Food Poisoning to close out week one

We traveled on a semi-cama tour bus from Santiago to El Tabo, going from a busy city to a coastal town. We sprung for an Airbnb at Condominio Mirador a Isla Negra; a 3 bedroom, 2 bath, full kitchen, with heated pool, directly overlooking the roaring ocean. This was a definite upgrade from the four of us sharing a single hotel room.

The bus ride was relaxing. Sophie read, I took a nap, Emma and Rich chatted and watched the scenery change. Once we arrived at the tiny bus station in El Tabo, our rucksacks were unloaded, mine having been dipped in another passengers spilled juice…at least that’s what I want to believe it was. Now was the time to practice walking with our belongings. Google Maps said it was a 15 minute walk to the condo and I was reassured as we unmistakingly drove by the condo as we came into town; there aren’t any other towering buildings around.

Helping the girls get their packs on first was a breeze. Sophie is already a pro and Emma just isn’t interested, so after 30 seconds she released the waist clip and down the bag went. As much as this was frustrating, I was more concerned of her hurting herself by the weight disproportionally coming off of her body. We began our walk, finagling the bags as we went along. Emma carried the food bags, and Rich, Sophie, and I carried the rest. I had a feeling that Emma wasn’t going to actually be thrilled about carrying her belongings but know that she will be open to trying again. Her bag was previously owned by our friend Simon – knowing that he has had adventures with it has been very helpful!

We were greeted at the condo by our host’s mother. She was very sweet and laughed at the idea of us carrying our belongings on our backs. We explained that we have plans to do trekking in our future and wanted to get some practice in (clearly we need more! Also, we will be carrying less when we trek), she thought that was crazy too. Once she left, the girls argued over who was getting which room. I’m not sure how it actually got settled but Rich having a quiet conversation with Sophie had something to do with it.

The closest market was in Isla Negra, a 10 minute walk. The plan was to find a restaurant to eat a late lunch/early dinner, stop at the market, and then take a taxi back to the condo; easy enough. We found a restaurant with options other than seafood, the girls’ only request. We sat down, ordered our drinks and food (note: eating regularly is so important on any day but especially when traveling to help keep stress levels down!) and relaxed. Rich and Sophie shared a hamburger and fries, Emma had chicken nuggets and fries and I had a hamburger and fries a la pobré (with eggs and sautéed onions on top). The food was delicious! Rich commented, “you know one thing I love about Chile? They don’t even ask how to cook the meat, it’s all well done.”

Sophie and I ran to the panaderia for fresh bread and then the small market for supplies, while Rich and Emma picked out dessert to bring back to the condo, and paid la cuenta (the bill). When we got back to the condo we all snuggled up on the couch, shared the chocolate cherry cake, and before long headed to bed.

I’d like to say that the rest of the night was uneventful, but alas, I cannot. Sophie and I ran like clockwork beginning around 10pm and we were all so thankful for having two bathrooms. Rich really brought home the gold though – he was able to hold himself together long enough to take care of Sophie. Me, being a seasoned traveler with a sensitive stomach and having dealt with issues like this many times over, still whimpered calls of wanting my mommy. As Sophie and I settled down around 2am, Rich jumped into the spotlight. For those of you not reading between the lines, we were very, very, sick to our stomachs.

Week one, complete.