Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Ocean Ashtray

While walking on the beach I spotted in the fisherman's net a spiney creature.
 It is a spiney sea urchin.


As I photographed it one of the fishermen picked it up and asked me if I knew what it was.
I said I didn't and he said that it is an ocean ashtray.


He used a piece of coral to rub the spines off, knocked a hole in the bottom and scooped out the insides. He rinsed it in the water and then used his finger to scrape some tiny little yellow eggs out.
He offered them to me but I said, "No, thanks."
He ate them and said they were good and very nourshing. He rinsed it again and Voila!
An Ocean ashtray!


I guess necessity is truly the mother of invention.
Strange because not many people here are smokers, it is rather rare to see a cigarette butt on the ground unless you go to a tourist spot.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Interesting.
I wish that I didn't have to see cigarette butts on the ground.

jeniferstone said...

i posted a comment on this the other day....what happened to it? anyway, i said i used to go snorkeling in panama city and get these in the bay and bring em home & "kill" them in bleach and set em all over the place for decorations.....