Health

According to an international health guide, about 75% of tourists will experience some degree of traveler’s diarrhea within one month of being in Latin America. After three weeks of being in Mexico (and just one week after leaving our host family’s home cooking), Chris became a statistic. It was easily put to a halt though with a few bananas, Emergen-C, and flaxseed meal. Mia is still holding out on Montezuma’s revenge, but opted instead for a severe ear infection. The underwater summersaults while surfing left Mia with an ear full of sand and salt water. Despite a minor case of whiplash trying to shake the water out, the fluid festered in her ear for days until she lost the ability to hear completely out of that ear.

Before starting our journey, we had researched a number of different traveler’s health insurance options, most of which are fairly cheap and only cover catastrophic events like getting your head sewn back on or a helicopter evacuation. For all other minor ailments, you are on your own. To make our moms happy, we opted for the more expensive and more inclusive health insurance option – ihi Bupa of Denmark. The selling point for us was that each time we tried calling their customer service line, a live person answered within three rings and patiently answered all of our questions. Mia’s ear infection required two doctors and four different types of medicine for a grand total of $150. Bupa has assured us that they will reimburse us at 100%. Yeah healthcare.