Marlin + Knife = spearfishing

We had big plans for the Black Sea. As we headed towards the Bulgarian coastal town of Varna we talked about various adventures we might pursue, from diving a submarine shipwreck to spearfishing. The possibilities seemed endless and we'd have great stories that would last a lifetime. It didn't occur to us that our story would involve a doctor who runs his roadside emergency care service wearing slippers and watching Bulgarian soap operas. Or that the lasting reminder would be my now numb left thumb.
But I'm getting ahead of myself.
Since we had a few days booked in Varna we figured we'd start off slow and just have a leisurely afternoon picnic at one of the many sandy beaches lining the water.

We had the usual food suspects in our pack: bread, cheese, lunch meat, tomatoes, and fruit, this time a couple of oranges. I had seen Mark peeling an orange with his pocketknife a few days earlier and since the peel was pretty tough I figured I could do the same. You see where this is going, right?
So, of course moments later, I'm bleeding all over the nice white sandy beaches. And I mean all over. Clumps of bright red sand now litter the beach as Mark hurriedly tries to pick up all our stuff. Fortunately I had happened to see a sign for an emergency care facility at a nearby hotel. The emergency care facility was in fact a hotel room on the first floor. And our very friendly doctor greeted us wearing his boxer shorts, white undershirt tank top and slippers. After I unwrap my finger (which has now bleed through the white hotel sheet we had been using at the beach) he assures us stitches won't be necessary. But all manner of stinging disinfectant solutions were necessary. At least I had the Bulgarian soap to distract me. Then he bandaged me up and told me to try not to get it wet for the next three days, perfect for things like diving and spearfishing.
And now, a week later as I look at the gash in my thumb that will likely scar and keep making Mark push on the part of my thumb that's numb to see if the feeling has returned yet I figure I've got my memento of Bulgaria. And while Mark didn't get to spear any fish, he did watch the Marlin spear herself.