start with bad...

Ok, so:

• my bags are packed
  
• we are all showered (very important when you know you won't have another shower for at least 24 hours!)
  
• we have all eaten something
• I baked chocolate chip muffins for the trip      
• I went out to lunch with a friend that is moving away :(                                                    

and now I have an extra hour to just sit and relax.. So I thought I would tell you first about the worst part of the trip that we just took:

In Portuguese they are called Caravela Portugues and in English they are called

Portuguese Man-of-War.  

We all booked a snorkeling trip to a small pool in the ocean not far from our hotel.  My daughter and husband went out of the water early and my son and I stayed behind.  As we were swimming back to shore I felt something sting me on my back.  Now, I have been a scuba diver for over 14 years, and I know a little bit about these things...

So I picked my head up and saw what was kinda stuck in my long hair and right next to the front of me....

a jellyfish!

and worse yet, a Portuguese Man-of-War!

I knew how dangerous this jellyfish was (actually Wikipedia says that it technically is not a jellyfish but a 

siphonophore- a colony of specialized polyps and medusoids.)

They look like plastic baggies floating on the water...

not that it mattered seeing as I was swimming with my head down and never saw it coming!

So, I yelled to my son to swim away, pushed it a little away from me with my hand, (read:DUMB MOVE!)

and then batted it away with a fin.  All the while letting out a yell here and there!

I felt the sting right away on my face, ear and hand that I used to push it away (read: DUMB MOVE)

but as the day went on I was able to see everywhere that it's long tentacles got me:

both hands, my neck, upper back and of course my face and ear.  

The sting burns so much!  I was afraid that I was going to die really...

they are very poisonous, and depending on how much venom is injected into you, the worst case scenario is death! AGH!

Obviously, I am still here...

and we even got a laugh after the stinging went away from this...

Remember the old wive's tale?

Pee on a jellyfish sting?

Well, my son SSSSSOOOOOO

wanted to do that after he heard that it could help!

Luckily, there were little food stands nearby and I was able to put vinegar on it.

But from then on, my son was laughing at the thought of peeing on me!

  ok, onto the good in my next post.....