While the bruising and lacerations from the dinghy incident were, for the most part, all healed, I still had a very large hematoma and infection under the skin left and it didn’t seem to be going away at all. Despite preferring to let the body heal naturally I realized that I ought to get a doctor to look at the problem and suggest what could be done. After the morning VHF network in the morning I was to return my rental car, but opted to extend the rental for two days so that I could do the rest of my shopping and visit to doctor. I drove to the car lot, which was opened but nobody was home and then I remember that I had a cellular phone so I called them up and extended the car by phone.
I arrived at the walk-in clinic at the Dannaway Medical Center and got on the waiting list there. As luck would have it, this was the first time I’d left the boat without my Kindle e-book reader and thus the 2 hour wait seemed to stretch interminably and I had to remind myself that I was on “Island Time” and had nothing else planned for the day. When I made it in to see the doctor and explained what had happened and he looked at the problem he said that he would prescribe some medication and antibiotics for me but that it should start going away. He was surprised at the size and also noted that the original damage must have been very significant – to which I could only agree. I used the opportunity to ask for a prescription for replacement EpiPens and also for a booster tetanus shot. Unfortunately the EpiPens were US$150 apiece at the pharmacy so I kept that prescription in reserve until I could find a cheaper source. But the rest of the medications ran to only US$40, which was a lot less than I had expected, but the tetanus vaccine requires constant refrigeration so I left it at the pharmacy for pickup before I return to the doctor next week. I’ve still got the medications, unopened, in the bag as I need some time to read all of the packages since I’m not sure what Santa has packed into the bag (just checked – Hirudoid, Ibuprofen, Levofloxacin, Tetavax).
Afterwards I headed to Island Waterworld to return my undersized speakers and realized that there are 4 places on island where one is guaranteed to meet cruisers – Island Waterworld, Budget Marine, ELECTEC, and ACE Hardware. This time I saw Bernd as I entered the store; he had originally planned on being exiled on the boat for 24-48 hours because they’d repaired their dinghy and the Hypalon glue need time to set and cure, but they had gotten underway faster than planned and he had my shoes in his dinghy (I’d left them aboard Mau after the fireworks and gotten a spare set from Bernd) and then I was surprised to have Bjorn from Susanne af Stockholm come by! The yacht is anchored off Philipsburg and they were taking care of some things before returning to the Mediterranean – rather early in the season for it, but that is what the owner wants.
I had lunch at Lagoonies with Bjorn and his crew (Rauten, Marcelle and a new member whose name now escapes me), and then we did a grand island tour with 5 of us in the little Hyundai Getz rental car. While we had to shut down the A/C when going up the steeper hills the car did a good job but as we passed Grand Case the reserve light went on and the fuel level dropped rather quickly so I was a bit on edge as we approached Philipsburg and the next gas station.
After dropping them off at the dinghy dock in Philipsburg I returned over the hill towards Marigot in rush-hour traffic and realized that I could make it to the Sint Maarten Yacht Club in time for the 17:00 bridge opening and had gotten a seat in the front row and a happy-hour drink when the bridge went up. Unfortunately it was a slow day and just 3 sailboats of mere mortal dimensions entered but I had a nice conversation with a couple from Vancouver who had been vacationing on the island for years.
I drove back to Grand Case and made a nice BBQ meal aboard before trying to watch Akira Kurosawa’s Shitchinin no Samurai (7 Samurai) but I wasn’t able to concentrate long enough so I switch off the notebook and attempted to watch the stars for a bit but the wind was whistling through the anchorage so I went back below decks.
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