Tuesday, January 19
Sunday, January 17
Sick
Well, it finally happened. First Nicholas and then me. The dreaded yet somehow inevitable, "if you go to Mexico you'll get sick" event. It began on Monday night for Nicholas. The most puzzling thing is that I did not succumb until Thursday afternoon, and was in fact entirely strong and healthy for several days while he lay suffering.
The cause of our misery will probably remain undiscovered. We ate the same dinner together on Monday night, neither of us has consumed any local unpurified water, and we have been very careful with our dishes, toothbrushes, etc. Yet I do think it is inevitable. Nearly everyone who has moved here or has spent a significant time here has a story of it: the body's purge.
And it isn't like ordinary food poisoning where you suffer for 24 hours and then its over. I was acutely ill for a solid forty-eight hours, beginning Thursday afternoon and lifting sometime Saturday afternoon. And even now, Sunday, I am not exactly strong and happy. Re-introducing food is hard on the body when it has emptied itself and remained empty for 2 days.
One of the hardest factors was that I was forced to forgo my nornal pot of coffee in the morning for two mornings in a row! So I was grouchy and lethargic in addition to being weak and nauseous. In other words, don't you all just wish you were here to join in the fun!
Nicholas' recovery was even longer, he fell ill on Monday night and was only really eating again Saturday, when I watched him eat two avocados and a seemingly entire loaf of bread (which was awfully challenging in my state of not-quite-recovery!) But it was a very good sign that we was finally getting his strength and appetite back. After he did that, he said "I'm still hungry!!" I said "Groan!"
The great news is that the dogs don't have whatever it was that we humans had. Carrie was very worried and anxious for me as I lay unmoving in the van for 36 hours, and she basically refused to eat for the same period of time (perhaps she just wanted to commiserate!) But Robert and Joe ate like champions and show no signs of illness. Carrie is tired after all that worry so I took her to the beach yesterday afternoon in an effort to show her that all was going to be okay. She seemed skeptical but relieved too.
After I walked the dogs for a little while, I laid my towel down on the sand, with a cool breeze and partial shade, and lay down where I could see the ocean. I felt the warm sand beneath my tired body as I rested and it occurred to me that I have always feared getting sick when away from home. But really, of all the times that I have been sick, this has to be one of the best locations. When the first pangs of stomach pain were hitting me on Thursday night, I pulled my mattress out of the van and lay down staring up at the palm trees. Darkness was falling, Nicholas knew what was happening to me to he took care of the dogs, their dinner and walks, and he also prepared the van for me to sleep in (we had both been sleeping in our tents closer the ocean). I continued to lie there (pretty much groaning and eventually getting sick in the bushes) as darkness fell, and, despite the onset of this illness, I was enjoying my surroundings. I don't have a picture of the palms with the stars in the night sky, but here is one from the daytime:
I lay there and watched the palms swaying gently and heard the birds singing and I was warm and my world was okay in the ways that really mattered. As darkness fell, the stars came out brilliantly and clearly. As my body began to purge itself of everything, I remained conscious of this place and its wild beauty and continued to be grateful that this was a temporary fate, that it would pass, and that I was nearly always healthy and happy. There have been days, many days sadly, when this was not the case. But those days are behind me and I will accept an occasional case of food poisoning, or whatever this was, if only to remember how miserable it is to feel that way.
Here are some more pictures of Sayulita and our magical campground:
We now have piles of laundry, not much food, lots of Gatorade and water, and no pictures yet of the two of us surfing! (I assure you, we really really have both been surfing! Many times in fact!)
We are planning on leaving Tuesday, destination Belize, in order to meet the wonderful friends Jeff and Steve who will meet us there for SCUBA and fun. If we leave on Tuesday the 19th we will have 10 days to reach Belize by the time the guys arrive from Boston. In the meantime, we are continuing to recover, eat, drink, and will be prioritizing surfing pictures before we depart this wonderful surf spot!
Hasta luego amigos!!!
The cause of our misery will probably remain undiscovered. We ate the same dinner together on Monday night, neither of us has consumed any local unpurified water, and we have been very careful with our dishes, toothbrushes, etc. Yet I do think it is inevitable. Nearly everyone who has moved here or has spent a significant time here has a story of it: the body's purge.
And it isn't like ordinary food poisoning where you suffer for 24 hours and then its over. I was acutely ill for a solid forty-eight hours, beginning Thursday afternoon and lifting sometime Saturday afternoon. And even now, Sunday, I am not exactly strong and happy. Re-introducing food is hard on the body when it has emptied itself and remained empty for 2 days.
One of the hardest factors was that I was forced to forgo my nornal pot of coffee in the morning for two mornings in a row! So I was grouchy and lethargic in addition to being weak and nauseous. In other words, don't you all just wish you were here to join in the fun!
Nicholas' recovery was even longer, he fell ill on Monday night and was only really eating again Saturday, when I watched him eat two avocados and a seemingly entire loaf of bread (which was awfully challenging in my state of not-quite-recovery!) But it was a very good sign that we was finally getting his strength and appetite back. After he did that, he said "I'm still hungry!!" I said "Groan!"
The great news is that the dogs don't have whatever it was that we humans had. Carrie was very worried and anxious for me as I lay unmoving in the van for 36 hours, and she basically refused to eat for the same period of time (perhaps she just wanted to commiserate!) But Robert and Joe ate like champions and show no signs of illness. Carrie is tired after all that worry so I took her to the beach yesterday afternoon in an effort to show her that all was going to be okay. She seemed skeptical but relieved too.
