If any of you get a chance to visit Xalapa, you might want to spend a night or two at the Hotel Limon. It’s in a great location, just up the hill from the Palacio Municipal, and the cathedral, and less than five minutes walk to the city’s main library and central square,with a wonderful lookout where you can see the city for miles around, surrounded by neighbouring mountains.

Within walking distance are art galleries, Xalapa’s main market, shops and restaurants of every description, and some lovely areas for strolling.

We stayed at Hotel Limon when we first came to Xalapa, before renting a house here.  Hotel Limon served as our base, for getting to know the city. a The first night we stayed in a huge, beautiful  room at the front  of the hotel, which had gorgeous tiling. However, there was too much noise from the street, so we moved to a smaller room which nevertheless was still quite lovely.

Some of the single rooms at the hotel are tiny, however if you get a room for two or three people, they are more spacious and it’s well worth the few extra dollars. The rooms surround a long narrow inner courtyard, which again has lovely tile work.

You can get a single room for $16, and a double room for $20 per night. For the quality, cleanliness and location it’s hard to beat the price of Hotel Limon.

There’s nothing like being on the road, and getting a bad case of the runs. It can happen in the most inconvenient places where there’s not a washroom in sight. Worse still it can completely bring your good times on holiday to a screeching halt. But I’ve found a cure that’s worked for me and my family, and it doesn’t involve taking drugs. Now I don’t worry about getting sick this way.

It’s not always been this way.  I have had countless cases of the runs in my travels in Asia, in the Caribbean and across Latin America. One particularly bad family experience, has engraved itself in my mind.  When my son Tonatiuh was one and a half years old, we traveled throughout Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras, visiting my husband’s family in Mexico, and then going on to see the pyramids, and sacred sites of these countries.

While in Acapulco, my son was hit by Moctezuma’s revenge. We tried all kinds of natural remedies, and when these didn’t work, prescription drugs. These didn’t have the desired effect either, and it took three days in hospital getting intravenous, before he was on the road to recovery. You can imagine how stressed out and worried I was as a mother.

But since I’ve discovered this natural remedy, I’ve never worried again.  First of all, it doesn’t involve avoiding all street food, or ice or the local tap water although you may want to be careful about these. Personally I love sampling local fare, eating at markets, and at street stalls. I do use bottled water, or boil my water, in Mexico and other places where the tap water is not safe to drink. But that’s about all.

The remedy I’ve discovered is organic oreganol oil.  It has lots of other uses too, and can be used when you get a cold or flu, with varying success. But whenever any of our family members has a case of Moctezuma’s revenge, taking a drop under the tongue every hour until the symptoms disappear, seems to work marvelously.  Usually a  drop or two will be enough.

Occasionally if I am eating somewhere, where I am suspicious of the food, I will take a drop along with my meal, but mostly not.  It’s a very strong oil and it can also kill off stomach bacteria of the good kind, so don’t go overboard. More is not better in this case.

Good quality organic oreganol oil is not cheap, but well worth investing in, both in saved doctor’s and drug fees, and in ensuring that you are able to relax and have a wonderful holiday.

A few words of caution, if for any reason your symptoms don’t go away within a few hours, or get worse; visit and get the advise of a doctor, or health professional. I’ve not found any natural remedies that work all of the time, in all situations, and I’m certainly not going to risk my family’s health or mine, by being too doctrinaire about anything. Neither should you!

So get a small bottle of oreganol oil for your next trip. Hopefully you won’t need it. But if you do, you’ll be glad you discovered a remedy for Moctezuma’s revenge.

Thinking about vacations and going somewhere you’ve never been?  As well as talking to friends and acquaintances who may have been there, it’s best to take along a good guidebook.

I highly advise you to pick up one of The Lonely Planet guidebooks.  I could rave on about them for hours. They are my traveler’s bible and have been for the last thirty years or so!

I backpacked across Asia, and Australia visiting visiting such countries, as Indonesia, Thailand, China, the Philippines and Tibet. I’ve traveled throughout Mexico, Honduras,  Guatemala, and Nicaragua, and to Argentina and Brazil. I have never been disappointed with their guides, and found them a godsend, especially when I have been traveling on my own, with no prior knowledge of the country and on a low budget.

The Lonely Planet series provide an excellent source of reliable information on almost any  destination around the world. They have great introductions to the culture, history and language of each country or region they cover, and provide extensive information on hotel, restaurant, and transport options at all price ranges.  As well they are compact in size, and so easy to carry on your adventures.

They are even a good idea for stay-at-home vacations, or for learning about your own country’s or city’s special places and fun, adventurous things to do. And did I mention they also have great pictures!