I’ve waited three months but have finally bought a hammock. Rosalie wasn’t interested because she has trouble getting in and out of them. She would end up on her hands and knees with her butt in the air looking totally undignified.
We were at the local market, one block from us when the salesman from the local hamaca company caught me in a weak moment. He offered us a double one for $550 pesos. I beat him down to $500 pesos (about $35.) He caved in and walked away with a big grin on his face.
I knew we had been had when we went back to the market later to buy rope to hang the thing. The salesman gave both Rosalie and me a big hug. I think he had just won Turista Rip-off of the Month award as well as the Salesman of the Month. He was a nice guy, I think he could be our friend. Mind you, if I see him selling hamacas on the beach I may kick sand over him.
The thing about this is that Rosalie said I could have the hamaca if she could buy yet more earrings. Outmaneuvered again! I don’t think it’s fair though that she now gets to use the hamaca but I don’t get to wear the earrings
I wanted to rush home and hang the hamaca but didn’t have any rope; back to the market. We did find some but it was inferior quality and we only insist on the best (?). besides, it would have broken if we used it,
I hopped on my trusty bike and rode to “Materiales Pollo” our local hardware store. When I first saw this place I thought they sold accessories for chickens. Having looked up the word for rope “cuerda” on google translate ahead of time, I went to the counter and inquired “?Tienes cuerda?” She had no idea what I was talking about! It turns out that the correct word for rope was “soga.”
Eventually, I bought ten metres of sturdy ‘soga’ and rode home. I also bought 2 carabiners and the whole thing cost $150 pesos (about $11.)
Having got the thing up and running, with eight meters of rope to spare, I settled back for a quiet afternoon of relaxation. Soon though, Rosalie was looking covetously at the hamaca. There was a corner that would fit her perfectly, so like the fool I was I invited her in. As you can see she took more than a corner.
Within a few minutes, I had legs draped all over me. In normal circumstances this is a good thing but when I want to relax…not so much. I eventually gave in and put my book down. We started to talk. After a while, we realized that we were doing what we had done in the hot tub and around the campfire. We were solving not only the problems of the world but our own as well. This hamaca thing could be fun for us both after all.