From the FAQ on wherethehellismatt.com I learned about Jellyfish Lake. Once connected to the ocean in the distant past, the lake was cut off from it long ago and the jellyfish -suddenly without predators- lost the potency of their sting. Now they exist in astounding abundance and humans can swim right through them.
However, the lake isn’t without its dangers, as Wikipedia notes:
At night, the jellyfish descend into a layer of hydrogen sulfide which is found below 15-20m of depth. SCUBA diving in the lake is prohibited to avoid disturbing the jellyfish and also to reduce the risk of hydrogen sulfide poisoning.
Wow. Most people probably think this is beautiful, and while I do think it’s neat, I am also horrified. In my opinion (and I believe I share this with the creators of Spongebob Squarepants) jellyfish are the butterflies of the sea. That particular analogy applies even more fully to this lake, since these jellies, like butterflies, don’t actually harm people.
I don’t like butterflies because one particular day during my childhood, a butterfly landed on me at the Audubon Zoo. It landed on my shoulder, and for the first time, I got a really close look and realized that butterflies are nothing more than worms (caterpillars, which I hate) with wings. I don’t believe caterpillars should be more mobile than they already are.
The aversion to jellyfish comes from getting stung once a year as a child. I know these don’t have the ability to sting, but I can’t help having a bit of a predjudice against them. When I was 13, we went to Key West and Key Largo for a super duper snorkeling vacation (my dad loves snorkeling and taking underwater pictures). As kids we were a little dissapointed at the lack of beaches in the keys, since we were used to Destin every summer. Anyway, back to my point: one day we were out on some boat, snorkeling and they stopped us by this jetty. We got out, and at first, it was really neat, but then my friend Lindsay and I swam through what felt like a million comb jellies. They can’t sting you, but they were everywhere, and their slimy bodies were too much for me to handle. They kept getting caught between my fingers and hitting my mask. I still shudder just thinking about it.