Food poisoning, parasites, salmonella, e-coli, Montezuma’s Revenge! Yikes! These are the things some people worry about before they come to Mexico. For travel to Zihuatanejo, and most parts of Mexico these days, there are simple ways to avoid these illnesses, so you can instead worry about how to order your next beer. My advice may not be foolproof, but I definitely have the world’s most sensitive stomach – my stomach is so sensitive that whenever I left California, even to go on my honeymoon in New Orleans and Savannah, I had tummy problems. (And it wasn’t because of the spicy food, because I’m always cooking from my Paul Prudhomme’s Cookbook!) However, after learning a few simple cautionary steps, I’ve managed to live happily in Zihua for the last several years without anything more serious than the occasional upset stomach.
Before you go: Before you leave for Mexico or any trip, make sure you stock up on acidophilus tablets, and start adding fresh yogurt to your daily diet. I recommend that you do this at least one week before you leave. While on your trip, eat yogurt at least once a day and keep taking the acidophilus tablets to keep the flora in your stomach strong.
When you arrive: All of the restaurants and hotels sell bottled water. If you ask for water, they will give you purified water, even if it comes in a glass. Feel free to confirm, if it does arrive in the glass, that it is indeed agua purificada, but it almost certainly is. Even the locals don’t drink the tap water, so that is not even a question. If you order drinks with ice in them, the ice will also be made of purified water. Some restaurants make their own ice, others have it delivered pre-made, but it is always made with purified water.
While you’re here: A lot of the activities on a Mexican vacation involve water: swimming, surfing, snorkeling, scuba diving, kayaking, showering, even brushing your teeth. The more you are exposed to different sources of water, the more chances you have to catch a bug. Do your best not to swallow the water during the water sports – I know that’s obvious, but try telling that to my 18-month old toddler! If you are here on a brief vacation, take extra steps and brush your teeth with bottled water. If you are moving here or are here for an extended vacation, it is best to build up a tolerance to anything in the water, so go ahead and brush your teeth with the tap water. We do at our house. You won’t necessarily get sick from brushing your teeth, it’s just another source of exposure.
Eating out: When we first moved here, I did manage to catch every bug under the sun. Then I developed some guidelines when eating out, and discovered that I felt a whole lot better. To start with, the restaurants we review on this site will not give you food poisoning (under normal circumstances anyway) and they follow accepted health guidelines. Generally speaking, any cooked foods will be okay in most places. For myself, I limited the places where I would eat raw fruit and vegetables to restaurants that I felt very confident about. If they don’t wash the fruit or vegetables properly, you could get sick if you eat them raw, so order wisely. My local doctor recommended against me eating raw fruit or vegetables from any of the street vendors or in the Mercado. However, many of my friends eat at just such places all the time and have no problems with their tummies.
Eating in: It’s just as easy to catch a tummy bug when eating in. It’s important to remember that all fruits and vegetables need to be washed with disinfectant drops. It’s not enough to just wash with the tap water, as that’s not a reliable source for clean water. The grocery stores and mercados always have stock of the different brands of disinfectant drops. As far as I can tell, all the brands are more or less the same: 10 drops per liter of water for 10 minutes and your fruit and veg are ready. As an added anal-retentive step, I also wash any fruit or vegetable that will be cut or peeled. If you don’t wash the melon, and you cut into it, any bacteria on the skin will just flow into the meat along with the knife. Also, be sure to cut strawberries in half before you soak them, as the space on the inside is a location for amoebas to hide. (You should also do this at home if your store-bought strawberries are imported.) Finally, be sure that when you buy canned foods, the tins are not dented or looking like they are about to burst. In the US and England, grocery stores won’t even consider trying to sell a can like that, but I’ve come across several instances in Mexico where the canned goods were obviously old, and obviously dangerous, but they were trying to sell them anyway. I tried to explain botulism to one person at the mercado, but he just pulled out a newer, less dented can. Regardless of the condition of the can, if you hear a hissing sound when you cut into it with the can opener, it’s best to just toss that out. Better safe than sorry.
Have fun: The most important thing is to just have fun on your trip. Exploring new parts of the world, or returning to old favorites is what makes life interesting. Try new foods and drinks, or just stick to old familiar favorites, whatever makes you comfortable. It’s possible to spend an entire trip in this region just eating hamburgers, pizza from Domino’s or sandwiches from Subway, if that’s what it takes to give you peace of mind. But remember, we are lucky to have numerous tasty restaurants with unique regional dishes that are worth checking out. I guess what I’m trying to say is: Eat, Drink and Be Merry!