6 Ways to Prevent Vomiting on a 5 Hour Mountain Bus Ride

Diego and I went to Ibague again last weekend for Nata´s (his sister´s) birthday.  (Special shout out to Michelle and Nata for celebrating their birthdays on the 15th!)  In order to get to Ibague we have to travel by bus (mini-bus about 15-20 people) on roads that have sharp turns every 50-150ft.....aka A LOT!!!  Back and forth, back and forth!  After experiencing some stomach issues, I have developed 6 ways to prevent vomiting.

1) Be careful what you eat that morning.  Hot chocolate with ham and cheese tastes delicious yes, but it is not recommended if you would like to keep it in your stomach.

2) Sit forward in the seat.  Regardless of the fact that you might get lucky and have 2 seats to yourself, you need to face forward.  In my mind facing to the side should seem easier on your stomach.....it´s not.  I guess we are accustomed to sitting forward.....I recommend you stick with that.

3) Sit up in the seat.  Although we like to be lazy and slouch, sitting straight up in your seat utilizes the force of gravity.  It will be much harder for stomach contents to rise if they must fight the stongest gravitational pool possilbe.

4) Try to find something in the distance to stare at.  This can be difficult considering you are more than likely next to a mountain with things passing very quickly and turns preventing finding a spot in the distance to stare at.  But do try.  Staring out the window on the side where the mountain is will make you very sick very quickly.
            4.A Sit on the side of the bus that is not on the side of the mountain.  Or switch seats so that you have something to stare at that isn´t 3 ft away.

5) Be VERY careful when you feel that you have to burp.  Burping can be necessary from all the ups and downs of mountain driving....but you could get a little surprise.

6) Finally, pray to god that there will be a semi truck in front of you so that the bus driver HAS to go slower.  Although you might appreciate getting out of the mountains in record time....trust me, it´s better to take more time without such quick turns!