Excellent idea, Rim. Unfortunately, epsom salts appear to be the one thing I forgot to throw into the 1st aid kit.  There is a drugstore in town that might carry it, though. In the meantime I'm thinking that the South China Sea is pretty salty. Maybe another swim might at least sterilize the wounds.
 
Anyone notice how jet lag becomes an ever-greater hurdle the older you get? Just the 3-hour differential going to the east coast requires copious amounts of alternating coffee and prune juice to cope. My present location is a whopping 16-hour time shift from PST. Makes you feel like you're on another planet, not just another continent. I got up at 1:00 AM today, thinking it felt like morning, which I suppose technically it was.
 
I want to know how those guys working call centers in India manage it, since they have to work inverted hours to service the U.S. I'll have to ask "Kevin" from "Texas", who answers the phone when I call my bank.
 
Actually, these wacky hours aren't all that bad. At 1:00 AM it's cool here, in the upper 60's. As I type this I'm sitting outside in shorts and sandals while being serenaded by crickets. And at this hour those incessant chickens have finally shut up. Chickens are the ubiquitous background ambiance of the Philippines, city or country. If I ever get to build my studio here, a primary design requirement will be 80 dB transmission loss at chicken frequencies.
 
Alas, today begins my last week in paradise. On Friday night we'll begin the long trek homeward, starting with an 8-hour overnight drive to Manila. Talk about yer jetlag...we leave Manila on Saturday morning and arrive in Seattle an hour earlier on the same day. Hope there's no snow. 

Maybe this would help...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MhE8Qk7eXUg

This is why I don't go in the sea. The thought of standing on something like that...or worse, one of those stone fish thingies...ugh. Flashback to 1988, in Corfu...I ventured out into a rough sea on an inflatable bed thinking it would be fun. A huge wave crashed over me as I lay on my back, and slopped a great big jellyfish right on my stomach. It was terrifying, disgusting and painful as hell. I screamed like a little girl, in front of little girls. Nope!

 
Sounds like you guys need this!

bitflipper
I'm off to my little island this morning for three weeks of R&R&R&R (rest, relaxation, reading and rejuvenation). Today'll be a day of excruciating tedium, but in 30 hours I'll be having a fresh papaya for breakfast, picked straight from the tree. Expected early-morning temperature there will be in the low-70's (~23C), highs around 90 and no rain (or snow!) in the forecast. As I write this it's 19 degrees (-7C) outside and 37 degrees (3C) here in the studio.
 
We really didn't think we'd be able to go this year given our financial circumstances, but incredibly my wife hit a jackpot on a penny slot machine that paid almost exactly the amount we needed for airfare.
 
Normally, I'd complain that I never have that kind of luck, but this year I found out that I can be lucky, too. People I've never met offered to buy me some plugins! And it didn't stop there. I was also offered a free audio interface, and a tc Powercore! Many others simply PM'd me to say thanks for contributing to the forum and helping them out in the past. My wife's jackpot pales in comparison to mine.
 
If all that wasn't enough to raise my spirits, all I have to do is think back to where I was a year ago. I wasn't in this financial jam (yet) but I was in unrelenting pain, barely able to walk and popping narcotics like they were M&Ms. Today I can walk again, I'm free of pain, 30 pounds lighter and physically stronger than I've been in 20 years. My hair has not come back, but other parts of me I'd long written off are functioning once again.
 
So here I sit with the essentials packed into my carry-on: passport, laptop, MP3 player, books, sunglasses, sunscreen and headphones. I'll send you all a virtual postcard!
 
Cheers and thanks to all,
Dave

I can only guess at what you went through, but that's a really heart-warming story, Dave. I'm happy for you that things have turned around.
 
Have a great, relaxing time on your island; 'see' you when you get back, buddy.

bitflipper
I'm off to my little island this morning for three weeks of R&R&R&R (rest, relaxation, reading and rejuvenation). Today'll be a day of excruciating tedium, but in 30 hours I'll be having a fresh papaya for breakfast, picked straight from the tree. Expected early-morning temperature there will be in the low-70's (~23C), highs around 90 and no rain (or snow!) in the forecast. As I write this it's 19 degrees (-7C) outside and 37 degrees (3C) here in the studio.
 
We really didn't think we'd be able to go this year given our financial circumstances, but incredibly my wife hit a jackpot on a penny slot machine that paid almost exactly the amount we needed for airfare.
 
Normally, I'd complain that I never have that kind of luck, but this year I found out that I can be lucky, too. People I've never met offered to buy me some plugins! And it didn't stop there. I was also offered a free audio interface, and a tc Powercore! Many others simply PM'd me to say thanks for contributing to the forum and helping them out in the past. My wife's jackpot pales in comparison to mine.
 
If all that wasn't enough to raise my spirits, all I have to do is think back to where I was a year ago. I wasn't in this financial jam (yet) but I was in unrelenting pain, barely able to walk and popping narcotics like they were M&Ms. Today I can walk again, I'm free of pain, 30 pounds lighter and physically stronger than I've been in 20 years. My hair has not come back, but other parts of me I'd long written off are functioning once again.
 
So here I sit with the essentials packed into my carry-on: passport, laptop, MP3 player, books, sunglasses, sunscreen and headphones. I'll send you all a virtual postcard!
 
Cheers and thanks to all,
Dave

I can only guess at what you went through, but that's a really heart-warming story, Dave. I'm happy for you that things have turned around.
 
Have a great, relaxing time on your island; 'see' you when you get back, buddy.

I think this is what they call "living the dream". Have a nice time... think of us up here in the "polar vortex".
 
J

Craig, I checked the TOC on Amazon - no mention of sea urchins. Apparently not a problem in Florida. Then again, I may be the first tourist ever to manage a sea urchin injury.
 
Jellyfish, however, do show up here from time to time. One year my daughter's hat blew off, right into the biggest swarm of jellyfish I've ever seen. I told her to write it off, hats were cheap in town, but she waded right in and retrieved her hat without being stung. Brave girl.
 
I, OTOH, have been stung many times - by hat and t-shirt vendors in town who take advantage of tourists who tend to compare local prices to Wal-Mart prices back home and think 12 bucks is an excellent price for a $3 t-shirt.

I still have PTSD (Post Traumatic Sting Disorder)* from jellyfish I used to encounter at the beach at Port Aransas, TX. I can't begin to explain how badly those things hurt. I used to wish for a shark attack, just to make the pain stop. I contemplated tearing out my own nerves, setting them on fire and then soaking the charred remains in battery acid in order to make them feel better.
 
*(Oddly enough, that's not the name of a Police song, but I think it should be...)

I think it would be great if every one on the planet could go some place else on the planet for a month, every year. It might make for a little more understanding in the world. If I was to win a Grammy, Golden Globe or Oscar my acceptance speech would be a hoot. I would thank clean running tap water, a steady supply of reliable energy and the grocery store.