Roatan introduced us to Montezuma. Anyone else lately?

[Bay Island Diver]

At thanksgiving the weather sucked, the first major rain of the season, meaning all the nasty's fermenting around river streams over the summer got washed into the sea. This often causes a bout of ear infections but haven't known it to effect stomachs.

I was interested by the comments made regarding eating in the resort or established restaraunts - is there is a list of established retaraunts for Roatan? What makes these safer? do they source there food from different places.

Many of the 'established' restaraunts import a lot of their food all the way from the states (Miami), in order to be able to provide the same food here that people are used to eating back in the states, if you have ever seen the so called frozen produce arriving off those boats you will be very keen to find locally produced meats which haven't been frozen and defrosted an unknown number of times! I have to admit that is a bit of an exaggeration - the food from the states nearly always arrives perfect BUT there is a much risk from this supply as there is from local foods by the time it gets here.

The main problem is, any time you put a new type of food in your stomach it can cause upset, the food isn't bad it is just different. Trying a different type of food and eating in new places is one of the joys that makes travelling an adventure - don't miss out on it, the more you do it, the less your stomach will react!

The sources of food on Roatan have changed hugely in the last two years, along with demand, any problems that occurred back then are not still problems, the infractructure is significantly better in that regard, that doesn't mean there are not new problems though!

Back to the original posters problem - I bet it is linked with the rain causing problems in the water supply.

 

[NorthernShrinkage]

I can see it now 28 divers on the bottom performing the "Warhammer "

 

[undefined]

I know this thread is somewhat dated, but I could not help but bring it back to life based on the experience my wife and I had over our last two trips to Roatan. We both thought we got "Roatanned" when in fact it was not the food.

On our first trip I fell ill (runs and vomiting) on the first day, having only consumed food from the Atlanta Airport and a beer after arrival. I instinctively blamed the airport. I lost 36 hours to that illness, and two full days of diving.

On our last trip my wife fell ill the second day, after having eaten at the Argentinian Grill. We ate the same food ("Classic Filet Mignon"). While I miss the old chef, the food was still quite good. I did not suffer the same problem as she.

The issue, for us, was not Roatan. The issue was a mistake in our malarial prescription. Chloroquine can have some serious side effects, including the runs and nausea. Due to a mistake in the prescription, our doc had us on the treatment regimine not the preventative (preventative is 1 pill per week, starting one week before travel and ending 4 weeks after travel. treatment is 2 pills 1st day, followed by one pill each day for 10 days). Our illness came within 24 hours of taking our first DOUBLE dose of meds.

Before you jump to conclusions about the food or water, double check what meds you are taking. You can definitely get sick from the water (or anything else), but sometimes the cause comes from something other than microbial badguys

 

[Chaseh]

Everyone always says to avoid the ice, and that's probably decent advice, although many resorts use safe water and also safe ice.

A commonly overlooked culprit is often SALAD! 1. The vegitables are often infected with bacteria that we cannot easily stomach while they are still in the field. 2. If they are properly cleaned, that water used to clean them is not always safe, despite what the resorts may provide for drinking.

Cooked food usually bakes out the problems, but any raw or undercooked food can transport the offensive bacteria.

I try to get in decent shape before headed to the islands, but once I'm there, I skip the salads and look for the meats and sweets. They're safer if fully cooked.

 

[ScubaE]

Unfortunately I was part of the group that got sick. We have had a number of our group go to their doctor where lab cultures were done. It was officially Salmonella. Turns out that many from other groups also got sick that week. We know of two who were hospitalized. A few of the employees at the resort got sick also. It was definitely not the ice. The only common factor was the food from the kitchen where we ate, probably the Thanksgiving meal based on the timeline of the illness.

 

[H2Andy]

you need to understand that when you go to the third world, you are dealing with problems that no resort, no matter how good, can solve

that is part of the price of traveling to those areas

i was born in Cuba, so perhaps this has something to do with it, but i have never gotten tummy problems while visiting the Caribbean, including Roatan

but really ... this sort of problem should be an expected one for those who travel

realistically, it can't be done away with, though you can try

 

[Chaseh]

Always travel with Lomotil. Ask your Doc for a script. It's a must have in these settings.

Eat well cooked, preserved, and canned food. It might not be the best or the healthiest, but when I dive I just need to keep pounding enough calories to keep me in the water. I worry about eating right back home.