Best tattoo in Samara

If you’re in Samara and need a tattoo…

(Note that I said “need.” One never just “wants” a tattoo, it’s a need.) And when you need one and are in Costa Rica, you NEED to go to Samara to see Mike Stout. Check out his Facebook here.

He’s the whole reason we came to Samara. Kim knew of him from when she lived here a few years ago and had heard nothing but great things. We decided as a family to get matching tattoos, a palm tree and a wave. This was a big day for Aubrie, who, at 15, can’t get tattooed in the States just yet without written consent of a parent who is present at the time of the tattoo. (True, we were there with her anyway, so consent was implied. But here she is treated like the rest of us goofballs, not a kid under her moms’ thumbs.)

Last Tuesday, August 15, we piled in the ol’ Qashai and drove the two hours to Samara. On our way into town, we discovered the bakery of a friend of the Kim and the girls from when they lived here. Roots Bakery had moved from the its location in the owner Jessica’s house to an actual storefront on a main street. We wheeled in there immediately for some breakfast and to say hello. Jessica and her staff were so friendly and helpful! Get more information about the bakery and their tasty pastries on their Facebook here.

Free umbrella seats

Then we headed to la playa (the beach) to swim/surf/look for sea treasures/have a beverage and generally just lounge until our tattoos started at 2:30 PM. Tayler and Aubrie rented boogie boards and played in the water. Kim and I found some cool shells that I will turn into jewelry or some kind of artsy-crafty things and then found some chairs under an umbrella. We could sit under them for free, as long as we bought a drink. What a bargain!

We sipped our beer while the girls boogie boarded and I intermittently invited myself to the pickup beach volleyball games occurring at our feet. And we saw this guy, who wanted some of our food:

Finally it was time to head to Mike’s studio. He works out of a first floor room in his house. Kim had sent him an idea of what we wanted so he had time to play around with it. We agreed on a final design!

The girls decided they wanted theirs on their wrists, one on the left and one on the right. Kim and I got ours on the sides of our left and right forearms, respectively. That way, when we hold hands, our matching tattoos are visible. I know, we’re cute.

Time to sacrifice the tattoo virgin

Mike got to work on Aubrie first, as it was her first.  We all gathered around to capture magical moments that are revealed in the “Faces of Aubrie” blog.

While she was in process, Tay went out to the beach to explore. Ten minutes later she busted back into the studio to show me the SEA GLASS she found! We took off, leaving Kim holding Aubrie’s non-tattooed hand. Mike’s studio is a minute’s walk from Samara Beach. I was in heaven: I was getting a tattoo, and I had access to what looked like an endless amount of sea glass! Together, Tayler and I collected quite a bit of the precious glass.

She eventually went in to get her tattoo next while I stayed out. Until the beach dogs started to be a nuisance. (There are dogs everywhere here! They roam around and are generally happy and fun and easy to pet, however, the three on the beach were a rowdy bunch. They were biting at each other and playing, sometimes growling. I tried to yell at them and tell them to leave but instead kept yelling “Fire!” I now know that “fuego” means “fire” in Spanish. And none of those dogs were Dalmatians; they didn’t care if there was a fire or not.

My turn

I went back to the studio, got my tattoo and when we were all done we were exhausted from the day’s activities but so happy with our tattoos. I don’t know if it was Mike’s technique, the disposable needles he uses, or the placement of the tattoo on my body, but it barely hurt during the process. And now, a week later, I can honestly say the hardest part of the healing was the itching.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I fear Aubrie, who may compare every tattoo she gets in the future to Mike’s work, will be disappointed at the pain. This honestly was the least painful tattoo I’ve ever had. Mike uses quick-change disposable cartridges that consist of the barrel and needle in one unit. He can easily switch from a needle that does lines to one that shades.

In his opinion, the disposable unit itself isn’t a factor that directly contributes to a less painful experience. He suggests maybe a combination of placement of the tattoos on our bodies, depth of the needle or the duration of the tattoo. Or, he thinks, maybe the quieter sound of his rotary machine isn’t as intimidating as that of traditional machines. Since our ears didn’t hear a loud, scary noise, maybe our bodies don’t feel as much pain.

Whatever the reason, my family and I are beyond thrilled with our new tattoos and highly recommend Mike.