Cautionary Tale: Stumble in the Dark, Lessons Learned

Hey everyone,

Just wanted to give you a quick update on my travels. Unfortunately, I haven't been doing much exploring lately. I had a bit of an accident a few days ago while crossing the street in the dark.

Since then, I've been mostly relaxing at the hostel, trying to keep my foot off it as much as possible. My daily routine has been pretty simple: wake up, shower, clean the wounds, grab breakfast, and then catch up on some work on my laptop. Not exactly the adventure I was hoping for, but hopefully it'll give my foot the rest it needs to heal quickly.

Speaking of the accident, let's just say it was a good reminder about the importance of being prepared, especially when traveling in Africa. Here, reliable access to electricity and Wi-Fi isn't always a guarantee. Luckily, the hostel I'm staying at has both, which is a real plus. However, frequent power outages are common, and having a flashlight is a lifesaver – literally!

In my case, the power was out when I tried to cross the street. Because I couldn't see a thing, I decided to walk to a crosswalk for better visibility. Big mistake. There was a curb at the crosswalk that I completely missed in the darkness. Tripped, fell, and ended up hurting my foot, knee, and hands.

Thankfully, the damage wasn't too severe. My knee and hands just had some minor scrapes, but my toes took the brunt of the fall. The hostel, unfortunately, didn't have a first-aid kit, but a kind fellow traveler from Egypt came to the rescue with some antiseptic fluid. Huge thanks to him for that!

Since the accident, I've been keeping the wounds open to the air, but today I noticed some signs of infection. So, I ventured out to a larger pharmacy to pick up some supplies and some disinfectant spray. Hopefully, this will help clear things up.

On a brighter note, the hostel has a fantastic rooftop bar and restaurant with Wi-Fi, which has become my hangout spot for the past few days. The view isn't too bad either!

Lesson Learned: Always take your flashlight out of your bag when it's dark outside, no matter how confident you feel. A little extra caution can go a long way in preventing accidents. From now on, my flashlight is coming out of my bag at dusk – no exceptions!