Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Sea urchins

... and take the spines off your feet, which is not an easy task! :-)

28 comments:

Dina said...

Ouch! But sea urchins (in Hebrew "porcupines of the sea") sound better than our "medusa" which infest Israel's Mediterranean beaches from time to time.

Is the white shell the "skeleton" of the sea urchin? I have found them on beaches but never realized where they came from.

Your photo is sharp and to the point! :)

Virginia said...

Ouch! I know that hurts. BTW, my daughter tried some sea urchin "spread" at Oliviers & Co. in Paris. Let's just say she reported that it was as awful as you'd think it was!HA

Sharon said...

Sounds a bit like the time I was taking a photo and stood way too close to a cholla cactus. I was removing thorns from my upper leg for days afterward.

Getting spines in your feet could really slow you down.

Joan Elizabeth said...

I didn't know those white pumpkin-like shells were from a sea urchins.

I always wear shoes when exploring rock pools ... don't like the thought of prickley things like getting my toes.

B SQUARED said...

They can be incredibly painful.

Unknown said...

Lats year I got more than 30 spines on just one foot. That's the price you pay when you like exploring rocky areas (my National Geographic hour)... barefoot! Lol! Then, the more you walk the harder it is to get them out...

Lois said...

I'm sure without proper treatment, you could get a nasty infection!

Tess Kincaid said...

Ouchy!!

Julie ScottsdaleDailyPhoto.com said...

sea urchins sound very painful. when we were just in French Polynesia, they had lots of sea urchins at some of the islands. long sea urchin spines which they said would be very painful. When snorkeling and walking in the water, we tried to avoid the sea urchins, which fortunately had long black spines and avoid stonefish, which are extremely painful and poisonous and they do not move and you cannot see them. it is better to snorkel over everything there than put your feet on the ocean floor and walk. I can't believe you got that many spines in your foot. it must have swelled up and been hard to walk.

brattcat said...

Aha, JM, you are the voice of experience. Thanks for the warning. We don't get too many sea urchins in Brattleboro. Street urchins, maybe, but no sea urchins.

Anonymous said...

YIKES! It sounds like you've experienced this before?

Cezar and Léia said...

Eu tenho zilhões de pesadelos com medo dessas aguas vivas!Melhor ficar na areia pegando um bronzeado ;)
Além do que não sei nadar!
Mas que essa água é um deslumbre, isso é!
Léia

Prospero said...

I've never seen a sign like that here, JM. They worry about Portuguese man of war. Go figure!

Unknown said...

Prospero, we had an invasion of Portuguese man of war at a beach a few kms north last week. They were by the thousands and the beach had to be closed for a few days! I've never heard of this before and I even think these waters are not their habitat! Very strange things are happening nowadays...

Babzy.B said...

did it happen to you ???

cieldequimper said...

Yes, they do hurt. But they are so delicious just warm in butter...

joo said...

I've never seen such a sign before, but had few times VERY close encounter with those creatures - it is really painful!
Watch out:)

crocrodyl said...

Ooo it must be painful! I would like to avoid such 'attractions':)

VP said...

Curious image, I used to fish sea urchin with bare hands as a kid, now I am not even sure there are anymore. I never thought they were so dangerous to need treatment.

Anonymous said...

I can't imagine the pain of having one of those on your feet.

marley said...

Pretty to look at but painful to tread on!

Leif Hagen said...

Ouch! I think I'd stay on shore with my camera!

Judy said...

I don't like the sound of that!

Lowell said...

I've heard of them but never seen one. I don't think we have them in Florida...do we, B Squared?

We have lots of jellyfish, though.

Anya said...

It does hurts auwwwwwwwwwaa.... LOL

Dina said...

Oi, poor JM! How about I send you a pair of plastic shoes? ;)

Anzu said...

I'm interested in the Signboard
of Sea urchins.
It seems to make a description in detail and the warning is serious.
However that sounds Funny to me.

Jane Hards Photography said...

Flip flops I hate but are a must.