Peru: an inside view

Please tell me how!?

 

Swiss Army knife....

 

Trev, keep crushing life mang. Officially moving to Washington on March 19th... I hope to get a few sessions in with you when you return to the PNW for fire season. keep us posted mang, enjoy hearing your stories

 

I've tried that... they just keep crushing and breaking off. Unless there's a technique I'm not using...

 

Heyduke, shoot me a PM when you get out here and I'll give you the rundown.

Coca leaves "everywhere" huh? Hmmmmmm...........

 

I have used a needle in the past along with a sharp knife to dig them out... other then digging them out, I don't know of any other way that works well...

I have heard of a method of digging down to it with a needle/knife, then drip wax (candle not surf wax) on it- let it dry and then pick the wax out- the black peices are suppose to stick to the wax. A friend of mine tried it and if I remember correctly- it seemed to make more of a mess then it's worth... but the theory seems good specially adding the heat of the wax...

Anyways- they sell really nice and sharp tweezers for like 10 bucks that are helpful...

 

I have had Wana in my foot...after you dig out big pieces and while it's opened up, soak in vinegar. It will dissolve any bits left over and it helps keep the bacteria away. Does not always work. I had one close back up and get super tender and soar...probably infection. Opened that sucker back (digging that thing open hurt) up and soaked in hydrogen peroxide. Eventually it healed up.

 

Here's my method. First off, drink some beers or other alcohol. Weed is fine as well. Give significant other needle and tweezers then green light them to go to town until the little bastards are out. For whatever reason I am an urchin magnet. I think it has something to do with the fact I mostly surf beachbreaks on east coast thus I tend to touch the bottom with my feet a lot. People who surf reef all the time are trained not to touch the sea floor.

 

Tres, a method used extensively for decades in PR is to soak the area well with WHITE vinegar first--the acidic action softens the surrounding skin (which is around urchin needles) so needles are then easier to push/press out, or retrieve with tweezers.

 

4 Trips to PR with not one urchin for me. Lucky I guess, sounds f'ing awful.

 

Sounds good KR, few more weeks

 

+1 for the hot vinegar soaks. I've also heard of wood glue to take out splinters, it might work the same here.


I was attacked by a vicious urchin my first time in PR and it bothered me on land but I was fine in the water and on the board. Not sure if it was adrenalin or softened skin. I'd work on getting them out for a while each night with pretty good success.

The last one finally came out nearly 2 weeks later. I was in the office alone cutting, poking and squeezing at this pencil lead sized urchin spine and it finally shot out of my heel and hit the ceiling.

 

On my very first trip to PR as a kid, I was talking to a local who told me, "Neber tush de reef." Good advise, but not always possible!

 

Probably belongs in the Fukushima thread, but related to Trev:

King5 News ran a story a couple days ago stating that samples of Cesium-134 have been detected in the waters off Gold Beach and Tillamook. The element has been established to have the fingerprint from Fukushima. The element has never been detected in these waters before. Levels are deemed to be so low as to not be harmful.

By going to Peru, Trev might have saved himself the embarrassment of sprouting a 3rd eye lol.

Guess it won't be much longer until it works its way up here