Back on Brio! (in Marina Chiapas, Tapachula, Mexico)

Oh yes, we’re back on the boat 🙂

If I was going to give you the long-version, I’d tell you about flying Southwest cuz they give you 2 free checked bags, sleeping in a sketchy-but-it-has-a-shuttle-Travelodge in LA cuz I’m cheap but not so cheap that I’m willing to sleep in an airport chair any more, blessing our luggage scale (again) for keeping us under the dreaded 50lbs, trying to argue with the Aeromexico attendant lady about the existence of carry-on weight restrictions (where do you think we put all the heavy stuff?? in the carry-ons!!), struggling to order lunch in Mexico City’s airport (where did all my Spanish go?!?), arriving in Tapachula just as the sun was setting, stepping out of the airplane and being assaulted by the slightly-sweet musky smell and heavy humid feeling of growth (this is a fertile land!), leaning back in our over-packed taxi as we swerved around yet another truck laden with coconuts, speeding down the highway at 140 km/h, thinking about how much I’ve missed this and how just like *that* so many things seem so trivial again, arriving at Brio to discover nobody had a key to the lock, saving the problem with a good pair of bolt cutters, fearing the first opening of the hatch, thinking -maybe?- it wasn’t that bad, discovering spider nests and ants and mold on the walls and an overpowering “boat smell” (yuck), dedicating our first 5 hours on the boat to some serious scrubbing and vacuuming (to think I ever argued with Jon over our need for a vacuum — that little mini shop vac has scooped up more grossness in the last 2 days than I care to detail!!!), deciding we finally had a safe enough spot to sleep, questioning the wisdom of leaving our bags on the dock for the night, realizing we had no energy or space to drag them inside so it would have to be okay, falling asleep wondering how we got here, and waking up to a boat that felt like home…

The short version? We came back to the boat, she looks like no one’s been there for 8 months, and we’re having a fantastic time scrubbing her back to beauty 🙂

The so-loved luggage scale, doing late-night duty after Southwest let us get away with 52, 51, 53 and 49.5! Oops.

Lee Valley's $12 luggage scale is my favourite purchase ever

Our little Brio boat, patiently waiting for us to get her back to sailing-condition 🙂

Brio on a sunny day

I’m sure there are rules about posting pictures of your toilet on the internet, but I happen to think of it as “sharing the truth of storing a boat for 8 months” — the head was the absolute worst area of the boat (it was the only area that had no air flow cuz we left the door shut — live and learn!!!)

Probably a rule about posting pictures of your toilet...

Oh, toilets weren’t enough for you?? How about moldy walls and spider nests (those floaty white ball things)?? *gag* Our poor boat!!!

Our sailboat after 8 months stored in a marina in the tropics - moldy!She looks much happier on the outside haha 🙂

Brio in Marina ChiapasWe did break down and hire help for one area — cleaning the bottom. We’ve always scrubbed it ourselves in the past, but neither of us could quite stomach the idea of getting in this murky marina water!! Plus these guys did a great job and they were *fast*!!

Hiring help to clean the bottomThis might look like a picnic… but it’s actually the dishes getting rid of their 8-month grime 🙂 Have I mentioned it’s sunny here? And hot? Like 37C / 99F hot? (I have to give temps in both units now, since I’m a Canadian/LIPPER hehehe)

Looks like a picnic... but it's washing dishes of their 8-month grime

This is what the boat has pretty much looked like for the last two days — we’re making progress, but sometimes it has to get worse before it gets better…Also? I hate that stupid fruit hammock, but I gave in to Jon and now it’s hanging and you know what? IT HOLDS FRUIT SO WELL. Damn. Lost that one 😉I hate fruit hammocks... and yet... they work so well!!

I am, however, SO HAPPY to be back in our home again!!! (and not ashamed to post close-up selfies to prove to my sister that I do indeed have a freckle or two already :P)Happy to be home

Randomly — a weird “as-seen-on-tv-style” present from my mom (who has a serious penchant for these things… just trust me on that one 😉 ) that is actually AMAZING. It’s called a “Grip Stick” and it lets you reseal opened packages… like our daily half-bag of beans 🙂

Grip-sticks are pretty nifty :)And I tried to take a picture out the taxi window, to show how crazily GREEN and ALIVE everything is here… and this is what came out. But somehow I think it does a pretty good job of summing up our journey back to the boat?? This is pretty much how it’s felt!! 🙂

The blur of returning to the boat in Tapachula, Mexico– LMK


Comments

Back on Brio! (in Marina Chiapas, Tapachula, Mexico) — 4 Comments

  1. So glad everything finally worked out for the two of you. Must be quite a shock going from all that snow in Montreal to mold on Brio. Keep exploring!

  2. Hey this is a strange question and on a three year old post, but where did you find the vegetable hammocks. We’re looking but can’t find good ones. Thx. Mark and a Tonnya of @sv-SolMates

    • Hey Mark!

      I’m just happy anyone still reads posts from then!! Our veggie hammocks actually came with the boat, but I think we saw the material for them in a few fabric stores (always an adventure in MX) and occasionally a pre-made version in the hardware stores. Sorry that isn’t more helpful!! Where are you guys cruising now?

      Leah 🙂

      • I guess it’s time for us to learn to weave. We just bought our boat from Miami and brought it up to Wilmington North Carolina. Our goal is to start cruising the Bahamas and the. Caribbean starting in 2018. Looks like your in Maine now?

Leave a Reply to Mark Cancel reply