J&J Go South 2023 - Day 4 - Slow Down
On every trip we’ve ever taken there has always been a need to make adjustments as we go. In 2022 we had two trips that we cut short due to illness, in prior trips we’ve cut tours and other activities due to a myriad of factors. When we woke up this morning my stomach was killing me and I wasn’t feeling good at all. My Oura Ring said my body temperature was +4 degrees over normal, so pretty sure I had a low-grade fever as well. We had originally planned an all-day tour in Rio and when I woke up I knew that was in jeopardy. I gave it a few minutes but realized that I wasn’t going to make it. We contacted our tour company and let them know the situation and they couldn’t have been nicer about it asking if they could take us to the pharmacy, hospital, or a doctor. We knew it wasn’t that serious so we asked to reschedule for the next day and they were more than accommodating. Having done a lot of travel that is very rare for tour companies and we lucked out here.
Once we got the all-clear for the day we decided to make today a slow-down day. I fell asleep on Jenn thirty minutes later and slept for most of the morning watching TV with her on and off. When I started to feel a bit more lively in the afternoon we went to lay by the pool, Jenn had shrimp and fries with a Pina colada and I had a grilled cheese and fries. I wasn’t able to eat much but I needed to eat something. It probably wasn’t the easiest thing on my stomach but I was able to keep it down and was starting to feel slightly better.
We decided to go on our Rio quest for a Starbucks mug. Very similar to Sao Paulo though after four different Starbucks in Rio, we came up empty-handed. It seems like these mugs are going to be harder to come by than most other places we’ve traveled. The positive side is that we were able to take in more of Rio. When we waved the white flag and were dropped off at the hotel we went for a long walk up and down the Copacabana. It was a stunning day, you literally couldn’t ask for a more beautiful day to enjoy Rio. I can’t imagine what summer is like because even in the mid-70s by the beach in the afternoon was warm. It was nice to get some fresh air and enjoy being outside.
When we got back we decided to take it easy and keep it simple again tonight to make sure we were more than ready for tomorrow. We ordered room service at 5 PM. Jenn once again got the spaghetti with meat sauce and I had a chicken soup which hit the spot. For the rest of the evening, we watched a few episodes of Better Call Saul (season 6) and the new show on Netflix, Beef. By the time 9 PM rolled around, we turned off the TV and fell asleep hoping for a much better start to the day tomorrow.
