Why am I still in Rio?

Many of you have asked me or will be asking me this. There is no great story here. I’m sick :(
I came down with flu on my “Carnaval rest day” (Thursday), so my plans to get to Illa Grande before the weekend are out the window. It sucks to be sick!

However, I am well looked after. Adriana is taking good care of me, for which I am VERY grateful! I would hate to be stuck in a place where no-one understands me while I’m sick.

I am feeling better today, hence the blog updates, but not 100% yet. I’m hoping to be healthy by Monday and make a move.

Rule #4

I have this nasty habit of not eating at regular times. This might be due to my time as a Master’s student when losing yourself in your work is par for the course. So at about 11pm you realise that you haven’t had anything to eat since lunch. In Stellenbosch this wasn’t a problem as McDonald’s is open 24-7 and I had a car to get there quickly (hunger pains set in very quickly).

While travelling alone, this can be disastrous. When I get hungry, one of the first organs my body starts shutting down is my brain. I lose the ability to think rationally as survival mode kicks in. If I am in a strange place and don’t know where to get food, I end up walking for 30min before I find food. By this time I’ve gotten tired and walking is the last thing I want to do.

So Rule #4 is: Always keep your tank full. I’ve heard people mention this about vehicles travelling through places where fuel is scares. Even more true for the human body. If you’re hungry, you can’t enjoy anything. Eat regularly and keep some form of a snack handy!

Safe from the bed bugs

Until recently, my life has been consumed by tying up work work stuff and preparation for the Cape to Rio race. In the process I have realised that I still need to get my Yellow fever inoculation, which is a legal requirement to enter Brazil. So I went to get my Yellow fever inoculation today.

While at the Travel Clinic, I asked about the recommended inoculations as my adventure will most likely be taking me into some dodgy places. The inoculations that were recommended include: Hepatitis A & B, Cholera, Typhoid and Adesol Quadra (a combination of Polio, Tetanus, Diphtheria and Petasis vaccines). Usually these inoculations are administered over a period of time and I have left it a bit late. I seem to be following a pattern with my planning :) I asked a lot of questions while at the travel clinic, so I’ll put down the information about each inoculation:

• Yellow Fever:   This is a once-off shot. It needs to be taken at least 2 weeks before entering the area. A longer time is better, as side effects include head-aches and nausea for 7-10 days.
• Hepatitis A & B:   Unfortunately the Hep A & B inoculation can’t be completed in one appointment. So once I get back to Cape Town I’ll have to have to complete the three part course (I’m currently in East-London visiting family for Christmas). Usually the three shots are spaced about a month apart, which gives a much more potent inoculation. In my case I will be doing a 0-7-21 day accelerated schedule. This will give me decent protection for about 3 years.
• Cholera:   Two shots to complete the vaccination.
• Typhoid:   One shot
• The Adesol Quadra combines the vaccines mentioned above. This is only one shot.

I asked about anti-malaria medication. Apparently there are three variations (including cost).

• Doxycyclin (Doxymal):   Taken daily, affordable
• Mephliam:   Taken weekly, affordable, but not allowed to dive while taking it.
• Malenol:   Taken daily, expensive!

Since the strain of Malaria might be different from South Africa, I have to do some more research before I commit to one. I was actually thinking of getting the medication in South America.

For more reading, go to the Centre of Disease Control’s website.