Majuro, Marshall Islands, April 16th: the Tropics strike back!

A long time ago, in a tropical paradise far, far away...

The staphylococci army had taken over the galaxy, and only a handful of gauze strips and antibiotic oinments fought back...

I'll spare you the photos of my boil, or its ... mmmh ... clean-up by a local MD. That's the real problem with tropical environments, the stuff that you don't see on TV unless your watching a Bear Grills documentary: the rashes, the allergies, all the beautiful skin diseases you get from staphylococci, our bacterial friend, and its group of buddies.

Here's a good and simple recipe on how to get a great tropical skin rash, a boil or a staph infection (serves one).

You will need:

- a tropical environment

- highly contaminated water (large body of, preferably)

- dirty work

- a sharp, unclean object

How to proceed:

In the tropical environment, start doing some dirty work (like cleaning a bilge). Using the sharp, unclean object (you can use multiple ones if easier), ensure you cut yourself, several times, and that the cuts are not thoroughly cleaned with water, soap and betadine (or hydrogen peroxide) straight away. Add a few baths (or immersion of the wounds) in highly contaminated water. Clean regularly once the infection appears, if possible whilst listening to the paranoid comments of your American counterparts on ring worm.

Let it rest for two days to one week. That's it, you've done it!

It's a given that I am unlucky as hell, and also a moron, but a boil under the armpit is not something I recommend to anyone - especially when the cleaning of it looks as bad as the Youtube videos some people watch.

We are leaving Majuro on the 23rd (a Monday) if the winds are right, so I'll probably post once until then to detail our itinerary to Dutch Harbour, which we expect to reach around the 1st of June.

Keep reading me,

Vicou the Sea Gypsy