They love me. And I mean LOVE. Way more than anyone else on my tour. Times ten.
I hate them.
I woke up a couple hours into my first night's sleep in Jordan, not due to the uncomfortable bed or mildewy shower, but to the mosquitoes buzzing around my room and biting me repeatedly. I did the unthinkable. I sprayed mosquito spray on my face and went back to sleep wondering how on earth a hotel could be in business without screens on it's windows. But then again, my shower was disgusting and there was a huge leak in my bathroom floor that puddled anytime I turned on the sink, shower or flushed the toilet... (EWW!)
Hotel Caravan, Amman Jordan
Not the worst hotel I've ever stayed in, but I definitely wouldn't recommend it either.
The next morning I had bites on my face, back, front, legs and arms. No less than 26 bites. In ONE night. Bad. This was going to be very, very bad. And it was. I'm not gonna lie. Every day brought more bites. Scabs from old bites accumulated. And eventually I stopped feeling the bites because my entire body became one giant itch-fest.
But.
I was to learn over the course of the next few days that even though the Mosquitoes are WRETCHED in the Middle East, the food-poisoning causing bacterium in food that is prepared badly or stored incorrectly is WAY WORSE.
That's right.
Food poisoning. Or, "The Curse of the Egyptians." (And yes, while I did indeed take with me a prescription for such an ailment, when I read the fine print, the prescription was an antibiotic which requires one to stay out of the sun. Hellllllloooooo!! I was in the freaking sunny desert! Not gonna happen!)
At which point I realized that despite the mozzies and constant viral stomach feeling and having to run to the bathroom all the time (which is always an adventure in the Middle East - word to the wise, carry your own Toilet Paper!) I was having the time of my life climbing mountains, making new friends, visiting ancient sites and trying new foods.
So here's to letting go and going with what life throws at you. Or maybe what you throw back (up) at it.
Cheers.
I loved this post! So vivid are the descriptions, I almost feel the buzz of the mosquitoes. I can relate to the mozzies - India gave me a new found respect for repellent so much in fact, that I no longer smelled of Dolce & Gabbana but of Repelex - the Indian brand of repellent. :) Keep writing these stories! They are fantastic!
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