Mermaid Mishap in the Bermuda Triangle

You can find the show notes to this episode 👉 here

🪼What would you do if you found yourself face-to-face with a Portuguese Man o' War jellyfish in the mysterious waters of the Bermuda Triangle? 

🧜🏻‍♀️Join Alexandra, your favorite traveling mermaid, as she shares her exhilarating and sometimes perilous underwater adventures with her best friend Erica, who courageously faces her fear of the ocean. 

👯From the beauty and dangers of shipwreck exploration to side-splitting tales of instant karma, this episode is packed with laughter, friendship, and the magic of the sea.

🌊Amidst the waves and jellyfish, we'll navigate the challenges of using professional mermaid tails, managing claustrophobia, and capturing the perfect underwater shot with a GoPro. 

🎙️Tune in for a humorous and inspiring tale that promises to bring a smile to your face and spark your own adventurous spirit!

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Transcript

Alexandra 0:00

Nobody's safe , not even mermaids . Hey there , adventurers , and welcome to Tick It Before You Kick it - a podcast about helping you conquer your adventure bucket list . I'm Alexandra , your favorite traveling mermaid and adventure blogger , and in this episode, we are going to be talking about a travel story that I have recently acquired from Bermuda . Now , for those of you who didn't know , I run a travel blog as a mermaid and I talk about adventure and bucket lists and blah , blah , blah . And naturally, I thought it would be a great idea to go on a cruise to Bermuda , because I've been cruising all my life but I have never been to that area and I just figure , wow , like a mermaid's paradise . And it's been on my bucket list to go into a shipwreck in the Bermuda Triangle with my mermaid tail . Just a standard bucket list idea , right ? So I ended up dragging my best friend , Erica, with me . She is probably going to be on this show several times because I end up taking her on the craziest adventures . It just works out that way . I don't know why , but something about us two together . Wild things happen when we travel together , and so I'm actually going to switch over , because after this travel story happened , we went back to our room on the cruise and we actually took out my phone as a voice memo and we did this podcast on my phone in the cruise ship room because we just had to talk about this crazy thing that happened when I was mermaiding in the Bermuda Triangle in a shipwreck . So I apologize if the audio is not as good . As I said , we were in our cruise ship room and we just had to talk about it . So, please enjoy this story . I hope it brings a smile to your face , because how often do you get to hear about a mermaid and what happened to me while I was mermaiding the Bermuda Triangle ? So , without further ado , enjoy . Okay , so we're here to tell you the story of what just happened . This happened about two hours ago . Um , I am here with my best friend and dearest , closest friend , Erica , who just sacrificed life and limb to help me get some

Let the Travel Story Begin

Alexandra 2:10

- I turned out okay .

Alexandra 2:12

She said, " I turned out okay .

Erica 2:15

That's a bit of a spoiler . Spoiler alert . Okay , first thing you have to know hey , this is Erica . I am deeply afraid of the ocean , deeply .

Erica 2:27

No pun intended ,

Alexandra 2:27

and she's best friends with a mermaid , so this this works out really well for her .

Erica 2:29

I took swim lessons as a kid um , I can swim , I can tread water , whatever all that . I don't like swimming when there are things in the water . I don't want anything touching me . The sea lions last time was a horrible - that was - That was like new fear because you couldn't see them . I hate not seeing what's under me yeah

Sea Lion Story

Erica 2:47

, so .

Alexandra 2:47

So for context , I was like oh , E ri ca , jump into an island of 3,000 of sea lions in P eru , it'll be fine . I also made her first swim with a shark .

Erica 2:58

That was 10 years ago now , which I was still a little bit young and like , " yeah , I'll do it" and it was very supervised . It was a very supervised, like, t The guide was right there . T there's people taking photos in the water . It was all very organized . Yes , for sure , you know , very pristine . Um then , the sea lions in Peru about three years ago now was my deepest , darkest fear , because I couldn't see under me .

Alexandra 3:20

Y yeah , that that was really scary . It was really murky and there were so many sea lions around us . It was so cold . Yeah , when we booked this excursion , we thought that it was going to be like one or two . Oh yeah , I thought it was like in a little enclosure . And then we were on the boat and he goes there's the island , and I was like the island of what ? And it sounded like boo . It was like they were booing us . They were like please don't come near . S scary .

Erica 3:48

And he just literally pushed us off the boat on an island of sea lions . We had wetsuits on and it was the coldest thing I've ever felt I don't know how long we were in there . Anyway , I was very conscious of the fact that sharks eat sea lions the whole entire time , and it smelled like fish and other things . It was like dead sea lions . I it smelled like death .

Alexandra 4:04

It smelled death . It was just . It was just something . It was an experience , so that was the last time we went traveling together . Why is she still friends with me at this point ? I don't know .

Erica 4:13

It's been 15 years .

