1000 Sunday

I am sorry that I did not take photographs of some of this but frankly I was not in the mood.

Following the blunderbus attack of heavy doses of three antibiotics the site of my bite errupts. Time for the knife thinks Didier. We decide to go ashore to the "hospital" rather than do this on the boat. Paramedic Richard on sv Charon has a big dinghy and a bag full of medic stuff. We find a driver and arrive at a ramshackle building at 1000 on Sunday morning. Two pretty little nurses appear, one muslim, one christian, look at my knee with genuine sympathy, and take me straight into the treatment room whispering "spider". I lie down on the rusty treatment bed and they set to work cleaning watched by all including the taxi driver.

After half an hour it is time to lance it. They have now reached the limit of their ability. At first one nurse is going to use the scalpel blade without the handle. Didier intervenes. Handle appears. She does not know how to clip the blade onto the handle. Didier takes over; taxi driver mesmerised.

It takes three slices to get to the bottom of things. The slices do not hurt so much but the squeezing to get the puss out is agony. Didier says "done". Taxi driver elated. I get bandaged up and fire up my Ipad to have a discussion via my translate ap.

"How much for the treatment and the dressings, sterlising fluid, blades etc".

"20,000 rupiah". (One pound sterling.)

"It is not enough" I say.

"Is enough" she says.

I give her 200,000 rupiah; 10 quid. She refuses it. I punch her in the face twice giving her a black eye and a split lip. She takes the money.

Well, you have to show your gratitude, don't you?

POSTSCRIPT

0900 Monday. Yesterday's treatment has not worked. Wild Fox is now in the hands of a caretaker crew and I am being medivac'd out, kinda fast, to Bali