The Little Things in Life

Yes, we are still sitting in Marina Chiapas, the southern most sailing stop in Mexico. It’s a brand new marina with brand new clean bathrooms, brand new dry storage area and a brand new palapa restaurant.  Summer rates are brilliantly priced at $200 per month – a very good deal. Electricity is free. But, we just paid $575US to sit here because summer rates don’t start until July (you can push for June successfully – but not May).

Already 2 named storms have morphed ahead of us these past few weeks and blown north. While we waited for a weather window to cross the gnarly Tehuantepec, Jim scouted out potential boat yard repairmen who might be able to make our boat repairs right here in Chiapas. Although we found a Huatulco man, we just couldn't make it work. We certainly will not stay here for the summer on board.

I think this part of cruising is the hardest part. Being in a country where customer service is lax means learning to wait respectfully and  patiently. Throwing a tantrum and stomping your feet won’t get you what you want here… well, maybe you’ll get what you want but no one will want to be a part of your life and cruiser rumor spreads faster than a computer virus. It is this cruiser’s humble opinion that being a very polite nuisance is more effective in Central America.

And as for the weather – I haven’t figured out how to make it work in our favor. But this upcoming week looks very promising!

BEFORE: Although they don't look terrible in the photo, these cushions were flat,
stained,had cigarette burns on them and were made out of a scratchy fabric I hated!

Staying positive means thinking of positive things. And instead of dwelling on the not-so-positive- aspect of our visit to El Salvador, we had a very positive outcome there concerning something very trivial and materialistic – but something that has bothered me for a long time. 

Our very old, flat, scratchy interior cushions.

And our falling apart, stained, dull cockpit cushions. 

And let's face it - right now, it’s the little things in life are the icing on the cake!

BEFORE: Same hateful scratchy fabric on settee

If you are planning to cruise to Bahia del Sol or Barillas…

If your boat has the ugliest cushions known to man…

If you have a little extra cash to blow on beauty and comfort…

We strongly suggest that you consider having your cushions recovered in San Salvador!

BEFORE: White vinyl cockpit cushions were badly stained. That's duct tape on the seat
where a rip began running. Duct tape is usually a good temporary fix, but in this case
it oozed down into the rip and left a nice sticky goo around the edges to
collect dog and cat hair.

It takes a little planning. It takes some organization. And, it probably also takes a van to make it happen…

But we had 18 cushions recovered (new foam and fabric and labor – 8 cockpit and 10 interior) for a mere $525US.

In the next post, I’ll tell you 5 easy steps to make it happen quickly and efficiently. And share the AFTER photos!