A Stop In Gambia

We pulled over in Gambia on Tuesday for refueling and a medical supply pick-up of several rabies vaccinations.

The fuel was scheduled. The vaccines were not.

From what I could gather, some of the students made a visit to a local monkey reserve while we were in Ghana. At the pre-port meeting the warning was "Do Not Touch The Monkeys". As easy as that sounds, I guess the temptation was far too great.

We came back to ship to hear of several of our friends recount their experiences with the monkeys that were "so cute!" ; ) Some had a slight lapse in judgement,, hand-fed to monkeys, were climbed on by the monkeys and suffered slight to minor scratches. According to the shipboard doc, once you experience symptoms of rabies, it's too late and you are doomed. The number of rabies vaccinations the ship is required to carry for the 900 passengers is a whopping ONE.

So, fortunately, the medical team was able to scramble quickly enough to have a supply delivered to the ship in Gambia.