Jellyfish

Odometer: unchanged

Today, surfing was back on our agenda. Ines had arranged for a surf school that rented boards for half a day for a super cheap price of 15 €. When we found the very hidden garage entrance at 11:30 AM, an older gentleman in a white coat greeted us. He was obviously busy working with paint, glue, or epoxy resin, as there was a strong solvent smell and his coat was covered in colorful splashes. This time, we chose a slightly different board, which was only 7 feet long but had about 85 liters of buoyancy, more than our previous ones. Let's see how this would go, we thought. The craftsman explained to us that he would take a break from 2 PM to 5 PM but would be back at the rental until 7 PM to retrieve the board.

Upon arriving at the beach, we suited up in our wetsuits and it was time to go.

After about an hour, we saw white smoke rising from a piece of land to the east, which then turned into thick smoke. Bushfire.

Ines went over to the lifeguards and asked if they should call the fire department. The friendly colleague in orange explained that it was normal there; the owners were clearing stumps in that area.

Weren't we just on constant wildfire alert a few weeks ago?

Well.

At Ribadesella, the beach wasn't bordered by a dune, but we had the approximately five-meter-high wall of the harbor promenade behind us. When the water came close to washing over our stuff at 2 PM, we moved as close to the wall as we could. We checked when high tide would be, the tide calendar said 2:15 PM. So we stayed close to our belongings to ensure we could move everything to safety if necessary. Ines also built a sand wall and ditch around our belongings. Since we were taking a break, we could also have something to eat. One thing led to another, and we ate our rice salad prepared in the morning with tomato, avocado, tuna, mozzarella, and balsamic vinegar. A recipe that Ines had picked up from other campers two days earlier.

It turned out that Ines’ sand barrier was sufficient and we had chosen a good spot for our blanket; the last 50 cm before the wall remained dry, and so did our belongings.

When the tide began to go out around 3 PM and we could leave our spot with a clear conscience, we jumped back into the waves. Until…, yes, until we were whistled out of the water by the lifeguards at 4 PM. Everyone. Surfers and bathers alike, everyone had to leave the water.

Sebb went to the rescuers and asked what was going on.

,Jellyfish, Jellyfish’. Was the answer. Several jellyfish had washed up on the beach, and since they are super poisonous, the rescuers decided to end swimming for the day.

As everyone else followed the instructions and got out of the water, we naturally did the same. We packed up, walked back along the beach, and indeed saw quite a few strange purplish creatures on the beach that looked more like half-deflated balloons or plastic bags.

The 'Portuguese Man o' War' was not a true jellyfish. Biologically, it is a colony of specialized polyps (so-called colonial jellyfish). The violet gas bladder and especially the long, invisible tentacles were highly poisonous. Even washed-up, dried-out, or dead creatures, as well as severed tentacles, retained their stinging cells and could still cause severe, whip-like burns and pain for days. No one wanted to take that risk here.

We rinsed the salt off our skin at the beach shower, and as we were packing our things, our board renter rode by us. He too had to end his siesta prematurely at the beach. He told us that we could come by to return the board; he was back in the workshop now. We happily accepted the offer and returned the equipment a bit earlier than planned.

For dinner, we had the leftovers from the rice salad, and then there was even some time to play Pandemic, Game of the Year 2009.