Erica 4:15

This is our 15 year friendiversary and we're here on a beautiful cruise . I got a little bit seasick yesterday . We took some Dramamine I'm fine now . It was fine . We took some dramamine I'm fine now . It was fine . We took dramamine before today , which ?

Alexandra 4:26

I'm glad that we did . Yeah , the boat was a rocket , it was rocky . The the bermuda triangle holds up to its reputation it is a little rocky and there's just a lot of reefs everywhere , like I can definitely see how it got its name , because if I was going to the new world and I didn't have the navigational techniques you know and you just like run a reef and you're like well , okay ,

Erica 4:47

it was really cool , but when polarized sunglasses like looking out as we were heading out to the triangle , it was actually amazing like aqua , blue , fairy rivers , like they were glowing it looked magical .

Alexandra 4:58

It was really cool with just your sunglasses . My $20 sunglasses did not hold a candle , however her nice , her nice sunglasses did . It was great , it was really

Start of the Mermaid Story

Alexandra 5:07

fun .

Erica 5:07

So we get there . I've snorkeled before 10 years ago we were in the Bahamas or something and it was very tame .

Alexandra 5:17

I don't know it was good there was a shark .

Erica 5:19

Easy , it was a nice shark .

Alexandra 5:22

It was easy a zillion people there and there were so many guides and there was no waves calm . Today we're in the Bermuda Triangle and I'm very aware of that fact she doesn't like the ocean and I , as you may not have known , am a mermaid travel blogger , so naturally I get in a full mermaid tail .

Erica 5:44

What if I broke up with you right now as friends Um ?

Alexandra 5:47

I would not like that . I would not enjoy that .

Erica 5:50

What if I said I've had enough ?

Alexandra 5:51

However , me and my jellyfish sting . Spoiler alert um , oh no , would understand .

Erica 5:58

So as we're heading out on the boat we're sitting like on the top and it's rocking and stuff , but we're fine . And then I see this like I don't know how to describe this in a - It looks like a plastic bag kind of floating on the water , l Like a little sandwich bag .

Alexandra 6:13

I have like anxiety about asking if I can use my mermaid tail . And I'm sitting there , I'm like with my giant mermaid tail , I'm like , oh , are they going to let me use it ? And then this lady's like what is that ? And everybody , oh , are they gonna let me use it ? And then this lady's like what is that ? And everybody rushes to the side of the boat . It's a man of war jellyfish , basically a pretty nasty , long , stinging jellyfish .

Alexandra 6:33

He actually said that their tentacles get up to 150 feet, right ?

Erica 6:37

He did and he said , " oh , by the shore they're only 10 feet . Oh , okay , but yeah , yeah , but we're not in the shore . We're in the bermuda triangle , where a bunch of shipwrecks just floating by as we pull up to these buoys and we attach to these buoys , I immediately was like , oh crap , like right on the side of the boat .

Alexandra 6:51

Erica's going to lose her crap r Right on the side of the boat . I'm like she's already nervous for this .

Erica 7:02

I was just like this is gonna go great not the moment this is gonna be sea lions 2.0 , so uh , took me a little while to jump

Jumping into the Bermuda Triangle

Erica 7:10

in there .

Alexandra 7:10

Yeah , I had alex go in first well , me in my mermaid tail , everybody's watching me . I'm in my mermaid tail , they approved , it was great . I jump in . Yes , yes , they approved , it was all approved . I was like I'm certified , I'm safe , I'm a diver , it's fine . So I jump in , jump in first and I'm just like waiting for her , and then eventually she goes in and I just come up to her and she's just like heaving . She's just like so hard .

Erica 7:36

Listen , listen . I'm kind of claustrophobic , so my goggles were all fogged . I couldn't see anything , but I knew I had to have them on so I could breathe . So , yeah , and then , oh , and then my fins were loose and I just felt like all discombobulated .

Alexandra 7:52

And she has my GoPro and I'm like take my main videos of me . I didn't want it . I was like she's like no Hold onto it .

Erica 7:57

Hold onto it at first , please . I have to adjust , it's gonna take me a little while , and so the and the waves started coming it ,

Alexandra 8:06

yeah it's called the Bermuda Triangle for a reason .

Alexandra 8:09

There was some .

Alexandra 8:10

There was some waves like -

Erica 8:11

I couldn't not have my mask on , yes , which is what was unfortunate ,

Alexandra 8:14

- and I was like well , just like look into the water , because once you look into the water it clears up a little bit .

Erica 8:19

And then I did , and said oh no , oh no , I don't like that , because right by the ship they were feeding the fish , so the fish were just were they feeding ? Them . Yes , they were throwing out food into the water oh , I didn't know that .

Erica 8:29

That's what the particles are in the videos . Oh , anyway , they were feeding the fish . They were swarming around me and like swimming up to my face when I looked in the water and I could never even reach my hand in a fish tank when I was a kid to like clean it .

