A metal pail hangs over my head, fixed by a rope and pulley to the limb of a tree. The bottom of the pail has a showerhead with a spigot to control water flow. I stand on sand within a rectangle of stones while a loose, slat-sided fence protects my modesty. Vines climb up and around and through the slats. Sunlight filters through the overhanging tree while the sky above it snaps blue, blue, blue with the upbeat tempo of a jazzy song.
Naked, my skin softens as buttery light melts into my pores. Naked, I create my own breezes as I wash. Naked, I smell saltish, metallic, as if newly risen from the sea. Naked, I am clothed in myself.
Cool water the color of weak tea trickles down my neck and across the landscape of my body. Each sluice takes a different path: one rivulet down an arm, another makes it all the way to my ankle. The water becomes darker and turns into rivers full of dust as it washes away islands of soap. A small puddle gathers around my feet and sinks immediately into the sand.
As I dry off insect noise boils shrill as a teapot. I dress and step around the edge of the fence.
The afternoon hunkers down and sits on its heels – occasionally fanning itself with a short breeze,perfumed with the faint scent of hot, dry wood. Faint whisperings rustle through the grass, prayers for rain. If there were clouds I would lie on my back and watch them.
I sip hot oxygen in tiny gulps, panting.
Life, perishable life, rests in the shade, its thin legs tucked under, safe for the moment, waiting, even-eyed, for the predators of the dark to awaken.
ABOUT ELEPHANTS 
Ah, those bush showers are fantastic after a hot, dusty, sweaty day. But the long-drop is another matter! Usually harbouring bats, spiders and possibly the odd snake.
I agree that the showers feel soooo good. Did you read my post “Black Mamba in the Toilet?”
Yes I have read it! Very scary – mambas not to be trifled with. Living on the edge of Lake Kariba quite some time ago, our loo was a long drop just a short way from the kitchen door down the garden path. It was built from mud bricks and with a thatched roof. Over time the mud had eroded somewhat and so one could sit comfortably and occupy oneself looking out through the cracks. One day I suddenly had to sit very, very still as a snake entered through one of the holes, and began winding its way slowly and inquisitively up to the thatch. Thankfully it wasn’t a mamba, but only a striped sand snake, which I managed to determine after my panic had subsided!
Yipes! Good thing you were on the toilet…:-)
Refreshing!
great bath