The Shower

We recently took a short trip to Bariloche, 6 hours southwest of here. I can't seem to get myself together to write anything coherent about it yet, so until I can find my mind (it's small, and sometimes wanders off by itself) - here is a picture of: The Shower.

I've showered in some interesting showers before, this one wasn't a shock or a stretch for me. But I can assure you it was for my kids. One refused to shower altogether, the other cried the whole torturous five minutes I dragged her in with me. Only one was a bit more open and was actually getting into my mini step-by-step lecture on the science behind showering in showers such as these. She did really well, and emerged clean and tear-free, feeling refreshed and happy. The others are still traumatized. They'll get over it someday.

My Mini, Step-by-Step Lecture on How to Shower in Showers Like These:

First, turn on the water so your little white shower tank fills with precious bathing water.
Then, plug the shower in. That's right, electricity in your shower.
Wait 30-40 minutes until the electricity heats your shower water to the desired temperature.
VERY IMPORTANT NEXT STEP: Unplug your shower. This will keep you from electricuting yourself.
Next, get in (with flip-flops, because water and gritty volcanic ash is a yucky mix to stand in in bare feet).
Manually open shower valve; get your hair and whole body wet.
Turn off valve so you can have water to rinse with.
Suds up, fast. It's nippy with that mountain wind whipping in through the cracks in the wall.
Turn water back on, rinsing hair and entire body.


If you do it right, 2-4 more people can take a shower with remaining water. We only bathed three of us with about 5 gallons of water, but that's because we're novice first-worlders who shamed ourselves by our lack of ability to rough it. We've been told 6 construction guys have bathed, one after another, in this very shower. We are obviously lame and not cut out for the mission field.