Too emotional of a story for me… guest post from my sister:

Unfortunately, we never made it to Sao Beach….well….we made it about 99.99% there. I must pause for a sec as this was QUITE the day. It started with us walking up and down the streets of Phu Quoc looking to rent a motorbike. No one would rent to us. It’s unclear why, as many of the dealers had multiple if not entire rows of bikes surrounding them. We noticed the people of Phu Quoc have a penchant for saying “NO” (harshly might I add) and then waving you away. We never figured out why no one would rent to us, but finally after two hours of walking the streets in the 95 degree heat, about to give up, a very nice lady agreed to rent to us. After walking in the blazing sun, it was a nice relaxing trip down the highway – a 38km ride, with the last 500 meters or so down a bumpy dirt road. We literally made it 37.9km (I have the pics to prove it—we were literally 100m from the beach) when all I heard was Ola hollering my name behind me. When I turned around, I saw her picking up her bike off the road. As I got closer, it only got worse. Poor Olsi had lost a TOE!!!!

I mean a toenail….Olsi had lost her entire toenail.

I carted Ols back up to the paved road and off we were to the hospital, the waves of Sao Beach in the background…sigh. I could literally see the waves ever so slightly across the brush.

At the hospital, there was blood spilled all over the floor and no one spoke English. That did not inspire out confidence and, furthermore, Google Translate is TERRIBLE, but we got through it. They clipped off the remaining nail, which was hanging by a hinge, and cleaned it. $8!!!! Thank goodness for universal healthcare. As we got ready to go, the nurses pleaded “Wait! Wait!” and proceeded, via a Google Translate, to ask me questions about my hair (Ola’s harrowing sobs in the background was not a deterrent to uncovering the mystery of our hair). “How do you wash it? Did you do it yourself ? How long can you keep it? Is it all natural?” Finally, I told them I needed to collect Ola and get her to the hotel. I left them with answers, their faces were filled with intrigue.