After I walked the dogs for a little while, I laid my towel down on the sand, with a cool breeze and partial shade, and lay down where I could see the ocean. I felt the warm sand beneath my tired body as I rested and it occurred to me that I have always feared getting sick when away from home. But really, of all the times that I have been sick, this has to be one of the best locations. When the first pangs of stomach pain were hitting me on Thursday night, I pulled my mattress out of the van and lay down staring up at the palm trees. Darkness was falling, Nicholas knew what was happening to me to he took care of the dogs, their dinner and walks, and he also prepared the van for me to sleep in (we had both been sleeping in our tents closer the ocean). I continued to lie there (pretty much groaning and eventually getting sick in the bushes) as darkness fell, and, despite the onset of this illness, I was enjoying my surroundings. I don't have a picture of the palms with the stars in the night sky, but here is one from the daytime:
Here are some more pictures of Sayulita and our magical campground:
We are planning on leaving Tuesday, destination Belize, in order to meet the wonderful friends Jeff and Steve who will meet us there for SCUBA and fun. If we leave on Tuesday the 19th we will have 10 days to reach Belize by the time the guys arrive from Boston. In the meantime, we are continuing to recover, eat, drink, and will be prioritizing surfing pictures before we depart this wonderful surf spot!
Hasta luego amigos!!!
Wednesday, January 13
New Year, New Adventures
I have been derelict in my posting of late... Sayulita is such a wonderful place and I have been busy enjoying the living here. The people are outgoing, many speak English but I am able to practice my Spanish often. A big swell came in on Saturday night, January 10th or so, and the waves have been BIG ever since. Too big for me in fact, though I have been able to stand up on the whitewash at the end of the beach where the waves are the smallest.
Looking back at some photos of the trip, I remember the tranquil beach where we spent the new year.
North of Mazatlan we discovered a small beach called Marmol, I already wrote about it in a previous post, about our difficulties there in getting to the surf spot. Here are some pictures of the roads we found to get out there:
We spent the new year and several days before and after in this lovely spot, basically until we ran out of drinking water. Here are a few more reasons why!
Hasta luego amigos!!
Looking back at some photos of the trip, I remember the tranquil beach where we spent the new year.
North of Mazatlan we discovered a small beach called Marmol, I already wrote about it in a previous post, about our difficulties there in getting to the surf spot. Here are some pictures of the roads we found to get out there:
The town of Marmol was small and very pretty. Unlike some places in Mexico, it was very clean with little garbage littering the streets.
Here are some images from Marmol towncenter:
The beach where we camped (which is different from the location of our terrible surfing attempt!) was so beautiful. On approach, the land just opens up to the sea, the cliffs rise out of the water on the right, and to the left the beach stretches out as far as you can see, with the shapes of Mazatlan barely visible in the distance.
Joe, Carrie, Robert and I enjoyed many walks on this beautiful beach during low tide (when the tide was high, the beach was totally underwater and the only dry land were small rocks.
In the evening, we had some visitors migrate past our camping spot. Other than these folks, we had the place all to ourselves for several days of peace and quiet (except of course, for the ever speaking sea!)
We spent the new year and several days before and after in this lovely spot, basically until we ran out of drinking water. Here are a few more reasons why!
Wednesday, January 6
Chacala and the first few days in Sayulita
Hola from warm, humid, sunny Mexico!
The last few days have seen lots of great times. We are in Sayulita, a wonderful little town which was my first introduction to Mexico nearly a year ago. I fell in love with it and it is now my third time here within 12 months. I can surf right here and we are staying in an oceanfront campground right in town. The dogs are enjoying walks on the beach in the morning, followed by a graceful and lazy breakfast:
Here is a picture taken from the north end of the beach in the evening light, looking back towards town:
Joe is a bit warm, but he enjoys the walks in the morning before it is too hot. Carrie and Robert love it all day long. Here is a picture of Robert sleeping one morning with the light just entering the van:
I am pleased to report that I have been able to plant my two feet on my Robert August board! The wax is nice and grippy, the board is forgiving and terrific. Now all I need to do is catch the right wave at the right time and I think my chances are good for staying on my feet for more than a few moments!
Before we came to Sayulita we stopped for the night in a very small town just north of here called Chacala. We got there just before dark and parked beneath coconut palms, being careful to place the van where it would not get beamed my a falling coconut in the night!
Here is a picture taken the next morning of our spot:
I enjoyed a calm walk around town and saw some really beautiful homes and the local little church. Here are pictures of the beautiful little church:
From the outside, front:
The creche left over from Christmas:
I continued walking, saw some pretty homes:
The last few days have seen lots of great times. We are in Sayulita, a wonderful little town which was my first introduction to Mexico nearly a year ago. I fell in love with it and it is now my third time here within 12 months. I can surf right here and we are staying in an oceanfront campground right in town. The dogs are enjoying walks on the beach in the morning, followed by a graceful and lazy breakfast:
Before we came to Sayulita we stopped for the night in a very small town just north of here called Chacala. We got there just before dark and parked beneath coconut palms, being careful to place the van where it would not get beamed my a falling coconut in the night!
Here is a picture taken the next morning of our spot:
From the outside, front:
And inside:
A lizard on the outside of the stained glass window!
I continued walking, saw some pretty homes:
This piece of property has a breathtaking view, but I couldn't see past the lovely gate!
Here are some pics from just walking around town:
The people were all really friendly and nice. I saw these baby chicks with their mama near the church:
And here is a colorful path I took...:
...back to the beach:
Check out the bird caught mid flight by my iPhone!! Wow.
Lovely little town if you are ever just looking to hang.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
