So here’s a little known story of the expedition…
So between arriving at Iki Island and leaving for Tsushima, there was about a 4 day gap and although most of the time was spent coordinating with the Korean side (Immigration/Customs/Coast Guard) we also had some free time on our hands. Being the adventurous type that I am, I go and wonder off in the direction of some big rocks. I notice a long steel cable suspended between two rocks about 50 meters apart, looking strikingly similar to a tightrope. 2+2=4 and before I knew it I grabbed the steel cable and decided to hoist my body up while attempting to wrap my feet around the cable. Just as my foot reached the cable I heard a cracking/hollow bang reverberate inside my skull. Although it was painless I feared the worst and it was confirmed as blood dripped down my face and onto the rocks. I instinctively put my hand up to my head, my fingers sliding across my bloody forehead to confirm my worst fear, my forehead was split open. Of course at this moment I’m thinking, “Damn, what am I going to say to Koji.” I approach with laughter in my voice and blood dripping from my face, “maybe I just need a band-aid” I say to him. After a few hours I decided it was best to go to the hospital and get some stitches because I wanted to seal this up, avoid infection, and get back to the expedition as quick as possible. Luckily for me, the weather was not favorable for the next few days and within the 4 day rest period my head was all sealed up and ready to go. But lets get to the fun part…fast forward a week and imagine we are on Tsushima and the stitches now have to come out. Because I did not have my health insurance card and wanted to avoid the non-insurance charge, I decided to cut them out myself. Here’s the video.