Actually, now I do. Yesterday Mike installed two new solar panels. We originally had 3 300 watt panels. Then one of them got broken in one of our wind storms this summer, so for quite awhile now we have be living with only 200 watts. So now Mike installs two more panels with 130 watts each. So now we have 460 watts! And that does not even count what is generated by our windmill. This puts us in fabulous shape. Yesterday after the installation was complete, and even with the fridge running, two fans blowing AND the computer being used, we were still over 15 amp hours ahead. This means we had more power coming in than we did going out. The fridge is our single biggest power draw. It also means we won't need to use gas or diesel - we won't have to run the generator or the engine to charge the batteries. Less reliance on fossil fuels. More off the grid freedom.
Last night we saw one of our geckos. I am pretty sure it was Doc. We have not seen any of them since they arrived, which is to be expected according to my gecko research. We hear some chirping (I like to think of it as gentle barking) at night and I like to hear it. Doc looked quite robust and didn't appear to have missed any meals. I can't really tell yet if they are serving their purpose or not. It would be just my luck to have a boat infested with both roaches and lizards. I would rather have lizards.
Today we are heading into Zactecaluca to get cash and some groceries. We take the local bus - those converted school buses. Hopefully we will have a seat the whole way. The buses do get crowded at times, and they really crowd people on. In Guatemala we took what is called a colectivo -a minivan designed to seat around 15 that acts like a bus, with specific routes either within a city or between cities. We took one from Flores to Coban - about 150 miles or so. They must have had over 30 people crammed into that van - we had people literally with butts in our faces, people sitting on top of the van and hanging off the doors. it was amazing how many people they could cram in there. Every time we stopped I could see the people riding with us thinking just what I was thinking- "There is no way they can fit any one else on here." But then they would. After that experience,we paid a bit extra for the private shuttle services. But Zacatecaluca is close enough that we just deal with the crowding.
Well, I have to get gong now. It is about 8:30 am and we want to get going before it gets too hot out. Even though it is winter (at least on the calendar) the only difference between the weather now and the weather in the summer is that it rains in the summer and does not in the winter. At least this trip to Zacatecaluca will not include the long uphill walk to the post office. Just the store and the ATM. As usual, all is well here in El Salvador.
"People demand freedom of speech as a compensation for the freedom of thought which they seldom use." (Søren Kierkegaard)
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