Sargasso and Shots

A little Sargasso

As you can see above, Sargasso has been really bad in Ambergris Caye lately. Below you will see more beach pictures and some Sargasso removal. San Pedro Town Council machinery has been busy loading and hauling the big piles made by the beach crews. Plus the “star” of the picture show at the end, a delightfully clean beach picture.

Now onto the shots!

I never liked the booze kind and I am equally not a fan of the ones you get in your arm or elsewhere, especially when the medication you are about to receive has been pushed through in record time. I can totally understand why a few of my friends are choosing to wait and see how things play out before making their vaccine decision.

I signed up right away and figured if something changed I could take myself off the list. As it turns out I barely had time to process the thought of changing my mind. The day I texted to see when I might be called, being over 50 with no comorbidities, I got a reply instantly telling me to show up at 1:00 pm to get my vaccination.

Little did I know the woman walking down the road ahead of me in the picture below was on her way to the same place. Thankfully we both ended up in the same strip of shade across from the Lion’s Den. After a few minutes, She turned my way and asked if I was looking for something in particular. I told her I was waiting for the vaccine appointments to start. Both of us were happy to confirm we were there for the same reason, it took the wondering out of the waiting.

Aside from the sporadic after-lunch traffic, the streets felt like a bit of a ghost town. There we were, staring across the road to an empty locked Lion’s Den, knowing that at any minute things were about to change and this quiet corner would become line up central.

I found it a touch ironic that there was definitely clustering in the vaccine line. To be fair the woman manning the door did start asking for people to maintain better distance after the first herd of us crowded in for our tests.

In all honesty, I did not totally want the AstraZeneca shot and I have very mixed emotions about the pharmaceutical industry. I do believe that it is important to take medication if you need it. However, I also believe the medical industry pushes drugs too much and that it is often more of a money grab than healing people. According to CNBC, Moderna and Pfizer are projecting their vaccines generating billions.

According to National Geographic, it generally takes 10-15 years to properly develop a vaccine. They also cited that the mumps vaccine was the fastest vaccine to be passed to date – 4 years. Read Full article: Here’s the latest on COVID-19 vaccines.

So, to go gangbusters and come up with Covid vaccines in less than a year definitely feels like a double-edged sword. On one hand, we desperately needed vaccines, on the other who knows what could result. I understand companies were given emergency authorization to speed up the process, but I cannot help feeling on the fence about it. I wonder what repercussions might that have? And I am not talking just about the side effects either.

A Canadian friend of mine called it way back – she was willing to bet it was going to be the “new flu” shot and it would be an annual money grab. A while later I saw on CNBC that they were already starting to talk about a 3rd booster shot and the possibility of annual jabs. Go figure.

“it’s wrong to think that a vaccine will be a flick-of-a-switch solution that saves the entire world at once. A vaccine may play a critical role in getting us back to normal, over time, but it will be a slow and layered process, which as you can see has many complications.” Bioethicist Ruth Faden

Vaccines were being given from 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm. The room quickly filled to capacity. Everything was very orderly and as we arrived we got an antibacterial spray shot and our social security cards taken. Then we sat down and waited till our names came up in the card stack.

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Things got rolling quickly and the intake questions table was moving at a good pace. The two girls manning the cell phones were very pleasant and efficient. Next, we got to sit front and center for our vaccine, which happened really fast.

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I was pleasantly surprised, had I not been taking a picture of the moment, I would not have known I got a needle. Yes, the nurse was that good at shots. Afterward, we went to a second smaller waiting area for 15 minutes. The girls did a great job of timing us, explaining the info page we were given, and finishing our paperwork.

By the time I did a 15 minute beach walk to my apartment in Boca del Rio, I was feeling a bit dizzy so I decided to have a light bite and go to bed. That progressed and stayed throughout the evening so I just quietly rested and napped when I could. My most unpleasant side effect was being woken up late at night by my own chattering teeth.

taco tip # 29 – I know a few of you prepared some food options in advance so that you had an easy recovery if you got symptoms. Don’t forget the drinks, add Pedialyte to your recovery list. You will find it very handy in case you experience mild to severe vaccine symptoms. I consider it a great household staple too, my fav flavor is coconut. A pedia/water mix is great if you are going on long tours or got too much sun and need a solid hydration and electrolyte boost.

In case you are wondering about my vaccine comfort foods. I opted for cooked chicken, soda crackers, sopa Pollo con fideos, limes, and some easily digestible vegetables. One thing I wished I had that I did not get was watermelon.

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Back to Sargasso

As you saw in the featured image, the Sargasso piles were crazy last week on my vaccination day. I walked the beach both ways and snapped off a few pictures for you. Then I went back to the same area several days later to show you what a great job they did at clearing the area.

Lots of guys tirelessly making long tall rows of Sargasso. Their backpacks were all lined up in the shade.

I could not even begin to make a guess on the number of truckloads that were collected on the beach road, let alone the rest of the island so far.

What a great job the sargasso cleaning crews did of making the beach road pretty again. Hopefully the next influx holds off a minute.