The Perils of Coral Cuts in Tropical Climates

Coral cuts may seem minor at first, but left unintended, there's a chance they can ruin you for diving, as Rik Pavlescak (West Palm Beach, FL) reports.

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I arrived at Waidroka in Fiji in March with two cuts on my shin from the dives I had done the previous week at Voli Voli. Lorna and Andy provided me with bandages, antiseptic cleaners, etc., but I stubbornly refused their entreaties to see a doctor, believing they were healing just fine. Unfortunately, that was not the case.

I finally agreed to see a local doctor. I ended up on intravenous antibiotics for five days, ending my diving trip and turning my beautiful bure into a private rehab room where I lay in bed for most of the day with my leg elevated. Waidroka staff arranged transportation (half-hour each way every morning and every evening) to and from the doctor's office, where the IV antibiotic was administered. The first 10 minutes of the drive from the resort to the main paved road is unpaved, rocky, winding, and steep. With my wound, I had to go to the doctor ten times in five days - necessitating 20 trips over that road.

Typically, I ate breakfast with the group and then had lunch and some dinners delivered to my bure as the timing with my doctor's appointments didn't always coincide with the group meals.

I could not feel better cared for than I did by the Waidroka team. I would not hesitate to go back to Waidroka Bay Resort. The diving was excellent, the food superb, the accommodations great, and the staff and service were absolutely five-star.