Alexandra 8:41

This is true friendship right here .

Erica 8:42

I couldn't do it , so I was really panicky .

Alexandra 8:46

So she was panicking , and again I am in the middle of the Bermuda Triangle with a full on mermaid tail . And if you can't visualize this . This is not like a children's mermaid tail , this is like a professional .

Erica 8:59

I don't know how you did it .

Alexandra 9:01

Mermaid tail and it's big and I all of a sudden bobbing and just she's just bobbing

Erica 9:06

and just breathing really heavy trying to regulate , cause I know , I know that when I'm anxious or whatever , panicking like , I have to just regulate and I have to get through it . I don't have to get out , I just have to get through it and adjust , cause it was also very cold , it was it was pretty cold , it was cold , um , and the waves were coming . I just I needed to just sit in there a little while right and swim a little bit away from the boat , but then I looked in the water and saw a jellyfish and I was like okay , yeah , so again more jellyfish are coming up , and

Alexandra 9:35

H e did say that there were some brown jellyfish I'm not exactly sure , yeah , um cute , it was not .

Alexandra 9:41

It was not the man of war .

Erica 9:42

I jumped in the water kind of swam to you , and then we heard shouting by the boat .

Alexandra 9:49

I feel like ever since that one was like oh , there's a man of war . Because every time someone says man of war they're like oh my god , death and destruction and so everybody was so paranoid . I just see people all around me are just like jellyfish . So that's like freaking her out and there's like 30 of us at one point . Yeah , there was a lot .

Erica 10:07

There was a lot of people out there , yeah , and they were all kind of panicky . They were really panicky .

Alexandra 10:14

They were like screaming at one point and I was like this is not good for everybody . So eventually I was like cause I'm also a yoga instructor , so I was like breathe through your nose , exhale through your mouth , like it's gonna be okay .

Erica 10:27

and she was just , of course , like like I know what to do , I just have

Erica, what are you afraid of?!

Erica 10:32

to do it

Alexandra 10:32

and eventually I was just like Erica . What are you afraid of ?

Erica 10:39

And she caught this on video and I'm so glad and I felt really bad in the moment because I literally said I don't know . I don't think you can hear my response , but I was kind of snippy . And we were like what are you afraid of ? And I said I don't want to talk about it .

Alexandra 10:52

I d on't want to talk about it . And I was like , what are you afraid of ? And we caught it on video , me saying Erica , what are ar you afraid of ?

Erica 11:04

That what not to say to someone having a panic attack . Yes , that is , btw , not not the right way to go for it , especially when you are actively in rolling waters in the open ,

Alexandra 11:08

with jellyfish all around you in the open sea in the bermuda triangle . Looking back , that was not the best way to go , but

Erica 11:14

I didn't care though , because I I was conscious and aware enough of like . I've had panic attacks before . I'm not that anxious guys , but this was really scary .

Alexandra 11:12

Looki ng was scary , I'm sorry it was so .

Erica 11:25

I knew I would be fine . I knew I had to just wait it out and just kind of bob around and tighten my little flippers and clean out my goggles . And once I did that , erica , what are you afraid of ? I could see in the water and I looked down and it was a shipwreck and I was like , oh , that's so cool , cool , it was really cool , it really was really cool to see surreal and-

Alexandra 11:44

there was also like three shipwrecks within our entire scuba site like it was weird really cool .

Alexandra 11:49

They're all really close . Yeah , they were all really close and I'm like oh , I get why this is called the Bermuda Triangle like there's just kind of in a triangle shape . Um yeah , well , not even that . It was just like . It was just a lot of shipwrecks , like they were just everywhere . So that was really cool and it was really cool to like see it . I don't think she liked the fish , but I think you really liked the shipwreck I got .

Erica 12:06

The shipwrecks were amazing , I think , because they were kind of shallow too they were .

Alexandra 12:10

They were very tall , like I'd say , probably like something 40 or 50 feet , but I think the the shipwreck that was most towards the surface , like you could touch it with , just like holding your breath a little bit and just going down . It was amazing .

Erica 12:24

It was really , really cool moral of the story just keep going -

Alexandra 12:28

- but like instantly , like you were , just like I'm fine now .

Erica 12:31

I knew that I had to get the video for you because I love you so much and I was like I have a job . She was like I need to get this video , this mermaid video yes , I was like I can absolutely do this and stick my head under the water and get the gopro .

Alexandra 12:45

um and spoiler alert .

Alexandra 12:47

This video is amazing .

Alexandra 12:50

There's several there's like they're amazing like they and I decided to wear my black tail which just popped . It was like siren vibes , like it was beautiful . So good , it was beautiful , yeah . So anyway , moral of the story I said the wrong thing and I said you know , erica , what are you so afraid of

Getting Stung in a Mermaid Tail

Alexandra 13:09

?

