2024-01-22: punta cana

on christmas eve my partner and i and two of our friends got up at 3 am to catch a flight to punta cana in the dominican republic. it was...a long day. with the time zone shifts, we got into our resort at around 5 pm atlantic time. got settled in, had some supper, explored, relaxed.

we spent a week, most of us, roaming the resort, lounging by the pool, swimming in the ocean, reading book after book while sipping bottled water and presidente pilsners. just incredibly relaxing, and in some cases, given where i've always lived, unreal. palm trees exist? and geckos? etc.

and i say a week/most of us because i got sick, twice, on boxing day and last saturday. our flight home was sunday evening, so i was worried about, uhhh, you know, but my body thankfully gave me a reprieve before starting up again last night.

i got twinrix before we left, but my partner's doctor prescribed more for her: dukoral, and an anti-malarial, and others. i wish my doctor had prescribed dukoral for me; i might not have spent 30% of the trip in my air-conditioned room, hovering anxiously around the toilet, chugging bottled water to replace lost fluids.

and i'm lucky, because it was 'just' diarrhea (no vomiting, fever, etc), but i can't help but feel exhausted and a little bit cheated. i enjoyed the good days, but can't forget the bad ones. i'm sad i didn't get the vacation everyone else got. as i finish this entry i'm looking across the pond at the rooftops dusted with snow, and i'm just happy to be home.

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