Apr 03, 2018
A most worrisome day on the Isla
That is putting it mildly 😥 We were up early to get things done as we were meeting blog readers for dinner in Mazatlan. We ended up being in a mini crisis.
First, the inverter fan had been running all night and the temps were spiking up over 140F and down to 99F. Yes this is the same inverter that we spent around $580.00CAD to repair the end of January. It worked for a while but the writing was on the wall, we were in serious trouble. Then we discovered that the toilet which we had just repaired a few days earlier was not holding and every time we flushed, water came all over the floor. The part was not holding the repair.
After an involved 30 minute call to the inverter company tech, it became apparent that for an extra $150.00 – $200.00 USD ( 255.00 CAD ), we could get a new inverter that comes with a 3 year warranty rather than a repair the comes with a 90 day warranty. Okay, decision made.
First we tried our usual service folks in Lake Havasu City but they were booked solid. I surfed the net and found a recommended RV company in Las Vegas, our next stop. The fellow who answered the phone said he could install the new inverter at our RV site in Vegas on his own time, starting at $150.00 US per hour but it was up to us to get the part in. That took me a mere three hours 😐 But I did it. As you can see above and below I was doing all I could to sort things out.
At one point I was using two computers at once.
Part of the problem was that we were in Mexico, ordering something in the US to be shipped to an RV Park in the US with a Canadian credit card 😯 So I needed to call the company and speak to them them in person. Gosh I have no idea how many calls I made but it was a lot. Then I had another problem. My Mexican phone will not call 1 800 or 1 888 numbers, only an area code and telephone number. Did you know that 99% of listed business phone numbers in the USA are toll free numbers? It took a very long time to finally find a phone number that I could call, find someone who had the part in stock and could get it to Las Vegas in 8 days. Just a tad stressful. Meanwhile Colin was taking down the dust screen that I had power washed the evening prior at sunset as well as doing our final storage pack up. We also then realized that I needed to also find a part to replace the toilet valve that was leaking as we already had an RV tech meeting us in Las Vegas. More calls, etc. It was also time to start loading the taxi trucks to get our things into storage.
Also on the list was to move Colin’s piece of art to our back forty to try and keep it safe. Very heavy piece of wood.
So the two trucks were loaded and it was time to move our wooden stairs away from the RV and load them. Then Colin tried to put the RV stairs down for me to get out of the RV. Well guess what? The RV stairs would not work at all. So we had to make a quick decision and decided to keep the stairs at our site rather than put them in storage. There was no way that I could get in and out of the RV without them. So Colin took off in our car with Ismael followed by the two trucks we had hired. Of course they had a further problem in that the bodega/storage place was on a newly cemented road and they had to park and carry everything a quarter of a block instead of just park in front and offload because there was a wait time of 21 days to cure the new road.
Meanwhile I was still trying to get the part ordered for the toilet as well as contact Eric the Mazatlan RV tech about the RV stairs. He was out of cellular range 🙄 I had just finished getting both the inverter and toilet part ordered and shipped to the RV park in Las Vegas when Colin came back. His next task was to figure out why the steps would not come down. Meanwhile I finally was able to start getting the inside of the RV ready to travel back to Canada.
Are you as tired of reading this as I was living it? So Colin checked this and that re the RV steps. He got on his back under the RV and took everything apart. A very long time later he remembered that he had Eric re glue/silicone the magnet required for the steps to operate. Turns out that the magnet had been inserted ( glued ) too far away from the corresponding door magnet and that was the simple reason why the stairs would not go down. You are brilliant Colin 😀
Next on the list was to get the stairs back to our bodega. Rather than rent another truck taxi he thought that they might fit in the car. Not quite, but once he took off the handrail it did fit. So off he and Ismael went to unload the stairs in our bodega.
Meanwhile I realized that we would be a bit late for dinner and contacted Linda, my very long time blog reader and changed the time by thirty minutes. You might not be able to see, but Colin’s shirt was thoroughly wet and he needed a shower before we could leave. We then had to say adios to Pierre and Diane who were leaving very early the next morning.
I finally got to meet Linda, a very special blog reader. We had been scheduled to meet last year but then we had to put our girls to sleep and then Colin’s Mom was sick and we had to pack up and leave ASAP. It is difficult to see in this photo but I was gifted with a blown glass hummingbird. Mille gracisa Linda.
My final sunset this winter season taken from Olas Altas.
Russel and Linda, they are from Tennessee. Thank goodness we met them last night as I was able to kickback and have a few margaritas and relax.
Bonus!!! I got to meet Janet, Russel’s sister, who is visiting Mazatlan for the first time. What a special lady she is!
The final photo of the evening. I have a feeling that we will be seeing more of each other as long as we stay here for a bit in April. They preferred visiting time here is April and May.
So the day started on a very low note and ended on a high note thanks to Linda, Russel and Janet. So ended our last night on the Isla.
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Contessa, you and Colin drive careful and be safe. You probably know by now if you have read one of Kevin’s and Ruth’s recent blogs that they had a two-hour wait at Colombia bridge and got the x-ray treatment. It reminded me of your and Colin’s treatment at that same border bridge and having to exit the RV with the girls and wait in the sweltering heat. They first had to get in line with the trucks and wait, wouldn’t let them use the car lane even though there was plenty of room.
We are always careful and both have eyes on the road.
Contessa & Colin it was such a pleasure meeting both of you and a very special visit. I hope we’ll be able to spend more time with you in the future but for now safe travels mi amigos.
Gracias. I do believe that we will be meeting yet again.
Ar least you finally got things worked out and soon back on the road again, travel safe.
We are on the road and doing well thus far.
You poor guys having all that stressful time when you are supposed to be well rested. At least you have the smarts to get it all organized and streamlined to be fixed in no time. There are always challenges in life, but you cope well. Hope things will be good now.
We seem to be able to roll with the punches but the next day I am pretty worn out. I will keep you posted as to the que pasa of it all.
You guys sure have had a lot of RV issues this year but glad they are mostly sorted (or planning is done). You have also met alot of new and old friends, certainly the year of socializing 🙂
Everyone has RV issues, some years more than others. You are correct it was a very social year for us. We enjoyed it but I need a bit more balance next season. I think the Europe planning took most of my free time but I am so glad that I did it. Rushing home to do taxes, company and personal.
Glad your day ended so much better than it began. Looks like a very nice last evening.
I hope you have a safe and worry free trip.
Thank you.
Try this for your next toll-free calls from Mexico (published in USA Today just last month)
Substitute Phone Codes
You can dial almost any U.S. toll-free number from Mexico simply by changing the digits in the toll-free prefix. There’s just one catch: The call is no longer free. But, again, at least it goes through – and if you’re dealing with a lost credit or debit card or frantically trying to reschedule your cruise, that makes all the difference in the world. Here are the substitutions you must make:
Replace 1-800 with 001-880.
Replace 1-888 with 001-881.
Replace 1-877 with 001-882.
Replace 1-866 with 001-883.
Replace 1-855 with 001-884.
So, if you wanted to call 1-800-123-4567 from Mexico, you’d dial 001-880-123-4567.
Safe travels!
Great list. I was just about to post it when I saw your post.
Thanks for taking the time to share this. I do have this information but it does not usually work. Only about 3 companies accepted the charges. Otherwise you have to pay so much per minute.
Oh my, that was a perfect example of what the Murphy’s law is all about…’ Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong !
Happy & safe journey home !
My regards: Lucy.
I figure things happen in threes so we were good to go.