Abrams Family World Travel

World Travel: Surviving Motion Sickness

I'M not the worst in our family for motion sickness. I recall years ago, when on holiday in Mauritius on a deep-sea fishing trip (my pre-vegan days), being sick the entire time (about six hours). And as a kid, when we used to take family trips through Europe, I'd often have my head hanging out of the window of my dad's Renault 16 (especially on winding roads) or whatever model he had at the time.

But Zenchai's in a different league. He'll get sick if we go over a speed bump! No, I'm exagerating the point, but the little guy is terribly sensitive to motion sickness. He's okay on city buses, trains, quad bikes and Indian/Thai tuk-tuks, but fast taxis, bumpy aeroplane rides, rough ferry crossings and long-distance coaches in particular have his little guts stewing.

What prompted this blog was our trip down from Auckland to beautiful Napier by coach on New Year's Day. I thought it was a relatively smooth one, but not Zenchai. 

About two hours into the journey, after he'd chowed down a few peanut butter sandwiches (not the Stig sandwiches he's pictured with above) for breakfast, he started to feel ill. 

I noticed the signs - the frequent yawning. But we didn't react fast enough. Zenchai complained he wasn't feeling well. Jamie, sat in front of us with Kobra, started searching for a bag and then handed it to me. I tried getting it open. But it was too late. As I fumbled trying to find the bag opening, Zenchai projectile vommited all over himself and me. Yuck!

Then something amazing happened. An Australian passenger travelling alone (a man and father of two teenage boys) quickly dashed to the rescue and offered his help!

Armed with a bag of baby wipes, I accepted his assistance (of course) and handed them to him. Between us, we managed to mop up most of the sick. 

We've been through this scenario before, especially when in Ecuador, where the roads are winding and the drivers handle them like maniacs.

So armed with some experience, here are our tips for surviving motion sickness with children.

1. Don't read.

2. Get fresh air (if possible).

3. Watch the road and get a seat near the front if on a coach or bus.

4. Get your child to sleep if he or she can.

5. Travel on an empty stomach (which is contrary to a lot of advice, but just my experience). If you must eat, try potato chips (we don't usually eat them, but they apparently work for those with sensitive guts and we tried it recently on Zenchai - with success)

6. Carry extra clothing.

7. Make sure you have sick bags.

8. Take baby wipes or something to clean up a mess with.

After Zenchai had emptied the contents of his belly, he was pretty much okay. He at least survived the remaining three hours on the road, though Kobra had her turn and spat up all over Jamie, who isn't a great coach traveller either.

But don't let all of this put you off embarking on long travels with your children. After all, if we can survive then surely anyone can. 

 

Montañita: The good, the bad and the mucky

This is a real surfer’s village with fit, scantily-clad young men and women/girls casually walking through the muddy streets barefooted. 

Zenchai felt so proud to take off his shoes and socks as he made his way around. 

There’s an abundance of hostals – seems every other building is one – restaurants and bars. The beach is long, sandy and pretty clean, the waves impressive and the water inviting. Beware the immensely strong undercurrent, though. Make sure children play only in the shallow water. 

Contrary to what you may have read, Montañita is suitable for families. It does get loud at night – where in Ecuador isn’t? – but make sure you stay away from the hub of the village for a quietish night. 

The trip to Montañita from Guayaquil, on a luxury bus, is inexpensive (around $5.50 per person) and smooth. It takes around 3 ½ hours. As soon as you arrive expect to be mobbed by muscular locals offering to carry your luggage to a hostal (presumably to collect a reward). There are good and bad ones. Do your research and try to book in advance, though this can be tricky as some don’t have email or internet and, as we found, failed to even answer the phone. 

We stayed at Hostal Kundalini, which looked brilliant on their sophisticated, multi-lingual website. None of the staff spoke English, which wasn’t so much a problem as them not being particularly friendly or amenable. 

