After accepting an invitation to stay the night with a wonderful Tico family many years ago. I felt it cordial to return the hospitality by washing the dishes after our dinner. I thought it peculiar only one knob existed next to the kitchen faucet. Until that day, I’d never witnessed a home without hot water!
The wheels in my dome began whirling as I postulated the ramifications… “Ohhh, No! The Shower?!” I wondered, "I bet a faucet is missing there too...”
But luckily, it was used for adjustment of water pressure which allows for a change of water temperature from the on-demand hot-water / shower-head combo. For some reason, a delay in the adjustment of the water pressure can make it difficult dialing in the perfect temperature. Most showers here are either scalding hot, or too cool.
Now, the premiss is fantastic — it's cheaper, has no hot-water tank, light on energy, and showers as long as you want... and yes, these are ALL true! The problem chimes in with the quality of these 'handy' little units, or lack thereof. Plus, since it is the NORM, most people know no different. This, coupled with the outright absurdity of ‘craftsmanship’ as per the electrical and plumbing ‘contractors’ installation jobs, almost guarantees an eye soar in your shower, and that's if your lucky! It might be outright dangerous.
This particular unit was attached to a 1” PVC tube sagging out of the wall about two feet with no support… or shall I say, very little support. After all, the loose, exposed and live electrical wires it was dangling from, might be construed as a form of support here in Tico land. This particular heater was broken. I’m sure of this because touching anywhere near the unit sent a buzzing shock through my entirety.
The water was getting very hot, I needed to adjust the lever — I weighed my options. Even though the radiant buzz was unpleasant, I would rather risk a little shock than being burnt by scalding water. I was mistaken. It sent out a spark of lightening! My black tipped fingers bore witness.
These is not some freak occurrence by the way. It’s the standard. I have half a dozen shocking shower-heads in mind without having to sort through my cerebral file cabinet. If I haven't convinced you... just google 'Costa Rican shower heads' and click the images header.
Ritzy tourists would never know it, as most decent hotels here keep North American standards. However, if happenstance has you choosing ‘Tico-Style’ vacation plans and luck would have it... you too will get a taste of Costa Rican electro-shock therapy.
Pura Vida Mae!
August 21, 2014
By: Jay Asquith