5C's Que Pasa

The RV tech Erik had left it up to us to find a new starter motor for the generator.  I did find one on Amazon.com and one of the RVers was in Los Angelos for a week and she will be flying back here tomorrow with the part.  We spent hours last Saturday trying to sort out what to do before we decided on that.  There was a part that we could get through O’Reillys but they would not accept our Canadian credit card nor would they accept a US Visa as it had a Canadian billing address.  But by having our friend drive to the store and prepay for the part it would have arrived today just hours before she flies back here tomorrow.  However that was way over$400.00USD for the same part.  I ordered the Amazon.com part on Saturday and it was delivered on Sunday 😛 Rather amazing.  Erik suggested that we get two parts because he was very worried that one of the start motors might not work. So we also ordered the part from Amazon.mx and it arrived early Wednesday afternoon.  Erik now has that part and is working with it.  We are on standby as to what happens next re the generator.

Meanwhile we had Erik here last Sunday doing small repairs for six hours.  It should have taken less than half that time but one thing led to another and it seemed that almost every task needed to have extra things done to correct what we thought would be a simple fix.

I just did not want to go down and up the stairs again to simply take a photo so I took this one thru the window screen.  Here he is changing a water valve but he decided to fix the old part as it was brass versus plastic but then he need to do something else and then that led to him adapting the old part but the install did not work and so on.  It did get fixed eventually.

About two weeks ago I was sitting here at my computer while Colin was in the shower.  I heard a drip drip drip sound.  Turns out that the toilet peddle got stuck and simply overfilled the toilet bowl.  It covered the bathroom and kitchen floor and then because we aren’t quite level ( we knew that we had to go out again re the generator so did not make a huge effort to level  the last time ) it began to run down the steps to the outside.  Fortunately we had a stash of old towels that we used for the floor for my massages that were handy and I was able to sop up the wet.  But what a mess.  One cabinet in the bathroom has a carpet floor and we had to use a fan for four days to dry it out.

Erik ran out of time last Sunday but came back on Monday to check the toilet peddle. A very tight area to work in.  Turns out that we needed a new valve as the original one had a slow leak.  So he replaced the valve but it was very stiff and had to be used just so.

Not two hours later after Colin had used the toilet and was outside I once again heard a drip, drip, drip.  Thank goodness I wasn’t responsible for either flood.  Sorry but the camera was on the wrong setting or something but that tiny patch is more water.  We used all those towels yet again and the fan is still working to dry out that carpet.  Erik said that he would look for another spring to see if that will help.

Other than that spring that might be needed to be replaced, the RV repairs are complete.  Well other than the generator repair.  That is the big one.  Hopefully by the end of next week we will have it reinstalled and working.

Meanwhile these winter swans which we have yet to see in person have been hanging out on our lake.  Are they already heading north?

I was asked by a reader how Mazatlan was handling the Coronavirus based on that fact that we had an infected cruise ship passenger dock here.  That was back on February 17th and the gentleman passed away yesterday in California. At this point no one knows if he actually got off the Grand Princess while it was docked here.  At this point there is nothing being done publicly either at the airport or at the cruise ship terminal.  I read that the hotels have nothing in place in how to handle a situation if there is an infection.  Officially there are only five known cases of infection here in Mexico.  Personally we are no longer hugging nor shaking hands with anyone and are being very careful with our hand washing.  We went out the other night and used a lot of Sani wipes just in case.

This is an excellent link to a site with current data on the Coronavirus.  It is constantly being updated.

I discovered the following on a Facebook page very recently and because it is written by a physician who worked with a variety of coronaviruses  back in the 70’s and is written as advice to fellow doctors I find it rather logical and to the point and likely very truthful.  He truly believes that things will be worse by the end of March.  Please take time to read this.  Already hand sanitizer and masks are sold out in Mexico.  I can’t even order hand sanitizer on Amazon.com to pick up when we are in the US. We are all responsible for our own health so read this and act accordingly.

I have been taking photos but not having time to edit them hence not many posts of late.  I now have my photos edited right up to the last one I took today.  Looks like about six posts worth. Speaking of posts, I am still am not able to comment on most blog posts.  Hopefully one day soon someone will figure out the reason why.  I know that it is not just myself having this problem.

My recovery has been going well until this past Sunday when my knee became inflamed. So I stopped both walking and exercises and started with the ice and a mix of heat.  Octavio came yesterday Tuesday and sorted me out.  At the moment I am walking twice per day for 25 minutes and only doing the exercises including the weights once per day for now.  The walking is going well except for the bee sting I got on left foot last Sunday 😥

So last Monday, February 27th, we headed into town to see some Carnaval action and to walk around a bit.  If you look closely you will see the line up of people coming off the beach waiting to catch a lancha back to Mazatlan.  I was chilly because of the wind yet many were simply wearing their bathing suits.  Brrr…….