As we’ve found on numerous occasions, what’s on the label often isn’t in the tin. There was no hot water and on the first night a power failure meant no electricity or wifi. Breakfast at Kundalini was basic and there’s no choice – it’s scrambled eggs on toast with tea or coffee. We, therefore, ate out, which didn’t seem fair given breakfast was included in the price. We also didn’t like the fact that Kundalini charged $8 per night for Zenchai, who’s still only three (if only for a few more days). 

However, Kundalini is quieter than most other hostals (if you get the right neighbour). Instead of listening to holiday-makers and surfers in town, you get the sound of crashing waves (that are almost on your doorstep). I know which I’d prefer. 

In terms of eating out, there is plenty of choice and the prices vary also. For vegans there are two vegetarian restaurants in town and several other establishments offered vegetarian options. We ate at a nice vegetarian restaurant (with ample vegan dishes) that provided a two-course meal for three people at $9. At some places we paid twice that amount. 

Abrams Family Travel Tips: Make sure you have enough cash or a credit card as there isn’t a bank (but there is a cash machine). If it rains be prepared for a mudbath – the roads aren’t good and the place gets flooded and immensely mucky quickly. For that reason, avoid bringing luggage on wheels and, if you do, have the type of bag that can easily double as a backpack.

The Road to Guayaquil

Dense fog, winding mountain roads, landslides, daredevil drivers…your life feels out of your hands when you take a journey by road in Ecuador.

Drivers, be they in charge of buses, taxis, lorries or cars, don’t think twice about taking risks, often overtaking on blind bends and two or three vehicles at a time.

Be prepared for delays. We were held up an hour at the entrance to El Cajas national park, where they were relaying the road surface, and just outside of Guayaquil, where a bus had crashed off the road.

Poor Zenchai had suffered badly with motion sickness on the way from Loja to Cuenca, so we looked for an alternative to buses when travelling to Guayaquil on the beginning of our trek towards the Ruta de la Sol (Route of the Sun) along the coast.

We found a reasonable solution in Elmoctour, a people-carrier firm based on Av Remigio Crespo 3-54 (Tel: 2455326) in Cuenca. They charged $12 per person for the four-hour journey (we gave the driver an additional $5 for taking us straight to our hotel).

Zenchai slept more than half the trip, thankfully during the mountain phase where sometimes visibility was practically a hair-raising zero.

By the time he woke up, the vegetation had changed dramatically, the air felt muggier and the temperature had risen. 

We were in Guayaquil.

Of course, we’d been forewarned countless times: be on guard for pickpockets and muggers; it’s not safe to walk around.

While we’re never dismissive of friendly advice, we always prefer to judge from experience and, perhaps because of the many unflattering reviews, Guayaquil, though bustling and a big city, was a somewhat pleasant surprise.

The Malecon (boardwalk) in particular is clean and smart and there’s a breeze coming off the water that takes the edge off the humidity.

There are also some nice parks and interesting museums and buildings, although we didn’t get the chance to fully explore given we were there for virtually an afternoon.

Zenchai, in particular, had great fun running around, working up a sweat and it felt like a relief after Cuenca for us to allow him to burn off some energy along the Malecon without worrying about him falling or darting into traffic.

We stayed at the Suites Madrid, in town. A young man called Christoper, who spoke excellent English, was exceedingly helpful, to the point when I asked to visit the supermarket he accompanied me and he even drove us in his car down to the Malecon.

However, the hotel can be noisy. For $35, it was, by Ecuadorian standards, overpriced. The hostal is in a busy part of town. We had the sound of water dropping on to corrugated iron all night, not to mention the staff talking loudly in the hollow corridors and car alarms going off in the street.

Abrams Family Travel Tip: For car/motion sickness try some ginger essential oil and rub on the underside of the wrists; keep your eyes on the road (if your can); have some ‘fresh’ air coming into the vehicle; have a supply of sick bags – and napkins for cleaning - at the ready.