BLOG 10: TATTOOTASTIC! SO NIIIIICE!

So there we were, minding our own business, reading our books, on the beach in ponta Negra, when all of the sudden we hear: “SOOOOO NA-IIIIIIIICE. Pretty lady need pretty tattoo.” So, naturally, we ignored it. But then, he came over and sat down. We have to say he, because we do not know his name, but his Enlgish reminded us an awful lot of Borat. We explained we had no money, which was true, as we owed for the coconuts, but that we’d come back with money tomorrow. Silly us, we though he’d never show up again. But these vendors from the north are so motivated.

So, as it goes, next day, we got some henna tattoos. More to establish peace and quiet than anything. Marah picked a little hummingbird out of the book of selections- simple, pretty. It took about 20 minutes and the resulting bird was nice, but then, as it the case with so many artists, there was the flourish at the end, and this hummingbird and flower were suddenly whisked off to outer space, surrounded by planets and shooting stars…


Next up was Ossi. She though she would try out a design that on paper looked really cool- Marah had designed it a few days back. We showed it to him, he nodded NO PROBLEM, HEY-LAX (which is Brasilian for Relax)… So we did. After about another 20 minutes, both Ossi and Marah were feeling a bit nervous. Wondering what exactly he was seeing, that we didn’t. Silently we let him finish. Marah was distraught that her design could look, well, so wrong. Ossi was distraught that each second the ink was becoming more permanet and making her foot look like … well, we really don’t know.




A quick rush back to the room, some rubbing alcohol, and several layers of tender skin later, Ossi’s foot was almost back to normal. The design but a faint ghostly reminder of what we would never have wished upon anyone.

So the next day, again, lying in the sun, not bothering anyone, we hear: SOOOO NAAIIC! Ossi quickly covered up her foot with her T-shirt, but no luck. He wanted to see how it was doing. This was an awkward moment. We tried to explain it was just too big. Marah did not know the Spanish equivalent for Hideous. But, typical of Os, not wanting to offend or hurt his feelings, she chose a simple seahorse design out of the book, which he then drew onto her foot. It too contained a few flourishes, as it took to flight to join Marah’s hummingbird in outer-space- he sure did like them shooters…





Lesson learned? Stick to the book. Don’t sit in the same spot on the beach, each day. It’s worth it to pay more for a good tatt. So we can now laugh at ourselves, hope you can too.
More soon,
OM.