Alexandra 13:09

Um ? And then I ended up swimming out a little bit and I got stung by the man of war , oh boy , and I didn't know . She kept it from me immediately . I knew it immediately because it was just like little tiny fishing lines , like I just oh , I knew it immediately as soon as I did it and it was like my entire arm was on fire , like it was just like little tiny pins and needles and just like all up my arm and just almost around my body . It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be . I've heard horror stories from this specific jellyfish and I thought that it would be a lot worse than it was . However , it was pretty terrible and she's like can you get some videos of me ? And I was like crying .

Alexandra 13:51

I was like . I was like I didn't see it .

Erica 13:55

I will . Well , I also didn't want to tell you I'm so glad you didn't , because I was like I'm not gonna tell her .

Alexandra 14:00

I'm not gonna tell her until we're on the boat and we're safe and it's fine . And we literally got in there . And then he was , and someone else had been stung by one of the little brown jellyfish and he was like , oh , I'll get you some apple cider vinegar . And I was like , how about for this ? And he was like , oh God , like it was like bubbling up on my entire head . I'm looking at it now entire hand .

Erica 14:19

It's better now .

Alexandra 14:20

Yeah , yeah , yeah it's way better now . Honestly , it's , it's . It's really good now red it , but you can see the streak .

Erica 14:26

It definitely still stings not on your arm a little bit , I think ?

Alexandra 14:29

oh yeah , yeah , it was not as bad as it was before but it was just like instant karma . I was like what are you afraid of ? And I get stung by a man o' war , so it serves me right , that's what you're afraid of

Erica 14:43

it was a great day , A + day .

Erica 14:45

We got on the ship and they were handing out rum and we're having a good time .

Alexandra 14:48

Yeah , listen to music actually got one of those . What is it ? Rum swizzle . I've heard rum sizzler .

Erica 14:54

I've heard rum swizzle I've heard four different things . I've heard rum swizzler . I've heard I think it's swizzle swizzle , I don't know .

Alexandra 15:02

Anyway , that sounds right . It was really good . They were like actively pouring vinegar on my hand while I was drinking rum , Like it was just something else . It really was . And I'm like holding my mermaid tail l Like this is something else , this is .

Erica 15:16

Oh gosh , A plus day though .

I'm Just Glad it Wasn't You

Alexandra 15:19

A plus day .

Erica 15:19

A plus day , honestly , I'm selfishly glad I did not get stung , because I don't think I would have gone in the ocean again .

Alexandra 15:25

I remember when I did it and I turned around to you and was like I swear to God if she gets stung . I was in so much pain , but I didn't think about me . Thank . God it happened to me .

Erica 15:38

And thank .

Alexandra 15:38

God it did not happen to you .

Erica 15:40

I'm really glad too . Yes , I made it , made a plus day .

Erica 15:45

Really it was great . Shipwrecks were insane if you get the chance to go .

Alexandra 15:49

Absolutely they were amazing one sunk in the 1860s and the other one was 1940s .

Erica 15:55

I used to think I'd want to be on a pirate ship when I was younger and now I'm like maybe not , maybe not , maybe not . There's a lot of jellyfish , it's just the jellyfish .

Alexandra 16:06

Erica , what are you afraid of , the jellyfish ? Oh my gosh , I'm so glad that you didn't get stung . I'm really , really , really glad that you didn't get stung Me too , man . That's what I mean . That's our story . Thanks for listening , and I'm literally looking at my man o' w War scars right now . So there you go , I'll help her heal . Great , perfect Best friend . There you go . So that wraps it up for this episode

Ending Remarks

Alexandra 16:31

of Ticket .

Alexandra 16:31

Before you Kick it and my jellyfish man of War story in Bermuda , just an update the rash did end up going away after you know , we recorded this . It did hurt pretty badly for about a day or so and then I just had this like itchy rash on my hand again . It kind of looked like I had gotten whipped on my hand and as of right now , it's still there . So , man of war , they don't mess around , good to know . Nobody's safe , not even mermaids . But in all reality , I have been in the ocean so many times and this is the only time where I've ever had something happen to me like this . So please don't let this deter you from any of your adventures . I just thought it was a hilarious story of my instant karma , really .

Alexandra 17:19

Anyway , I hope you enjoyed this travel story . If you did like this travel story , please do not forget to subscribe , like , send to all your travel buddies and check out more of my content on thebucketlistmermaidcom . Until next time , keep adventuring and stay away from those jellyfish . They might look cool , but they hurt . Also , if you do want to see any of this footage , any of my Bermuda photos , please stay tuned . On my social media , at the Bucket List Mermaid , I will be slowly , slowly and surely trickling all of this content out and eventually I'm going to create an epic Bermuda bucket list as I do . So , stay tuned and , as always , keep adventuring and keep bucket listing you .