an Oreo malt to go with her churros.  This experience was definitely a highlight of our trip!

 Making the churros!

 Chorros and chocolate especial

 Going.

  Going.

  Gone.

 Happy boy.

Keeping our fingers crossed for a peaceful night of sleep and recovery!  If all goes well, we have a big final day planned tomorrow.