Panama City: Day & Night 4 PLUS What NOT to eat/drink when traveling

Cafe: I can't say enough about the little coffee shop near my hotel, Mentiratas Blancas. I have gone here every day I've been in Panama City, sometimes twice. Nice baristas who make perfect cappuccinos, cool crowd, delicious baked goods, whether empanadas or cakes or quiche. It's been a lovely refuge when I just want to work on my computer. High fives, only when you tip, but I've been doing that regularly since I'm spending hours in there and I used to work behind a counter with a (sometimes) neglected tip jar.

Bar: I had a Tinder date last night again. Sergio. He suggested the bar ITSMO Brew Pub, which happened to be right around the corner from my hotel OR so I thought. Turns our there are two of them, something I did not realize for 30 minutes. I was right on time and Sergio was going to be a few minutes late, so I just told him I had arrived, put my phone on modo avión because it was dying, and got wrapped up playing a game of pool with one of the bartenders, who happened to be one of those players who is so good at pool that he can line up your next shot and still make his in, making for a fun game. Sorry Sergio! Eventually he came and found me and we had fun and I got some Spanish practice in, though his English was near perfect. Out of the four house brews to choose from, I had 4(?) of the ITSMO Colón cervezas, a lager. Then Sergio wanted me to try a wheat beer which I honestly am not into, but I wanted to keep the conversation going and my motto is eat anything that's put in front of you. EXCEPT, which brings me to my next point, because people have been asking me what I'm avoiding and thankfully, I think my days of getting sick in foreign countries are behind me, and I am well versed and super cautious.

How to avoid getting sick aka what NOT to eat in Latin America/Middle East/China/Thailand/any developing country:

- ICE and obviously, water that isn't bottled. No smoothies, no ice in your drinks. Coffee and tea are fine, because that water has been boiled.

- Uncooked fruit & vegetables. No salads whatsoever.

- Fish (maybe this is just me, but if it's happened to me, why take chances?)

That's basically it. Simple!

Tips:

- You won't get sick right away. It takes time, more than days even - I drank water in Marrakech for 4 days because I got sick on my flight to Paris, where I was sick for about 3 days.

- Always think about the INGREDIENTS in the foods you're eating. Maybe it's a taco and most of it is fine but there's some shredded lettuce = lurking bacteria.

- I like to avoid anything with even the most remote possibility of bacteria, so I also avoid all fish, cooked or un-cooked.

- I do however brush my teeth with the water. I have just never had a problem with it whereas cooked fish, I have (in Istanbul).

- But water is #1. ICE particularly because it's easier to forget. Even if your hotel says that water is safe for Westerners, it is not. That has also happened to me (Marrakech).

- Iodine drops! I learned this on Outward Bound. If you are really opposed to buying gallons of water, or find yourself in a place where you can't find any bottled water, have some iodine drops on you and you can purify even brown muddy dirty water and make it OK to drink. I've done it! Just google the % dilution levels, how many drops, etc because too much can really hurt you, maybe kill you? I don't know, not a doctor.

- One of my former doctors told me he brings a bunch of Pepto Bismal traveling and just eats it like candy. I hate Pepto Bismal and have never done this, but the internet does say it can help prevent - not just treat - some sickness, so fyi.

If OOPS! You just totally drank a smoothie, or gulped some tap water, I would honestly make yourself throw it up right away. I don't know if it'll work, but that's what I would do.

If you do get sick, though, it's more of a pain in the ass than anything else. Just discomfort. If you can't keep any water down, long enough to be dangerous (12 hours? I'm not a doctor, trust yourself), just find a medical clinic, get a prescription for an antibiotic, and then go to a pharmacy and get it. You could also get an antibiotic ahead of time, just in case, but don't, because you will be fine. This happened to me in Paris from "safe for westerners" water I had been drinking in Morocco as an inexperienced college student. I was doing everything you're supposed to do, taking one tiny sip of water, every 15-20 minutes, and after 3-4 hours, I still couldn't keep even that down. I got a pill from the pharmacy. I was better by the next morning.

This meal I'm about to eat right now has a good example of some decisions I will have to make to avoid getting sick. My only drink is in my own water bottle. I won't touch the side salad. Everything else, including the side of fried plaintain, is fine because I can tell it was cooked.

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