I Have No Taste

 I'm seriously tired of being sick. Whatever this monster is that has invaded my body, it keeps morphing and changing and every day presents me with a new surprise.

So I dealt with the dry cough, got some phlegm moving and coughed some up, and then I started with a seriously runny nose, so I got a multi-symptem cold remedy and one for nighttime too so I could sleep. I kind of slept.

This morning I ordered a pot of tea, which was not as easy as it sounds. I got a pot of hot water with several tea bags (two cups) and a fruit plate. I started eating the fruit and it was horrible, but that was not unusual because the fruit I had on my first morning here, was also not good. I mean, this country has wonderful tropical fruits growing everywhere, but the fruit in the hotel is the typical picked too early, tastes like cardboard variety.

But it was when I was drinking my English Breakfast tea that I noticed the tea had no flavor. I smelled it, and nothing. I spelled a banana, and nothing. I had no taste or smell!

Of course everyone tells me it's COVID, so I took one of the COVID tests I brought with me. Why is every COVID test different? This one was a little booklet that you open. I may have messed it up, but it was negative. I don't think I have COVID. I think I have a respiratory virus and I lost my taste and smell as a result because this thing is a monster that has invaded my body and has decided to torture me with something new every day. Plus, Mike, the person I think got me sick, said he also had no taste early on, and he tested negative for COVID, but he's one of the people who said it sounds like I have COVID. I guess he forgot that he also had no taste.

It's weird not having taste. I have some sensations on my tongue to things like sweet or sour, but if you put something my my mouth and asked me what it was, I probably could not tell you. It hasn't stopped me from eating though.

I had my detox massage this morning which was ok. I really don't like massages from women. It was too soft. I guess it was supposed to be detox, but I miss some of the massages I used to be able to get in Thailand, where they really worked deeply (my favorite were the oil massages at the Ambassador Hotel). But anyway, the massage was ok, and maybe not what I needed, but it didn't hurt.

After that, I went to the pool. My room had already been cleaned, so I didn't have to go down, but I thought it might be better than staying in my air-conditioned room. There weren't a lot of people there, which was nice. I waited until after 12:00 to order lunch and thought I'd try the chicken tacos. They were not good. I had no taste, so I wasn't sure, but I don't think I liked them.

I didn't stay long and came back to my nice, clean room, stopping to get a cup of mint tea on the way. 

I was lying in my bed looking at my phone or watching TV or something, and I kept hearing this strange noise. I finally realized it was me - wheezing. It was super annoying. It looked like it was a nice day out, so I decided to go to the pharmacy to try to get something else. I needed to open up my lungs - maybe she had an inhaler or something.

When I got to the pharmacy, I could see why I was confused about the doors. At the end with the entrance, the posters in the window were caulking guns - it certainly didn't look like a pharmacy.

I went in, and the pharmacist was not at the counter - she was at a desk a few feet away. A young woman asked if she could help me.

I explained that I'd had a dry cough and got some medicine - I showed her a picture - and before I could finish, she went to get me another bottle. I stopped her. I said I wasn't sure if I need more of the same or something else. She asked the pharmacist, and then the two of them began speaking to me in English, which was a relief.

She gave me something else and said I need to loosen up the mucous. This would help and I would poop it out. I know she didn't say poop, but her gesture made it clear. She said don't worry if things look funny down there (not her exact words).

And so I walked back to my room, contemplating going around the block to see if I could find El Conuco, a typical Dominican restaurant I'd been to before, but I was feeling tired, so I just came back, took the medicine and eventually ordered dinner.

I ordered a chicken breast and baked potatoe with sour cream. I got a very dry chicken breast (the food really isn't very good here) and three small roasted potatoes. I was expecting a big fat baked potato American style. It seemed like my taste was returning.

One thing that helped me was sitting in the steam in the bathroom and blowing my nose, one nostril at a time over the sink. I'm trying not to use tissues because my nose is so raw. I got a bit of phlegm to come up. It's yellow now. Not a good sign.

I watched James May in Japan and then started James May in Italy. I really loved the Japan series. Italy so far is interesting, but not terribly funny.

I slept well and just did another steam and nostril clearing. Today I am going to try to do that several times and also to keep my lungs moist and hydrated with tea. I feel like I'm improving, but I want to feel better by Tuesday when I fly. So far, I'm not there yet.