Mystery shower

My accommodation in Veracruz, Hotel Amparo, was a pretty basic, budget lodging. When I was first shown to my room, I noticed that there was no shower in the bathroom. I just assumed that in Mexico, if you stay somewhere dodgy enough, you shouldn't expect to have a shower available. But it turns out that I should have underestimated a bit less, and observed a bit more.

On my first night in Veracruz, I had a dusk swim at one of the beaches just north of Boca Del Rio. I came back to my hotel, and remembered that I had no shower. This usually wouldn't be a problem for me, as my standards of hygiene are, shall we say, extremely flexible in times of hardship and/or laziness.

However, seeing that this beach was reasonably close to the port of Veracruz — and that I (therefore) was smelling like a repulsive mixture of Mexico's oil reserves, and Mexico's sanitary waste residue — I figured that I might be violating several international laws by not having a shower. So I asked the lady at the front desk if there was anywhere I could wash myself off.

She told me that there should be a shower in my room, and that I should go back up and check again.

Well, I checked again, and lo and behold: the mystery shower was revealed to me! Seems that I was my usual knob-headed self, and didn't see what was right in front of my eyes. My excuse (pathetic though it may be) is that the shower faucet was in the middle of the (very small) bathroom, and that there was no door, no curtain, and no raised or lowered section of the floor. Nothing. Just a head and two taps sticking out of the wall, and a drain in the floor.

For my next accommodation, I might grow a pair of eyes, and see what they can show me.