Five International Destinations–Heads-Up for Rookies

For many teens or young adults living in America, Summer brings the opportunity for service-related travel. Google provides a ton of information on even the most remote spots on the globe but have you checked on the restroom facilities you may be using? My own globe-trotting assignments have yielded these five international destinations–heads-up for rookies:

1. The Caribbean

The gorgeous island of Puerto Rico introduced me to the first of many unusual bathroom facilities. While the city showers proved the same as those in America, the sewer system couldn’t accept toilet paper. You need to drop the used paper into the wastebasket next to the toilet.

As we traveled the steep, winding roads up to the mountain village, my mind raced to envision the wealthy man’s villa. He rarely occupied the home, but his elderly mother resided there year-round.

Tony had the only home on the mountain equipped with running water. Once darkness engulfed the island, however, it offered the usual tropical features.

By the end of the three months of mountain weekends, I only cringed a little to shower with green frogs and enormous black cockroaches. I laughed as I sang “La Cucaracha,” never imagining I’d ever watch cockroaches running up and down the walls while I showered.

2. Mexico

In Mexico, our rural hosts had a sit-down potty that resembled the outhouses of pioneer America, but it had no lock. The entire time one used the facility, one needed to sing, or speak if not given to singing when on the toilet.

For a nominal fee, showers could be taken at a public bathhouse. Those few minutes of cold water in the cement cubicle also provided a delightful respite from the heat.

Because it took so long to bus our large group over to the public shower, we improvised an option. The tarp strung between trees made a small, but efficient, cubicle. A large plastic bucket, with holes punched out of the bottom, dangled overhead. The family’s garden hose provided the flow of water through the holes.

Our next stop made this one seem a picture of modern plumbing.

3. Central America–Belize

In Belize, canoes took us two hours into the sun; we emerged onto the rickety jungle dock with reddened faces. No rain that night meant no shower.

The first nighttime downpour sent us all scurrying for our Swimsuits. Men and women alike grabbed shampoo, bars of soap and rushed out to the area behind our very basic, wooden lodging. We hurried to shampoo and wash before the rain stopped.

Though a shiny white porcelain toilet stood beside the narrow path that crossed the primitive village, it had no connecting plumbing at all. Perhaps in another season it served as a flower pot?

The useable facility was a wooden outhouse, much like the one my grandparents had on their farm. The experience included splinters for those squirming to get more comfortable on the planks.

4. Central America–Guatemala

The bathroom facilities in the cities of Guatemala reminded me of those in Puerto Rico. The showers didn’t have the powerful output of those at home but were the same in all other respects. As in Puerto Rico, the used toilet paper couldn’t be flushed but went into the plastic bag lining the wastebasket

On the Dark Continent, I found no worries over unwanted splinters or where to toss the used paper. Africa had its own bathroom facility challenges.

5. Africa–Ethiopia

In Ethiopia, East Africa, I lived in a tent camp of medical professionals. Because of the drought, we could shower only once a week. Each of us received a pitcher of water and washed in a spot away from the hole in the ground used as a toilet.

No more rough, splintery planks to trouble us. Here, our leg muscles got a workout holding us up over the hole.

Come on back next Thursday. I’ll share five more international destinations–heads-up for rookies, plus one bonus. Countries in West Africa, the Middle East, and Asia will be highlighted. The European countries won’t be forgotten, in case you plan an adventure on that continent.

Please share your stories if you’ve experienced any travels or adventures in foreign lands. This includes America, if you normally reside elsewhere. I’m always interested in the experiences of others.