A recent complaint from travellers about sea urchins in the water has prompted me to write a warning.
Ah, tourism, you are a weird and wonderful thing. I think it’s safe to say, from all of us who work in tourism – it is a love-hate relationship, and I mean this in the fondest way possible. Most of us work in tourism because we genuinely get a kick out of being around people or showing others the best of the beautiful country we live in; ok, some do it for the money, but let’s stick to my first points for now.
Working as a tour guide on a boat for mostly Australians and Kiwis, you wouldn’t believe a) the amount of questions I got asked and b) the kinds of questions I was asked – anything from: how hot is it, what should I wear, how much money will I spend tonight (I don’t know honey, how many shots do you plan on knocking back)? To, is that Italy over there *points to a small island nearby* and what is the water depth right… now?
If patience is a virtue, then those who work in tourism are the most virtuous of all…
So, just imagine the level of patience, passion and knowledge required to write a guide book – a book to sum up highlights and do its best to answer any of the many questions that could be hurled its way.
TCN’s main man (he hates me calling him boss), Paul Bradbury, did just this when he set about writing a guide book to Hvar. While he is not Croatian, but in fact a pink Brit, he has a ridiculous amount of knowledge and passion for this wonderful little country – particularly for Hvar, where he lived for many years. As far as I know, the book hasn’t made him millions, but he was content to produce something that would maybe make the experience of travellers better.
So, when he shared an email he got with me about his guidebook, I did have a bit of a giggle, because – tourism.
“I Must admit I was very much looking forward to our family trip to Croatia, and Hvar being the destination, thought your book an excellent purchase.
For the most part, it has been an interesting read though to omit the sea urchin presence and make mention of several celebrities who’ve made an appearance, at some point a few years ago, on the island seems to miss the point rather.
Of four of us, two have had not one, not two but three different sea urchin “moments” and it’s only day two.”
To a point, I understand where this is coming from. A mention of sea urchins, would be useful, they are quite literally a pain and if you get spikes stuck in your skin, they have a chance of getting infected. So please do be careful. It was actually part of my welcome speech to a group of 20-something drunk millennials – “Now, the water in Croatia is crystal clear– which is wonderful for us to swim in, but also for sea urchins to live in, so pay attention where you put your feet down”
Credit: Tash Pericic; example of crystal clear water…
Maybe it’s because I’m from New Zealand and more tuned into my surroundings, but I tend to pay attention to what is going on around me; so, if there are black, spiky balls on the bottom of the seabed I am gonna wonder what they are and most likely avoid stepping on them (they are hard to miss). Not to mention, if by chance, myself or a friend did make the mistake once, I would probably be a little more vigilant next time round – once bitten, twice shy and all that.
Sea Urchin, though they come in different sizes, they are kinda hard to miss.
This friendly looking chap is actually my Uncle Joe who recently came to visit me in Croatia. In New Zealand, we call sea urchins – kina, and you wouldn’t find many to step on because they are a delicacy and would have all been eaten by my whanau (maori word for family)!
I know this comment isn’t outright rude, but it does make me wonder about the human race sometimes, and it reminded me of an article that went viral about real complaints to travel agents (read here), some of my favourite complaints were:
“It took us nine hours to fly home from Jamaica to England. It took the Americans only three hours to get home. This seems unfair.”
“We had to line up outside to catch the boat and there was no air-conditioning.”
“No one told us there would be fish in the water. The children were scared.”
“We booked an excursion to a water park but no one told us we had to bring our own swimsuits and towels. We assumed it would be included in the price.”
“I was bitten by a mosquito. The brochure did not mention mosquitoes.”
I can hear some of you saying – “surely this was made up”, and let me tell you, after years dealing with tourists, I guarantee, these are legit.
I once had a tour guide from a boat tell me a ripper, she was asked, nay – told by a passenger – “I am going to use the sink in your cabin to brush my teeth, because your teeth are so nice and white, it must be your sink…”
No words. There are no words.
The Croatian Mountain Rescue Service has taken a brilliant approach to ‘safety announcements’, opting for a little humour to help spread their important message (read their hilarious advice here).
As my father used to say – “Common sense, it isn’t necessarily common”
It also makes me think of Darwin’s ‘Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection’ or ‘Survival of the Fittest’ as most know it; technology and convenience these days allows us the luxury of not needing to think for ourselves, adapt to our surroundings or learn how to survive from available resources. If it came back to natural selection, I wonder how many of us would survive?
All jokes aside, I understand the sentiment about needing to have information about sea urchins, but I also feel like, when travelling in a new country, especially with children, we should all do our best to survey our surrounding (and not rely solely on one guidebook for all the answers). Until then…
Sea urchins are quite common along the Adriatic, while their spikes may look like a lot of fun, we don’t recommend trying to take one for a pet and for some reason they don’t enjoy being stood on (spoil sports) – so water shoes are advisable. Enjoy Croatia.
Extra note for free: the sun is hot during the spring and summer months, if you plan on spending all day in the sun – slapping on some sunscreen (multiple times), is your best bet to avoid the not-so-sexy, lobster look.
Credit: Redit.
