The event
Tuesday, January 30, we left Mazatlan, the bucket of our dry toilet on the roof stuck in one of the spare wheels. Having needed to use it in the morning, I cleaned it in the ocean. Quick U-turn on a boulevard in the middle of Mazatlan, telling Laurent, I think I heard the bucket fell from the roof, we turn back watching for the low sides. I can see a man crossing the road to pick up something … it’s the bucket, my bucket I thought … quickly, I ask Laurent to stop, no time to wait for the snail stop completely, it’s urgent, I run to the man who got into the car trying to say in Spanish and with gesture: “es mi …. ” How to say bucket …, not worth it, he understood, he gives it back to me and I thank him:” Muchas gracias “… and in my head, if you knew, this bucket is very important … I go back to truck.
Multipurpose toilets
This introductory episode allows me to present you in a concise article praising our dry toilets. It’s been several months since I wanted to write on this piece of furniture that takes an important place in our daily lives.
As I’m writing, our toilets are outside, a water bottle on top, a book, a pencil, a computer for the afternoon. At noon, we use it as a table and when preparing the meal, it uses as a table to cut vegetables. And what to say, when I practice the accordion, I use it as a seat. Pictures!
A daily act banal but not so commonplace as it travels!
When we live in a sedentary way, which represents the general state of our Western societies, we do not ask ourselves where to do its business, the toilets are integrated in each apartment. However, it is possible that a repair is necessary due to a problem, nevertheless, at this moment, we call a specialist named a plumber. The problem is often solved in the coming week.
What about when we live in a van? Have you thought for a minute? How to do it, especially in the morning, or in the night, when we need to pee? In nature it is not so much a problem, although if the weather is bad, we are happy to have access to toilets easily and quickly. In the city, it’s already a little more complicated!
This furniture creates a real comfort in our daily life because when we travel, we also have the same needs to go to the bathroom. No need to ask us the question of where we will sleep, whether there is a toilet or a distant place to be quiet, our toilets are always available 24 hours. The shovel was also essential to buy in the middle of the trip to be able to bury our excrement.
The episode of the loss of the bucket in the city of Mazatlan, brings me back to the fact that this element so insignificant in everyday life, is for me vital. When I literally jumped off the truck to get the bucket, it was like a matter of survival, my reptilian brain reacting. I never thought a bucket would be central to this trip!
Awareness, management of water and waste
Above all, since we travel, we are attentive and try as much as possible to be aware of our daily actions in the management of water and waste aboard the Snail. With our 5-gallon blue bin, we can easily fill the water in free taps (in municipal, provincial or federal parks, most of the time) or a paying water stand that is often found in chain stores like Walmart. The use of lake water is also considered for the solar shower but also the water used for washing dishes (we heat it beforehand). We keep drinking water for the nurturing function. As for the waste, we ban the plastic bags to pack the fruits and vegetables bought, then we try to bring our own bags for the transport of the shopping. During our trip, it was much more difficult in Mexico, in the shops. There are often people who are there to tidy shopping in plastic bags and when we refused, we felt that it could offend the person, that she could take it personally. The ecological aspect is very little thought in these places. In the USA, we have seen a few times, bins of plastic bags and cartons put out of the shops. However, the road is still long for a full awareness of our waste and their daily management.
We see it well in the Snail, it is quickly easy to fill a bag of bags that serves us mainly to make our trash, which unfortunately fills up quickly enough with the few industrialized products that we buy: coffee, almond milk, butter , jam, herbal tea are the main products that quickly fill a trash and recycling too. We try to choose the maximum products without too much packaging and admit it, it is very difficult to find stores that sell in bulk on our way, still unknown in small towns and many large American cities too, more easy in Canada and Mexico (in the market).
For further…
To go further, I propose a Conference Gesticulated Inculture (s) 8 / Water, that take a dump! How to start an exit from capitalism and save democracy … by changing toilets!
This tells the story of our water toilets and taboos, mixing personal stories and the evolution of our ecological awareness, and especially, traces the stages of industrialization and commodification.
some water. http://www.scoplepave.org/water-causettes
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Amusant l’histoire du seau, il faut savoir que dans nos campagnes, dans le temps et pas si lointain, le seau hygiénique avec couvercle était le réceptacle familial, les excréments étaient versés, au printemps, dans la raie de bêchage du jardin ou versés au pied des arbres fruitiers ou à même le sol, il en restait le papier de journal car le papier toilette n’existait pas. En voyageant, bien entendu dans les “camping car” les toilettes sont aménagées, certes mais il faut vidanger, d’où le problème, amusant aussi le chemin en bordure de mer sans issue, erreur du GPS ?