The Sea Urchin and Old Satan

Almost everyone it seems travels in August for summer vacation and the Marco Beach Boys and Girls are no exception. For many years, an easy answer for a summer getaway was to drive to Miami and climb aboard a cruise ship. The cruises are very affordable after Labor Day because the kids are back in school and many travelers are afraid of being out on a cruise ship or a Caribbean island during the peak of hurricane season. As a result, the craziness of the busy summer season is winding down, there are fewer families with kids and couples that choose a late summer cruise vacation have enough space to explore the ship and the islands and get into some interesting escapades. The following is one of those adventures.

When the cruise began, the three Marco couples were beyond excited and ready for some unforgettable exploits. There was genuine excitement in the air because the crew of the ship was obviously relieved not to have a thousand kids running all over the ship, and most of the passengers were thankful because there were no hurricanes in sight and the ports of call were not overwhelmed with small visitors that wanted chicken fingers and French fries.

The beginning of the cruise was indeed relaxing, and the first ports of call were calm, beautiful, and friendly, but as the vacation began passing, the Marco Beach Boys and Girls began craving more adventure.

There was a definite quest for unique experiences, and when the Marco crew landed on an island with a very remote beach and a volcano with a summit that was hiding in the clouds, everything for a colorful scenario seemed to be in place. 

The remote beach was indeed remote, and to arrive at the distant location, a local taxi driver drove along a narrow coastal road that was a precarious snake of twists and turns along scary seaside cliffs that were tumbling down to violent breakers crashing below.

After the rattling taxi gave up on the serpentine road, it began descending into a dense jungle path to carry the Marco travelers onto a little crescent beach with a grove of coconut palms and a beachside bar and restaurant. Along the beach were a smattering of English, German, and American tourists. Soon after the arrival of the first Pina Coladas, the adventure began when a young woman at the water’s edge began screaming hysterically.

There were perhaps forty persons at the tiny resort, and soon after the screams began, many of the visitors began gathering around the unfortunate activity at the center of the little beach. After a few moments of continuous cries, the Marco Crew decided to investigate.

At the edge of the water and resting on a lounge chair was the painful source of the problem and a young woman who was crying and holding her foot. Everyone was concerned with the appearance of about twenty porcupine-like quills that were sticking out from the bottom of her heel. However, no one in the tourist group seemed to know what to do.

The Caribbean manager of the little resort soon appeared with a server’s tray containing a plastic jar of Vaseline and four servings of dark rum in shot glasses.

“Here Missy,” the manager spoke in his singsong voice. “Drink all of the rum and rub on the Vaseline. You will be fine and brand-new in no time.”

After the delivery of the manager’s cure, he returned to the beachside bar, but through her tears, the young woman who was the victim was clearly dubious. “Does anyone here know what these black spines are?”

As no one watching seemed to know, one of the Marco crew stepped forward. “You have stepped on a Sea Urchin,” was the answer from a Marco Islander. “The spines have broken off and are now in your heel.”

“How do you know?” came her reply through the tears. “Are you a doctor?”

The Marco crew laughed and answered, “No, not a doctor but a beach boy from Marco Island. I have seen this before many times. I’m sure the manager means well with the rum and the Vaseline, but all of the spines have to come out. You must go back to the ship and see the doctor.”

After the young woman and her friends were back on the jungle road, the Marco crew decided to try the trail that led up from the beach to the side of the old volcano. Before the Marco Islanders were out of earshot, the singsong cry of the beach manager began to offer a warning: “Stay on the path and watch out for Old Satan. He is the king of that mountain!”

Everyone laughed. Then the crew began climbing. Everyone wanted an adventure. After half an hour, the clouds from the summit began falling onto a steep trail with a dense jungle on either side. Visibility became difficult but the crew kept ascending. When the trail began to fork in three different directions, the Marco crew continued with the center trail. As the assent continued, the clouds became thicker and a scent of sulfur began to permeate the air. About that time, everyone realized that the sulfur smell was another name for brimstone, and the descending clouds became more hellish and spooky, a very loud but inhuman cry came out of the fog. A cry that no one wanted to consider. When everyone - without comment - decided to turn around at once, Old Satan appeared out of the volcanic fog with evil green eyes, a ratty-tangled beard, and very long horns. Old Satan was a Billy goat that was now standing steadfast in the middle of the trail that was the only way down the volcano. When he charged, everyone ran in a panic. The Marco Crew dove into the jungle until Old Satan was past, and when the little group from Marco finally boarded the cruise ship, everyone realized that between the mishap of the sea urchin and Old Satan the need for memory-making was past…until the next adventure.