The purpose of this little blog is not to rant and rave about how everything in Peru is subpar. Just want to state that out front, because the theme of this post is plumbing, and a country cannot be judged solely on its pipes and water. That said, a good sewage system and ample hot water are lovely luxuries we gringos are accustomed to. As you may have guessed from the sign above, we do not flush anything but human waste here in Peru (not even at Starbucks!). This works fine if you religiously empty the little trash can beside the toilet. However, let it pile up in there, and things are gonna get gross. And so, here at my little microfinance organization, it goes. No one is emptying the little trash can, and I am now boycotting the bathroom.
The hot water heater situation here in Peru, at least judging from my apartment, is quite different from Chile circa 1999. Back in Santiago, I had to use a match to light the hot water heater (scary!), but it instantly supplied quite a bit of hot water. Here, we must simply flip a switch on the hot water heater (similar to the one above), but it takes at least an hour to heat up the tank. Does this tank provide enough hot water for two showers? Not really. I took chilly showers two days in a row, which in tropical countries feels great, but it ain't so tropical here in Lima.
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