Rocky Point's Revenge

Who remembers the movie Airplane with Chevy Chase? Did you have the chicken or the fish? Then the shit hits the fan and people start getting really sick on the plane...pilot included. If you haven't seen it check it out sometime.

Here at Rocky Point the question is who ate the salad?......and the answer is everyone. Last Friday night we had a going away party for two people who have been part of our family here since the middle of December. We planned a special meal followed by an evening of dancing that included Sufi, Bhangra, Bollywood etc. Several guests volunteered to prepare dishes so the whole meal was cooked by foreigners. It was primarily Indian and we had chick peas, potatoes, some steamed beets with their greens, a yogurt cucumber dish and a grated salad that was made with mixed veggies. We set the table beautifully and several people shared some blessings. The food was served and we were all excited for the evening.

I am not kidding when I say that it took less than 30 minutes for all of us to start dropping out of sight and crawl back to our rooms. Everyone who ate got sick. It was amazing how virulent the bacteria was. Explosive Diarrhea for 24 hours. Saturday was like a time warp. By Sunday most people felt okay but my energy is still lagging today (Monday) . I think that I lost like 10 pounds of water weight in no time.

After some investigative work it has been determined that the salad was the problem. Apparently it was made in the afternoon and left out. Whatever was in the salad had time to multiply exponentially until it hit our stomachs. An honest novice mistake that we will all remember for a long time. Just follow the local example and you'll stay healthy....but let the foreigners in the kitchen and watch out.

I think by tomorrow all will be be back to normal. Life in Sri Lanka continues with the No Problem pace and outlook. Thanks for reading the blog and I'll send more soon.

Cheers, Jake

Photos:

The first two shots are of Rocky Point. The next shot is our nice table before the onslaught and finally a local temple.