Central Africa/Congo Basin

This was an ill-fated elephant sighting. We were cruising down the lagoon when someone spotted him. The boat stopped, but I was on the far side opposite the elephant. Akos, our leader, suggested I stand on my chair to get a better view. Sounded like a good idea to me, so I climbed up and started taking photos. For whatever reason, the boat driver chose that moment to run the boat into the river bank and I went flying. The pain in my left leg was immediate and excruciating. It was impossible for me to move it or to put weight on it. Turns out, much of the skin on my upper thigh had been ripped away and I'm still sporting a large hematoma from the impact, but nothing was broken. Once we got back to camp, we got the leg cleaned and wrapped in gauze, making it possible for me to walk.

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This was an ill-fated elephant sighting. We were cruising down the lagoon when someone spotted him. The boat stopped, but I was on the far side opposite the elephant. Akos, our leader, suggested I stand on my chair to get a better view. Sounded like a good idea to me, so I climbed up and started taking photos. For whatever reason, the boat driver chose that moment to run the boat into the river bank and I went flying. The pain in my left leg was immediate and excruciating. It was impossible for me to move it or to put weight on it. Turns out, much of the skin on my upper thigh had been ripped away and I'm still sporting a large hematoma from the impact, but nothing was broken. Once we got back to camp, we got the leg cleaned and wrapped in gauze, making it possible for me to walk.

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