Travelling

When my wife and I travel in Canada, we take a full cooler of food and drinks, even just for a day trip because stopping at a restaurant is out of the question for me. When we stay at motels or hotels, we pick those with kitchenettes. When we stay with friends and family, we shop when we get to our destination for safe foods because we cannot assume our hosts will have organic and safe choices for me. Yes, preparing food and beverages that I can eat is more work, but we still get to travel and stay healthy.

Could I eat in a regular restaurant? Maybe, if I asked for plain meat, chicken, fish and rice – I’d skip the vegetables. I have trouble with regular pasta, fruit and vegetables that aren’t organic, so now I don’t trust it if we haven’t prepared it.  Plus, why would I pay full price for a meal that bland?

In February 2007 we went to the Dominican Republic for two weeks. Both of us were very nervous about what I was going to eat, so we took our own organic spices and tea to add flavors to the plain food I anticipated being on my plate. I thought I might be going on a much unneeded two-week diet.

We stayed at the Melia Caribe Tropical in Punta Cana, a 5-star all-inclusive. The first night we went to a buffet and I tentatively chose a few items. Throughout dinner my wife asked me how I felt, to which the answer was always the same “good.” Breakfast and lunch the next day were the same, much to our delight and surprise! (This is going to sound like a total endorsement for the Melia, which it is, because our experience was so positive.)

During the orientation meeting with the Air Transat tour company, the representative told us the chefs would work with us to prepare special meals for me, if that was what I required. That’s when we learned the rep was also sensitive to sulphites, but her reaction was hives. She said “I never have a problem outside of North America,” which surprised us and made us optimistic. She was also the first person I had met who had a sulphite reaction.

As each meal went on, and we tried the variety of restaurants at the resort, I grew more adventurous. After several days, we did meet with the management, but just let them know that I wasn’t having any difficulty. My wife was so relieved and happy she was almost in tears out of the gratitude she felt. The ability to not worry about me lifted a weight off her shoulders.

Out of the 11 places to eat at the huge Melia resort, I only had a negative reaction to the American themed restaurant, likely because they used sauces and spices authentic to the U.S., such as barbecue sauce and ketchup.

If anyone has sulphite sensitivities as severe as mine, you will understand the sense of freedom I felt being able to eat what other people prepared for two weeks, with little concern that it would make me sick. Plus, the food was all exceedingly good. We estimated each dinner (including alcohol, appetizers and dessert) every night would have cost us $150 (easily) here in Canada for the two of us, never mind the excellent breakfasts and lunches. If I’m quite generous in my praise of this place, it’s because both myself and my wife have experience working in the food industry.

(Now, traveller’s diarrhea is a separate problem, but if you’re eating a lot of unusual foods, drinking alcohol in excess and not washing your hands after handling all the utensils at a buffet, then you can expect and deserve to get Montezuma’s revenge.)