Water for coffee

dinodoc328

My wife is a big time coffee drinker. We have been warned not to drink the water and not even brush your teeth using tap water. All liquids consumed should come from bottles. Even if the water for coffee is boiled (probably is not), I don’t think that is safe. Do the restaurants use bottled water only for such purposes? I’m getting a little paranoid now due to the Ebola outbreak in Uganda.

Leo M

Every hotel we stayed at provided several large bottles of purified water in our room each day. Also, bottled water was served at every meal and on every safari vehicle. Our biggest concern was eating the food as we had read reams of material warning us about eating fruit, vegetables and salads. In fact, my wife worried for 6 months we would starve. There was no problem. We worried for nothing. Every hotel cleaned their food thoroughly. I ended up eating local tomatoes for B-L-D. They were the best I've eaten since I was a kid.

Yes, you need to be careful not to let local tap water contaminate your tooth brush. We took extra tooth brushes for exactly that reason...and, we used them. It's hard to break old habits. We filled a glass with purified water and put a wash cloth over the spigot to remind us not to wash our brushes off in the sink. It worked. We had no problems and had a great, healthy trip.

Leo M.

gabby

Thanks for that feeddback. I've been concerned too, since my diet consists of so much fruit and vegetables.

TauckTim

Hi Dinodoc328,

It's always important to be conscious of the health risks while traveling, and to make appropriate decisions to mitigate those risks, and minimize your risk of exposure. However, as far as Ebola goes, it has not been reported in Uganda. The reports of the outbreak are only in West Africa, some 3,000 miles from the area you will be traveling. As part of our regular office operations, Tauck's Global Response Team and its many members monitor all events and news on an ongoing basis, and we will closely monitor this situation as well. We will continue to monitor all media and the latest updates on related announcements, and are in contact with our suppliers and security sources. At this time, based on all the information we have received, we are scheduled to operate as planned on all upcoming departures. We will provided an immediate update if there are any changes.

I hope this helps!
-Tim

rabo

Not Africa . . . but similar situation . . .

My daughter-in-law was recently in India for work (obviously not with Tauck). She was told to drink only bottled beverages that had been sealed, and even then to always use a straw!

Sounded like good advice to me.

British

IN FACT,THERE HAVE BEEN MORE REPORTS OF HOW UNCLEAN COFFEE MAKERS ARE INSIDE HOTEL ROOMS IN THE US THAN ANY COFFEE MADE IN A HOTEL KITCHEN, USE YOUR IMAGINATION WHY THIS MIGHT BE.
MOST COFFEE IS MADE WITH BOILING WATER, EVEN THOUGH ONE SHOULD NEVER MAKE COFFEE WITH BOILING WATER, IT SHOULD BE A FEW DEGREES UNDER BOILING FOR THE PERFECT CUP.
TAP WATER, COVER THE COLD TAP WITH A WASH CLOTH OR ANYTHING ELSE TO REMIND YOU NOT TO USE IT. FILL A GLASS WITH BOTTLED WATER, CLEAN YOUR TEETH, RINSE OUT YOUR MOUTH USING THE WATER FROM THE GLASS, SWISH AROUND YOUR USED TOOTHBRUSH IN THE REMAINING GLASS WATER AND THEN INVERT WATER IN THE GLASS OVER THE HANDLE OF THE BRUSH AS IT REMAINS IN THE GLASS TO CLEAN OFF THE HANDLE MORE THOROUGHLY. YEP IT HELPS HAVING WORKED IN AN OPERATING THEATRE TO THINK HOW TO KEEP THINGS AS CLEAN AS POSSIBLE.
ALL HOTELS ON THE SAFARI CIRCUIT WANT TO REMAIN IN BUSINESS AND CATER FOR THE LIKES OF TAUCK GUESTS, THEY HAVE BEEN DOING IT FOR YEARS, IN FACT I TRUST THEIR CLEANLINESS OVER MOST AMERICAN HOTELS I STAY IN. IF YOU GAVE ME THE PRICE OF THE MONEY TO GO BACK ON YET ANOTHER SAFARI, I WOULD GO TOMORROW, AND I JUST GOT BACK FROM MY THIRD TRIP TO AFRICA.

joycesw

Coffee everywhere was fine! All previous advice is excellent, but no one has mentioned to KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT during your shower!!

British

So no singing in the shower then? Shame! Yes Joyce, well remembered

Leo M

It has been over 2 years since I initially commented on this subject. After four safaris, I have finally mastered the handling of my toothbrush but still forget not to let the shower water into my mouth. I have read this tip several times before but it always fails to imprint on me...and...as many have said it is difficult to change old habits. Thanks for another reminder joycesw.

Leo M

Francesca King

Just one more thing. If the water bottle on your table after your meals, is not empty, you are welcome to to take it. We also took a bottle from the jeep as we always used up the two in the room.
Coffee throughout the trip was delicious!