The usually areas around and lining the entrance to the Plazuela Machado were full of vendors. This shirt caught my eye, ‘EMOTIONALLY EXHAUSTED”.  I also love the colors of the one to the right. Those are not beads but the result of some sort of 3D printing.  I could have the term wrong….

We dined at Gaia from where we saw the Carnaval statue.  Despite the chill in the air, there were many people walking around.

We had a great table and were also able to enjoy a visit with friends Renee and Greg who were sitting just across from us with some of their friends.  Our appetizer was breaded zucchini bayonets served with dill and honey dressing.  Gaia always serves a basket full of warm breads accompanied with butter mixed with honey which is almost addicting.

We had barely begun to eat when a Banda group set up directly behind us and to my right.

It was a nine piece band from left to the extreme right.  All I can say is loud!

I ordered the panko & cilantro breaded shrimp served with a mango and ginger sauce. It was delicious.

Colin enjoyed a creamy shrimp risotto with parmesan cheese.

We certainly enjoyed our meal but conversation was left for the few moments between songs. Plus it was very breezy and cool.

And then the tubas doubled!

There were another two just around the corner.  It was getting  louder by the minute.

Somehow within five minutes another large 15 piece Banda group set up behind us next to the Italian restaurant. You can barely see the tuba in the centre of the photo.

It was time to order dessert because why not, it was a date night.  This is called Tibio de Chocolate, lava chocolate cake served with mint & chocolate sauce and ice cream.  At only 65 pesos/$4.40 CAD/$3.30USD  it is worth stopping at Gaia for a drink or coffee and dessert.

We were happy to hop into a warm Uber to travel to the embarcadero where we bundled up to catch the lancha back to the Isla.  I even had gloves on.

We woke up the other day to some missing balls.  The stands had been knocked over.

The balls were on the ground and fortunately unbroken.

The reason there is a smaller different ball is because a cat sent it flying last winter and it broke.  This was the best match that I could find.

So this happened three days in a row.  We have now moved the balls to a slightly different area and so far they are staying put on their stands on the table.

This is how I prepare for my weekly Monday massage.  The old towels are put down to prevent oil dropping on our carpet.  However today I did not have my massage as Sophia called in sick, well actually she texted.  She just got back from a quick trip to Mexico City yesterday and is not well with sneezing and a cough.  Thank you for not coming.  I don’t want to get sick. But my body was not happy. I really need that massage.  Hopefully next Monday.

You are not going to get another leap year sunset for four more years, 2024.

It was rather special though.

Back on February 29, 2016 we watched the sunset with friends Hannelore and Peter.  That day the sun dropped directly into the ocean.  You can catch that here.

And a funny one liner post back in 2012.

I trust that you all made the best of your extra day today 😎

This past Tuesday, Octavio my physiotherapist, made a major change in my exercise program.  He says I need to do this for the next three weeks and then I should be good to go.  However the new exercises are difficult.  Difficult to the point that I need only do them twice per day.  One of them is tear inducing 😥  But here I am, a few days later and sort of being able to get most of them done.  I am up to 20 minutes twice per day for a beach walk.

Today Octavio said that I might soon be up to 25 minutes per walk, twice daily.  I have to admit that I am rather worn out when I get back from that 20 minute walk and need to rest.  So it seems that every few days I am in a new routine and then it changes somewhat. Bottom line is that I need to push to get my exercises and walks done so that my knee  will strengthen so that I can walk as much as I like.

Today ( Friday the 28th ) we got some bad news.  We had been waiting all day for Erik to let us know that the generator was repaired and ready to install tomorrow.  He never called but showed up about 3:30PM and told us that the final repair worked once but then died yet again.  The outside of the starter motor shaft was repaired but now it is the inside that is not working.  He now believes that we need a new starter motor.  The company that makes the after market part for our generator has nothing but bad reviews.

So Colin and I got on both computers and used our phone to make umpteen calls.  However it was late in the day and the east side of the US was closed for the weekend.  I kept at it and found a used part on eBay made by the original manufacturer.  The price was only $95.00USD but shipping and importing the part into Mexico will be a small fortune.  We have spent hours on this tonight and hope to seal a deal tomorrow.  No idea re the cost. We seriously are not able to purchase a new generator at this time ( due to funds already committed to a major trip this fall ), perhaps next year or the year after. We are still positive that we will get this issue fixed but we are leaving on March 17th and that does not give us much time.

The RV park had a huge bonfire/weiner roast tonight.  We were late to the party because of the generator issue, but we did get there. Veggie wieners taste even better over an open flame.  We also were able to finally sit down and catch up with Chris and Roger, first longtime blog readers and now longtime friends.