Utila – Week 7, Day 2: Sailors, Snoop, and Shaved Legs
UTILA
Week 7
Day 2: Sailors, Snoop, and Shaved Legs
December 26, 2022
Everyone seemed unimpressed by my wishing them a Happy St. Stephen’s Day. They were even less impressed by the tempest looming over Utila – a pathetic fallacy for Amelia and me.
Whilst I usually love rainy days back home, I can’t say the same about them on a tropical island. Sure, I can still do the same things I’d do at home, like huddle up in bed with a good book and a hot coffee, but when you’re in a tropical paradise, it just feels like a waste of time. That said, staying in bed whilst cuddling with Snoop is a good compromise. For the previous week, he had ditched Amelia’s bed for mine.Â
While I was always a dog person, this white and orange magical creature had snooped (hehe, get it?) into our lives and became our favourite neighbourhood cat – practically the mascot of Underwater Vision. It had taken a bit of time for him to warm up to us, but a couple of weeks in, our room became his safe haven and he turned into our feline bestie. That is, until I touched his belly (his weak spot) and he clawed me right underneath my right eye – just a few millimetres away from blinding me forever. He’s a moody cat, that one (but we still adore him).
Ink in the Storm
By the afternoon, I had to leave the relative comfort of my dorm, brave the storm (which by then had turned into a full-on mini-hurricane), and make my way to Camilo’s humble abode, where he was waiting for me with his inky needles.Â
I wasn’t nervous so much as excited about my tattoo – knowing I’m a perfectionist and that whether I’d like it or not, it would forever remain etched on my skin. We went over the design one last time, and with my final go-ahead, he shaved my beloved leg hair (which, for the record, I had never even trimmed), disinfected the area, applied a gel, and stuck on the draft. Then he primed the needle, dunked it in ink, and with my leg stretched out in front of him, he just went for it.
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It didn’t really hurt. It was more like an annoying tickle, kinda like when you sit on your leg for too long and get pins and needles – except this was just needles. Admittedly, it stung a bit when he kept going over the same spots, but that was about it. Amelia, who had come mainly for emotional support, stood by me the whole time – all the while fascinated by Camilo’s life stories. Turns out, he’s a travelling tattoo artist and he’s been all over the world – his trips financed by his artistic endeavours. And he does all of this on his fancy motorbike – what a friggin’ cool guy!
A couple of hours later, I was no longer a tattoo virgin. I could now technically add “#inkaddict” to my Instagram bio (I’m kidding, okay?), and I had this really cool pirate ship sailing over a huge wave with a whale shark underneath!Â
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As much as I liked the design (which I had come up with in my hungover stupor), I just love what it stands for. To me, the pirate ship represents one of my impossible dreams (to become a pirate and be free), and the whale shark will forever be a memory of Utila. Together, the whole thing symbolises my craving for adventure and my love for the sea. So yeah, thanks Camilo!
Stay wild,
Marius
Post-Scriptum
A few years down the line, I’m fully aware that the tattoo is nowhere near as nice as I once thought it was – both in terms of design and execution. I mean, it’s missing half of the mast, the sails are kinda crooked, and it’s faded a bit too.
Even so, every time I look at it, I’m reminded of my time in Utila and of the freedom and love for the sea that it represents. Plus, it’s a good reminder that there’s beauty in imperfection!