The trip to Oaxaca and Mexico city is almost upon us , 6 nights Oaxaca 3 night Mexico city! There are not many gaps in the itinerary but if anyone has any gems that we should consider I would love to hear them. I have used many suggestions already but you never know !!

topping

One more- health wise starting eating yogurt now. Once you get there drink two yogurt drinks a day actimiel or yakult are a couple of brand names. They are availible all over the place. Just make sure they have live cultures in them. This seems to help keep me from getting any stomach problems while in Mexico. I started doing this in OAX about 10 years ago and have had no real problems since. Plus they taste good anyway, try the nuez.

Not at all difficult, we are yogurt people !! And of course an alcoholic night cap !!!

I think a little mezcal is a good thing, I sure enjoy wandering around around Oaxaca at night and having a sip here and there. Enjoy your trip- I bet you will want to go back as soon as you get home.

Definitely go see the "Ballet Folklorico" in Mexico City. Lasso dancers, flamenco dancers...it's so festive. http://balletamalia.com/
Expensive but worth it.

Also check out Chapultepec Park and the Frida Kahlo/Diego Rivera paintings at (I think) the Zocalo.

In line with Dude's medical advice, I always make it a point to snap my fingers rapidly while traveling in Mexico.

An old shaman gave me this tip years ago. He said it keeps jaguars away.

By golly, it works!

Good one !!! In Australia if you wear something yellow on your head rabid wallabies won't attack ! And is it true that as long as you eat the worm mezcal won't give you a hangover !!

I hope everyone will support my new

film project, "Americans and Their

Bowels in Mexico."

I wouldn't discount the shamans advice. I might, however, add that my comments above are supported by both research and personal experience. As far as mezcal I don't think the worm will help with a hangover. But, along with the worm, I would try a taste of some of the various flavored mezcales, e.g. mezcal de alacran (scorpion), those flaovered with herbs, etc. I think I would skip the one with the raw chicken breast in it however-

there is a restuarant on top of the hill overlooking the Oxaca valley that has an incredible view. You need to go up there for dinner but make sure you have a least an hour of daylight so you can see all of the city and surrounding area. Beautiful view. I can't remember the name but probably the cab drivers know.

Dude

I appreciate what you and many others say, but to my way of thinking, the interaction of water, food, climate, time changes, etc. with the flora of individual tummies is about as close to thoroughly unpredictable as one can get.

While I don't imagine yogurt would harm many people, I will still counsel that no one imagine it will bulletproof
any travelers.

After 35 years, man and boy, in Mexico I still exercise reasonable caution and see a doctor if and when I must. I have never needed to see one although my wife had to a single time and so did a colleague. The local doc put them right within a day.

I would not start to think there is anything one can do to bullet proof oneself. I am all for hedging my bets, however.

A can not imagine going to Mexico City & not seeing Templo Major, the Pyramids at Teotihucan or the Mueso de Athropolologia which is of Smithsonian Quality!.

The NIH says:

"Lactobacillus preparations and yogurt have also been advocated, but no evidence supports these treatments for TD." (Travelers Diarrhea)

http://consensus.nih.gov/1985/1985Tr...hea048html.htm

From an article by Catherine Rauch:
In a study published in the November 1999 Journal of Pediatrics, investigators at the University of Nebraska gave capsules of the bacterium Lactobacillus GG to approximately 100 children taking antibiotics for a variety of bacterial illnesses... Another 100 or so took a placebo. Twenty-five of the children on the placebo got diarrhea during the course of their antibiotic treatment, compared to just seven taking the Lactobacillus GG. In addition to easing discomfort, the treatment has the potential to reduce the number of days children must stay home from school, concluded Jon Vanderhoof, M.D., the study's primary author.
I imagine we can spend significant time disputing each other's findings via our our indvidual research. Like all things medical there will be different opinons. I was trying to offer a suggestion that I have found helpful. I'm done on this one.

Definitely, see the Mueso de Athropolologia. It's near Chapultepek Park. The Aztec Sun Disk (calendar) is there along with lots of other Mayan, Aztec, and Olmec artifacts.

Dude,

Apparently a 100-subject study isn't enough to sway the NIH.

I don't mean to rattle anyone's chain, but I have worked and traveled in Mexico 35 years and many other rural areas including the Andes and China.

From that perspective, it troubles me to see Americans very confidently counseling self-medication for others.

The ramifications can be serious.

I simply think Forum Posters should tell people to see their personal physicians before leaving (if they are apprehensive), eat and drink with wisdom while abroad, and consult a local physician if they become ill.

poppa - for someone who chides Americans for being "bowel-obsessive' when visiting Mexico - you yourself seem to be rather "bowel-focused" also (grin)

speaking of Paxaca - I emailed Illiana at El Naranjo for her pecan-chipotle soup recipe, which she sent and turned out wonderful - though she wouldn't send me her pate recipe, which is incredible.

http://www.elnaranjo.com.mx/