Awwww bummer! I got the Sayulita sickness on day 2 in town! What the heck?
I have read for years about the struggles Sayulita has had with its sanitation, or lack there of. Before a new sewer treatment plant was put in a couple of years ago, it was thought that all the the sickness was stemming from the raw sewage that would flow down the rivers directly into the ocean.
Alas, even after the new plant was in place, stories still overwhelm travel forums concerning the high level of gastrointestinal illness that plagues this town.
Research
I had done my research. I knew about the sickness. I had found accommodation that was a 10 to 15 minute walk outside of town in order to protect myself as best as I could.
Oh well, it was bound to happen I guess.
As I sit in my oasis away from the bustling life that is going on around me, I have been wracking my brain as to what the cause was. I did eat fish tacos, but the sickness came at the 40 hour mark, so not likely from that food. I had chilaquiles the next morning, but nothing in that meal was suspicious.
What is making me suspicious is the ground.
Let me explain
The first day I went for a long walk, up and down one main street two times. I was on a mission to stock my fridge with essentials in case something like this should happen.
While walking on this street, four man holes were open with crews climbing in and out of the sewer system with various hoses, tools etc. The streets were wet with brown water being emptied from some of these holes. I witnessed one worker, bailing out one hole with a plastic cup. Simply dipping the cup in the liquid and pouring it onto the street.
So not only was I breathing in the vapours from this, but it was also stuck to my shoes and everyone else’s.
The town is also extremely dusty and dry. Everything that is on the roads gets pummelled into a fine dust and when a vehicle drives by, the dust is ballooned up into the air and inhaled into our body.
My hunch is, I think the GI upset came from the air, dust and sewer, not from the food. Thankfully, ‘poop river’ or so it has been named by the locals and visitors for years, is dry as a Ritz cracker at the moment, so the ocean water should be relatively safe?
I have read of people after walking along the shoreline, coming back to their accommodation and rinsing their feet with bleach. While this may seem like a drastic move, if it keeps you from getting what I and thousands of other visitors have, it may just be worth it. I did bend down and touch a shell where poop river empties into the ocean, probably wasn’t wise.
What I had
Briefly, I succumbed to vomiting, the big D, sore muscles, extreme lethargy, tiredness and dizziness bordering on delusion.
Here’s hoping this is the only time I experience this in my visit to this lovely vibrant town.
