Another day in Bahamas…
Breakfast today: corned beef and grits. With flies and a dog hanging about.
<grits pix>
Deciding whether to try extending my stay in Bahamas beyond Nassau, or carry on…
I'd forgotten some of the rigors of traveling… The difficulty in finding essentials like food, water, bathrooms… The sudden big decisions… The freedom!
A few restaurants around town advertise barracuda: "Eat at your own risk." Barracuda consume fish, accumulating a toxin from their reef food chain. The symptoms include reversal of hot and cold feelings, and more harmful symptoms, which can last for decades!
Just a few days ago, I was in the USA. Now I'm in a different country, having walked and taken boats over some distance… Looking back, how quickly things can turn!
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Ciguatera is a disease that you can get from eating fish such as barracuda. In Nassau, they advertised it as "eat at your own risk." The disease can last for twenty years!
Ciguatera poisoning is underrecognized and underreported; up to 50,000 cases occur globally every year. The incidence in travelers to highly endemic areas has been estimated as high as 3 per 100.
After recovering from ciguatera poisoning, patients may want to avoid any fish, nuts, alcohol, or caffeine for at least 6 months as they may cause a relapse in symptoms.