Peter’s Place has been a beehive of activity today. Yesterday when I arrived home there was an undeniable stench in the air. Having grown up on a farm I am not unused to quaint smells but this one even permeated my apartment. Tracking down the origin of the scent was not hard, all I had to do was follow my nose to Peter’s workshop that is located just behind my abode and on the way to my favourite hang out the pool.

The source of the odour was waterproof treatment and the items being treated had a special purpose. Since arriving at Peter’s Place two months ago, Jetske has often remarked that she would love an outdoor shower poolside. Peter swore that he would not put one in….guess who won!  As I mentioned before, Botswana but in particular Gaborone is experiencing a real drought. Water restrictions are in place and that not only means that water must be used sparingly, it also means that water pressure is incredibly low.

Being in the only self-contained unit – not only do I have the most privacy but also the best access to water – I only have to compete with Tanyla and the Gardener for my water supply, I am not really affected by the low water pressure. However, those in the big house which contains Peter and Jetske’s living quarters along with the other two self-contained apartments have been drastically feeling the effects.

So at about 5:30 this morning the erection of the outdoor shower at the pool began. It’s construction was only briefly interrupted when shortly before noon the power went off in my unit. Peter can to investigate and it was soon back on. Construction poolside resumed even though it is a cool and rainy day. Of course I have documented it for you:

 

While I am very excited to be able to rinse off when I come out of pool and under the moonlight it will be a wonderful experience, both Natasha (Miss Barbados as Peter only refers to her) and I are a little concerned about modesty. You see that the shower’s two main walls consist of greenery only!  Heaven help us if the gardener decides to do an aggressive pruning….But like I said before, I am now in Africa and it is not the same as North America that is for sure. I am now prone to wandering around with very little clothes on as it is. This will just continue the slippery slope, no pun intended. Who knows, maybe by the time I am on my way back to Canada I will have turned into a full on nudist thanks to Peter and Jetske.

If it wasn’t so cool today (21 degrees), I am sure that there would be a line up to try it out. But as it cold water only,I am willing to wait for a hot sunny day before I hit our new shower. And there will be no pictures of that, even though Jetske kindly offered to document for me!