Getting injured can be one of the worst things that can happen to you on a trip. For me, it is becoming a standard fact of travel. After spraining my ankle and then nearly fracturing my nose in Costa Rica, I decided to be extra prepared on my next trip. So I brought a thorough first aid kit and 2 ankle braces (so I could swap them out and not wear one every day).
I thought I was prepared, little did I know I was wrong. On my second day of exploring Antigua, Guatemala I sprained my right ankle just a little while walking on the uneven sidewalks. I’ve sprained that ankle so much that I’m use to walking on it, and so didn’t think much about it. I planned to put on the ankle brace later when I returned to the hotel. After a full day of exploring I had forgotten about the pain, and forgot about my resolution to put on the ankle brace. So I went immediately to meet my tour group and then onto dinner.
On the way back from dinner, the group was deciding if they wanted to go out to a bar, or head in since we’d have an early morning. I was hoping to go to the bar as I had a friend who recommended it. But then disaster struck, in the dark I tripped over the uneven cobblestones and sprained my left (the good) ankle horribly. It started to swell up, and the pain was awful. I knew I was in trouble. I told the group I’d make it back to the hotel, and stopped into a small shop to buy some ice.
In Costa Rica I had learned the phrase “Una blosa con hielo, por favor?” while pointing to my sprained ankle or swollen nose. It means “A bag of ice please?” (I had to use it a lot so it stuck in my memory.) So I walked up to the shop keeper and asked him. He looked at me confused. The tour guide had heard me ask and walked into the store. She explained in Guatemala the water isn’t purified, and so there rarely is any ice. Nearly all drinks are slightly cooled in refrigerated coolers. So I had one badly sprained ankle, one slightly sprained ankle, and no ice. My solution? I bought a few of the (not very) chilled sodas, and went to the hotel and duck taped them to my ankles. It was hard to sleep and not an efficient way to “ice” an injury, but it was the best I could do. At least I was smart enough to have 2 ankle braces right?
Travel Missteps is an every-other week series on how sometimes part of the journey is making mistakes and getting lost.
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