On the second day aboard a tiny sailboat, the
heads below deck make the smell of a boy scout tent seem like the air of
luxury. Of course this is never in the
romanticized brochure tantalizing one for life at sea. And like childbirth, this most detracting fact
is often forgotten until you’re back in the throws.
One morning Sev emerged from his cabin and
when asked how he slept, responded with glossy downtrodden eyes, “Not at
all.” Apparently the swirl of bodily
disgust wafting from his head despite the bathroom’s tightly shut door and notwithstanding
having all his room hatches open, had deprived the boy of any sleep. Thankfully the remedy was soon within our
reach as we were checking out of the British side of the Virgins where one of
the best island grocery stores happens to be.
And despite this being an “island” grocery store, meaning, you may or
may not find what you need there, I knew this store was certain to have a well
stocked shelf of ‘Fabuloso’ because I’ve bought copious bottles of the sweet
smelling nectar there before.
Fabuloso is the Spanish equivalent of
Pinesol. Since sailing, I’ve developed a
love/hate relationship with Fabuloso. It
is your best friend at sea. If you keep a large bottle aboard and pour a few
drops in your head, it makes things, well, fabuloso. That said, on land it quickly becomes your
foe as you also quickly discover you’ve developed an unpleasant nero-association
between the pungent lavender goodness inside the bottle and the pungent putrid
it masked at sea.
A few years ago Walmart started carrying
‘Fabuloso’ and so I bought some as a joke for our fellow sailing friends to
remind them of a sailing trip we took together.
But once we opened the bottle and smelled its Lavender Lovelyness it brought
us right back to the awful days of a rancid head. Lavender has never smelled the same.
Sev seems to love the stuff. And I’m happy to report that he is getting
good sleep again at night. Fabuloso has
made his life and sleep muy Fabuloso again…
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