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Mark Moxon's Travel Writing

The Gambia: Blister Bug

Jangjang Bureh Camp
Jangjang Bureh Camp, where the blister bug and I became uneasy bedfellows

I woke up this morning with a sore right knee and a burning sensation in my left ankle. I initially thought I'd got sunburn from the riverboat – the sun was certainly strong enough – but I'd worn long trousers and socks all day, so it couldn't be that. On closer inspection, I found a string of blisters in a neat line along my left shin, as if someone had stubbed out four small cigarettes just above my ankle. They felt like burns too, and I found an identical collection of blisters on either side of my right knee.