Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate! The tropical weather in the Riviera Maya can be deceiving. You are on the beach, in the sea, playing, having a great time and little did you know that you, your kids or even your pet is dehydrated. It is easy to stay hydrated if you are aware. Dehydration creeps up on you and though it is not dangerous it can slow down your vacation if you are not careful.
How to stay fully hydrated when you are having way too much fun?
Water, coconut water and juices all work together to keep you hydrated. Beer, margaritas and coffee dehydrate, and sodas, sports drinks and sugary drinks are not fluids that will help you to really dehydrate.
These are some of the hydration rules that we use to ensure we keep hydrated in the tropical weather:
Each beer or cocktail requires a bottle water as a chaser. That is a 1:1 ratio, not one bottle of water (500 ml) for 5 beers or 3 margaritas. This is also helpful to stopping a hangover if you use the 1:1 ratio, BTW.
Drink fresh water throughout the day. When you think you are floating in your endless glasses and bottles of water, have another! We normally drink more than the recommended daily amount of water, which is 8 glasses per day. If you are taking your cooler to the beach, don’t pack it with ice, freeze bottled water, put it in your cooler, and drink the water throughout the day while you are keeping the cooler super cool! Yup, kill two birds with one stone!
At the end of the day, have a coco frio, a cold coconut to ensure you are fully hydrated! If coco’s can not be found, the local grocery and pharmacies have electrolyte drinks that are great for rehydration after the beach. Local brands are Pedialyte and Electrolyte. We are not talking sports drinks, we are talking true electrolyte drinks. Very different, but a useful tip. Sip the drinks, don’t drink them as it takes a while for the liquid to go where it needs to go in your body!
Drink first thing in the morning before you have your coffee. Dehydration can happen in your sleep so hydrate first thing in the morning and start the day off right! Coffee is next but keep a glass of water close by to maintain your 1:1 ratio.
How to tell if your kids or pets are dehydrated
For your pets, bring water with you everywhere you go, serve up more water than normally would and just watch them a bit more closely than at home. If a pet is dehydrated, their eyes, gums and skin will indicate that they need water. We give Chili a water bowl and also ice. Pets will lick ice when they are dehydrated even if they don’t want to drink water.
Your kids may become cranky, they will not need to pee or their urine will be dark. These are key indicators that dehydration is setting in. Get them to drink water until they have to pee or give them ice cubes on a hot day when they refuse to drink anything (it happens)
Make sure you take care of yourself as well, drinking lots and not drinking too much at Happy Hour. All the activity and fun can lead to dehydration and that would not be fun!