Most of the time, I love surprises. Not so much on this trip.

While washing my hair (in the bath tub, the shower not only floods, it has no hot water), I reached over to grab some of the hotel provided conditioner. It smelled vaguely familiar, like a summer’s evening in the south. I waited the requisite two minutes for said conditioner to condition, then tossed my head under the faucet to begin the rinse process. Except it didn’t. Rinse, that is. I tried again. Once again the viscous substance clung to each strand of my hair, refusing to rinse.

I picked up the bottle, thinking maybe there was a special trick to getting it to rinse. Oh. Not conditioner. Insect repellent lotion. With citronella. That familiar smell of summer nights in order to ward off mosquitoes. Well, as least I won’t get bitten…