Anyone who knows me, knows I have four main fears. Three of them are very common and quite logical;

Arachnophobia (a fear of spiders) Acrophobia (a fear of heights) and Ophidiophobia ( a fear of snakes)

The last one is not logical at all. Eremikophobia. This is the fear of Sand. Yes, that yellow stuff on the beach. The substance that you make castles out of.

Freak Out Time

Yeah, not in this lifetime!!

I don’t remember ever having a negative experience with Sand. I was an only child so was never buried up to my neck and left in it. I didn’t see something bad happening on sand that made me panic about it. I just don’t know why It affects me so.

One year, my Mother-in-law and I went to the seaside for the day with the children. We were walking along the promenade whilst the children walked on the sand. Mum took my arm  and said something along the lines of “Oh let’s join the girls on the sand” and pulled me down onto it.

Let me get one thing straight. She didn’t do it with malice, or even good intentions. She didn’t realise the depth of my fear for sand.

Well the inevitable happened. My feet hit the sand and as they did, I burst into tears on the spot. I was a grown woman in my late 30′ s and I was bawling like a baby on the sand.

We got straight off the beach, with Mum apologising profusely. She genuinely didn’t know how bad I was. I guess that was mainly to me not really talking about it, and also whenever we went to the beach, I  tended to wear a pair of those neoprene/rubber swim shoes that you can get.

As long as my bare feet are not touching the sand, I am as good as gold.

This was a bit of a challenge when I went to St Lucia two years ago. Of course the hotel we were staying at was beachfront. Pure white soft sand. Miles and miles of it.

Coconut Bay Beach Resort

Unfortunately I was unable to get hold of any of the neoprene shoes.

I was then left with the challenge of either pulling up my big girl pants and walking on it, or missing out on a once in a lifetime experience.

Marie Island

Well, that was just not going to happen. So I put on the best sandals I had and walked on the sand in those. I am not going to lie, I really didn’t like it, especially if any sand kicked up as I walked, but I did it. Without crying.

Kayak Time

Would I rush to do it again? Hell no.

But it was a means to an end – I managed to get into the gorgeous blue sea, snorkel and kayak and paddle board. I saw coral and tropical fish including ones that looked like Dory and Nemo.

Kayak Professional

And I would have missed out on all that if I had given in to my fears.

Snorkelling in the Caribbean Sea

By the end of the holiday I was able to stand for a minute or two on the sand. I can’t say that I am now cured of my phobia, but I don’t fear it as much as I once did.

Maybe I need more foreign exotic holidays until I am totally cured!

Hawaii anyone??