Re: [Paddlewise] Eating in third world eateries....

Of course, as you say... poorly stored food gets anyone local or visitor...
There are different serotypes however of things like E.coli that are not truly
pathogenic once you get "used" to it... and we all get some of that stuff in
our food (and water) .. only in small quantities hopefully.  That is the type
of bug that the locals are aclimated to... and the visitor will become
aclimated to in time...

Have fun....

Mike O.
  ----- Original Message -----
  From: Craig Jungers
  To: Michael Orchard
  Cc: PaddleWise_at_paddlewise.net
  Sent: Sunday, April 26, 2009 4:12 PM
  Subject: Re: Eating in third world eateries....


  On Sun, Apr 26, 2009 at 3:43 PM, Michael Orchard <mspadorchard_at_comcast.net>
wrote:


    Street vendors were one of the biggest problems, according to the speaker,
because the food is often cooked elsewhere, then transported and stored all
day in unsafe ways ... and sold hours later.



  Very true. One of the skill sets to traveling in foreign countries is to
learn to recognize the street vendors that are "most likely" safe and if they
are deep-frying their food in front of you (like fish-taco stands do in La
Paz, BCS, Mexico for instance) then that is very likely safe. You can also see
just how they are moving and storing any food prepared elsewhere if you look
around their stand. Since we were on a cruising sailboat we didn't spend
enough time in one place to get "acclimatized" although a physician advised us
that we were no more, or less, likely to get sick from poorly stored food than
a local. There are, however, some localized bacteria (particularly in the
water) that one can get "used to". We did lead "taco walking" tours in La Paz
for visiting yachties in which we showed them the places we had found to be
safe. No one, that I knew anyway, got sick on one of these.

  But in Rio de Janeiro, where I lived for a few years, no one I knew - local
or visitor - ever drank the water without first filtering it and then boiling
it for 15 minutes. Although, after a few months, I brushed my teeth with tap
water. Probably not all that smart. But here I am hale and hearty at age 66
and barely look 88. :)

  Craig Jungers
  Moses Lake, WA
  www.nwkayaking.net
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