Adventures of a Gringacita: Thank God for Agua Caliente

Personal hygiene in South America has been an adventure in itself. Granted this may not be the case for most, but campgrounds and trekking trails don´t offer the same ammenities as hotels.

In Bolivia I´ve developed a crushing appreciation for agua caliente (hot water). This was one of the best parts about participating in a homestay while taking spanish lessons in Cochabamba. I had consistent access to hot water.

The day before I arrived in Cochabamba to start my homestay, I stayed in yet another hostel with no hot water. Showering in hot water consists of me dunking my head, attempting to wash my hair with my bar of shampoo, wash a few other necessary areas before shivering into my hand sized towel. This particular shower was short and freezing. As I dried myself off, balls of dirt rolled off my arms, stomach and chest. I realized then how many places were not being cleaned as a result of cold water. Not often did I get the luxury to scrub any of the unnecessary areas.

Well I started spanish lessons after my first night of homestay, clean as a whistle. All areas scrubbed, all unwanted hair gone. Luckily spanish came slightly easier than expected because I have the base of french - though I´m no expert, now I can get around. I stayed with a lovely gal named Alejandra and her aunt. Alej is currently studying to be a lawyer. She also worked with a children´s program that taught children to explore astrology and communicate with aliens (this may have been a miscommunication lost in translation, it´s still slightly unclear).

After a week in a bigger city, I was excited to get back on the road. I had a two day stop over in La Paz where I rocked the market. I took a short stop over in Copacabana where I met up with my friends from New Zealand and visited Isla Del Sol before entering into Peru.