Advertisement
Published: July 12th 2008
Edit Blog Post
The journey north from Ceccano in southern Italy to Ravenna was long but unbelievably beautiful. The countryside is very distinctly Italian, bearing more resemblance to Spain than the rest of Europe. Elaborate Italian villas lie tucked away amid lush, green, rolling hills and farmland. I gazed out the window at the hypnotic symmetry of crop patterns against a backdrop of hills and mountains.
We were all eager to get to our destination - a very hip beach resort called Hanabi. We had been there earlier this year, and the beach, the staff, and the food had left a lasting impression. We arrived in Ravenna in the late afternoon and checked into our hotel in town. Ravenna is a small city with a very clean, charming vibe. After checking in we headed toward the beach and found our way to Hanabi, which is on a coastal road lined with resorts and beach clubs. We had a joyous reunion with Chris, our good friend from the venue, who had taken such great care of us during our previous visit. Bob and Lisa were scheduled to perform an acoustic set that night, which meant that Craig and I had the night off - a
wonderful feeling. After resting for a bit in the sun I couldn't resist getting in the water for a swim. We were on the Adriatic Sea and the water looked calm and was warm to the touch. I was overcome with feelings of bliss and freedom in a calm moment wading into the sea, when (JAB!) I felt a sharp stab in the bottom of my right foot. It felt as if I had stepped on a nail. I pulled my foot out of the water, expecting to see blood gushing out of a gaping hole, but there was no visible wound. With no sign of a puncture and such a painful stab, I figured that I had been stung by something, but the pain subsided quickly and the water felt amazing, so I went in further and started to swim. While I was moving my foot felt almost normal, but every time I stopped I could feel a dull ache all over. After about 15 minutes I swam in to shore. Stepping back onto the beach, my foot slowly began to throb, and the pain seemed to be spreading up to my ankle. It was a bit of a
walk up the beach to the club, and I hobbled awkwardly in a fair amount of pain. When I got to the bar limping and wincing, Chris and the bartender knew right away what had happened. They told me I had been stung by a fish that hides under the sand in shallow water. Apparently it happens often. They quickly prepared a bucket of hot water and ammonia for me to soak the foot in and gave me a cold beer. By this point the pain was sharp and hot, and the bottom of my foot had started to swell. Submerging it in the warm solution they prepared helped a great deal, but the throbbing continued. Chris assured me that the really intense pain normally lasts only about 20-30 minutes. It was very comforting that they knew the problem and how to ease the pain.
Dinner was about to be served, and we all sat at a big table outside - me with my aching foot resting in the bucket. We all unanimously agreed that a bit of drinking would probably help my healing process, and I found solace in the amazing bottles of Italian wine they brought to the
table. We were served a fantastic dinner, beginning with a classic caprese salad with rich buffalo mozzarella and delicious, fresh tomatoes drizzled with oil. I'm a big fan of olive oil, and Italy has the best. This was followed by big trays of grilled meat and fresh bread. Afterwards they brought us a wonderful dessert cocktail - a sort of lemon-vodka smoothie. At some point during the meal I had the water in my bucket changed, and the new hot water helped immensely. My foot was still quite sore, and would remain so for a day or two, but the sharp pain had pretty much left by the time we were done eating. Bob and Lisa played a really nice acoustic set on the patio, and after a while we headed back to the hotel, where it felt amazing to get off of my feet.
Upon arriving back at Hanabi the next day, I was eager to get online and research the wicked animal that had caused me so much pain. I quickly found many articles and accounts very similar to my experience in the water. The culprit was an ugly looking thing called a Weever Fish. It hides, buried
Weever Fish
This is the nasty thing that stung me under the sand, usually at shallow wading depths, with only its dorsal fin exposed. The fin has 3-4 sharp needles filled with a dull poison, its defense against predators (and shoe-less, unlucky swimmers). Before hitting the beach, the rest of my group all wisely went to a shop next door and bought inexpensive rubber water shoes. We spent the entire day on the beach. The weather was perfect, and it was so nice to be able to relax without having a long drive or a busy schedule. I boldly went back in the water, this time with my rubber sandals on. It really is an amazing sea, and is the perfect temperature this time of year. We were again fed a spectacular dinner. This time it was seafood - a cold, fresh seafood salad with baby octopus, calamari, mussels and more, followed by a
divine lobster and shrimp linguini. We played a full band set after dinner on the patio, and a whole mess of people came out to see the show. I was still limping around, but on stage I felt no pain, and we played a really good show. Immediately afterwards I walked out to the beach and
Ouch!
Me, in pain after getting stung in the sea stretched out on a chair, a sea of stars above me. Being in the sun all day had left us all extremely tired, so we didn't stay much longer. We were all sad to leave Hanabi.
We left early the next morning for Novi Sad, Serbia. We were playing a big festival called Exit, which we had been told was one of the biggest and best music festivals in Europe. Upon arriving, we were happy to find out that we were scheduled on the main stage, alongside the very famous US hip-hop act N*E*R*D. The festival was setup within the walls of a 17th century fortress along the Danube river, which was really cool. We were told that Exit is highly revered among Serbians, as it is one of the only ways for them to experience a wide variety of live music from around the world, because the Serbian government makes it very difficult for them to obtain visas to travel outside the country. You could certainly feel the excitement when people started to arrive. It is a large-scale event, with 25 different music stages and around 60,000 people attending daily for four days. We took the stage just as
the sun was setting. The huge field in front of us quickly filled with people and we had a wonderful time playing for them, probably around 4 or 5 thousand by mid set. It was an exhilarating experience. After the show we did a series of press interviews, national television and radio, which were all quite fun.
We all went up to a balcony backstage to watch N*E*R*D, and by the time they took the stage there were easily 15-20 thousand people there, a vast sea of heads. The beginning of their show was marked with technical difficulties, and Pharrell Williams, their star frontman, was visibly upset. The problems eventually got worked out and they went on to rock the massive crowd. Their is an indescribable energy at shows of that size, and it was really a treat to watch from backstage.
Back at the hotel, I settled into a deep slumber, but not for long, as we had a 12 hour drive the next day through Austria and Hungary and into Germany.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.105s; Tpl: 0.012s; cc: 12; qc: 53; dbt: 0.0507s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb