Why come to the Costa del Sol if not going to the beach?

Well, there are lots of other things to do, ..... and to read up on this go to the original posting here. This is a quick update on the things to keep in mind to keep safe. So, when you are going to the beach you may want to prepare. The usual hints are always to be respected, look for the general warnings:

• Sun protection always and all year round, be carefull!! Look up the advice relevant for your skin. Use sun cream and take an umbrella, you do need the sun on your skin, but be sensible, follow the locals - in summer beach and sun times are from early morning till 11.00 and then come back around 16.00. In the interim time look for the shade and remember most fabrics will let UV rays through and you will get your sun taint even under the umbrella and T-shirt.
• for UK advice start here or here or just search online ...
• Deutschland - hier oder hier oder einfach mal online suchen ...
• and just have a look what other beach goers are doing and ask them, Spanish people may be reluctant to give you any advice, hints or even warnings voluntarily out of respect. Just ask and you should get a friendly answer ..... "Perdon, yo no hablo Español?" is always a good start, though, quite contradicting, everyone will understand, "Hay problemas en la playa aqui?", you might get help in English before you get the second phrase ....

In Spain you will see the following warning flags on beaches and during guarded times (July/August 10.00-19.00 mostly)

The yellow flag should be up if no beach guards are around and it might warn of the potential of jelly fish. At those times local and experienced beach goers will not be in the water (always a good sign to stay out if hardly anyone is splashing), they will be watching the water from the shore and kids may wade in carefully witch nets to catch the prey.

To find out more look at sites like Infomedusa  (medusa = jelly fish) - they also have an App. the App also tells you about water temperature and some other conditions around. Expect to get official warnings just in July and August. So, for the rest of the year talk to the locals.

And on those days with warnings you may enjoy the pool in the gardens here, the water parks along the cost or a walk in the "hinterland" with a bath in river pools and lakes - some information is here, here or here.

Despite the warning below, so far in 2019 the beaches around Marbella have seen a lot less jellyfish then we had in 2018.

Recently (June 2019) there have been sightings of a "jellyfish imposter" near Benidorm and off beaches in Marbella. The Portuguese Man O’War looks like jellyfish but is a species of siphonophore, a group of animals that are closely related to jellyfish. Their sting is not nice to say the least. Stay in touch with what people do around the beach - if no one is in the water, then there is a reason .....

What to do if you're stung by a Portuguese man o' war

• The Portuguese man o' war has long tentacles which deliver a venomous and sometimes deadly sting.
• The man o' war is not technically a jellyfish but a siphonophore, made up of a colony of tiny individual animals called zooids which work together, functioning as one animal.
• Man o' wars sting through tiny venomous nematocysts which paralyse small fish or other prey.
• Stings from a man o'war result in severe dermatitis and in rare cases can be deadly.
• The NHS says if stung by a jellyfish you should rinse the affected area with sea water and remove spines from the skin with tweezers or a bank card.
• Do not pour on vinegar, pee on the sting, apply ice or a cold pack, touch any spines with your bare hands or cover or close the wound.
• Do soak the area with very warm water, take over the counter painkillers and most importantly, get help straight away.