August 10, 2015
I don’t think my stomach bug was that bad, compared to others’ I’ve heard about, but I will admit that being miserable in a tent far from home can make you quickly rethink your plans. I had a terrible headache all night, but my stomach started to calm down. For several hours, I kept thinking “I’m miserable. This wouldn’t be so bad if I were home on the couch, watching TV.” But I don’t have a home. Or a couch. This is it. Make the best of it.
By morning I was starting to feel human again. The thoughts of “What the hell was I thinking?” faded and things improved. I walked into town, found a restaurant and decided to try eating again.
Here’s a tip: if you don’t understand the menu, and you haven’t been feeling well, don’t guess at it. Use Google Translate first. I know “Huevos revueltos” is scrambled eggs. I didn’t know what “cecina” is, but it was listed as one of the choices of “carne” on the breakfast menu. Hmmm…doesn’t sound that far off from “tocino”, which is bacon. Okay, I’ll have that.
After it arrived and I took a bite of it, I googled it. “Cecina” translates to “dried meat”. Yeah, I got that part. Pretty obvious. What kind of meat was less obvious. And still is. But I’m pretty sure Tule is short one stray mutt today.
Ben and Emma left this morning after two months here. They are headed roughly the same direction I am, although at a slower pace, so I will probably catch them some time in the next week or two.
Amazingly my stomach survived breakfast, and I continued to slowly revive. Later Toby and Chloe brought bolsis. A bolsi is a frozen creamy fruit treat in a plastic bag. Seemed like a good test for the stomach. So far so good.
Bolsi Fresa
I wandered up towards the church to see the Arbol del Tule, the world’s widest tree. Truly spectacular.
The photo doesn’t do it justice. This tree is magnificent. Many of the branches are more than five feet wide, and the whole thing looks like something from a Hobbit movie.
Here’s the specs on the tree.
The trunk of this tree is over 47 feet in diameter, with a circumference of 137 feet. The next biggest tree is a giant Sequoia at 30 feet in diameter.
Continuing to heal and appetite returned, I walked back past a tienda looking for avocados. None. But next door was a seafood restaurant. So I sat down, pulled out my phone, fired up Google Translate (lesson learned) and took a look at the menu. Turns out the fried shrimp dinner was pretty good.
After speaking with Toby and Jason for a bit this afternoon, I’m ready to keep heading south.
After a side trip…