Mali, West Africa (part one)
We left for Paris uneventfully. Though it was our first day of taking malaria pills.
After having had no vaccinations for about 30 years I opted for the full dose of everything. Which meant 10. Many shots and oral solutions later, I was ready to combat the elements. I have no doubt growing up in Texas in the 1960s and 70s had hardened my system to pesticides and questionable food sources, but I didn’t feel like wrecking this big trip by spending it doubled-over in some kind of obscure agony. We are armed with three means of purifying water, several types of antibiotics, a full on first-aid kit and our daily does of malaria pills, pro-biotics, neem and pepto-bismal.