September 12, 2012
We continued on the south side of Upolu after lunch. I had an “ouch” moment after I made Rich stop so I could take a picture from a small dam we had just crossed over. I ran back to the dam and carefully made my way over slippery rocks before walking to the center to get my picture.
As I made my way back over the rocks, I held the camera up as I focused on protecting it at all costs, not wanting it to hit the ground if I fell. I didn’t actually plan to fall, but as I balanced on the slippery rocks, I could hear the sound of a pack of dogs that seemed to be heading my way. In my subsequent hurry, I slipped and fell right on the back of my ribs behind the arm holding the camera up.
The lesson I learned here is that there are some parts of the body whose safety should come before that of the camera. I was able to get up and get back to the car, and thankfully the dogs, perhaps thinking I’d been punished enough, dispersed. As we headed on, the pain mostly subsided, although for the next couple of days sneezing or coughing was agony. The lump took a few weeks to go away, but it is gone now (as I am writing about this in Tonga). After all I went through to get it, I am making sure to post that particular picture; so here it is: -Cyndi
