Your health is everything

You've heard it before,  you'll hear it again, and I'm here to add my two cents.  "Without your health, you have nothing"

We had a good sleep in the hotel in Bali, then grabbed our bags and headed back towards the airport to catch the 7 am flight to Manado. On the way we were walking on a shiny tiled corridor and trying to figure out which way to go. I was looking ahead, trying to read the sign by the next doorway and I didn't see the puddle of water.  I stepped right in it.  My feet instantly flew up and my butt crashed down. 

This is the second time I've fallen this year! And it's only February! 

I could get up and walk.  I was OK. But the fall definitely aggravated my already fragile knee, and it added a bruised hip. I determined to wear the knee brace I brought for an extra precaution.  

Our flight had an unscheduled change of planes in Makassar. While limping thru the terminal, you can bet that I scoured the floor ahead of me looking for any sign of slipperiness. And, I made Jim carry my little back pack for me.  

We made it to Manado in due time, as did our luggage, and a driver was there to meet us and take us to Thalassa resort. We were greeted with hearty smiles and escorted directly to a dining room because they figured we would be hungry.  Jim took one sip of water and had a strange look on his face.  There was nothing wrong with the water, but there seemed to be something wrong with him.  

The porch at our room in the jungle - Thalassa Dive Resort

We came here because Mom dove with Thalassa divers a couple times and made a video about her favorite tree in the world. That tree is no longer there, so I picked another and left some of her ashes there.

Mom's (new) Tree

We ate a little of the delicious food they offered but we actually weren't very hungry even though it had been more than 12 hours since we had eaten.  

Our room was down the hill.  I took it very, very slowly. I made it. As soon as we settled into our room,  Jim took over the bathroom and I heard all sorts of nasty sounds.  For the next 12 hours he was quite violently sick.  

So there we were, in the middle of the Indonesian jungle,  I could barely walk and he couldn't get far away from a toilet.  Why are we doing this? Why didn't we just stay in our comfortable home? What if he is really sick? What if I really can't walk? What will we do? 

Well, we made it thru the night. Jim still didn't feel well but the time between toilet visits was getting longer. I still couldn't walk well but, with the aid of the brace, and taking it slow, I could make it back up the hill to the dining room and had a little breakfast.  Jim didn't eat, and we went back to bed. 

I'm sure glad we had this extra day in advance to recuperate. By the time our ride showed up to take us to the dive resort, we were feeling nearly human. 

That was scary. It hit hard how important staying healthy is when you're traveling. Also I felt really bad that we didn't show up much because the resort staff and management were sooo nice. They wanted us to have a good time even though we were only there for one night. 

If you want luxury in the jungle - this is your place