Igor is getting some new solar panels!

Our bus was scheduled to depart the big and busy Mexico City Norte Bus Terminal at 10:15am. 

We were up at 6:30am so we didn't feel the need to rush. Went down and had a nice breakfast and were outside waiting for our Uber taxi at 9:00am.

Arrived at the bus terminal at 9:30am and didn't have any problem finding our departure gate. Boarded at 10:00am and departed at 10:15am.

Between the traffic, and the general size of the metropolitan area, it takes almost an hour just to get outside Mexico City. After that, it was pretty much smooth sailing. We made a stop at the main bus terminal in Queretaro to drop some people off and pick some people up, then to San Miguel de Allende arriving about 3:30pm.

We knew there wasn't much in Igor's fridge, so we did the short walk over to the Bodega Aurrera grocery store to pick up a few things. 

Took an Uber back to Igor. We're getting things put away, when Ruth says "I can't find my phone".

She thinks she set it down somewhere in the store. She went to the office here, and they were nice enough to phone the store, but couldn't get through. The guy in the office here even had a friend of his stop in the store, but no luck. We even contacted the Uber driver on the off chance she left it in the car, but no luck there either.

Ruth doesn't use her phone as a phone, so there is no SIM card in it. And, it was a cheap phone to begin with. So it's not a disaster, just a little frustrating. We'll stop in there again this morning to see if it turned up.

Now... what's this...?

It's a couple of new solar panels!

A bit of a long story, but we had installed two new 100 watt solar panels on Igor's roof last August. I noticed at the time that they didn't seem to be putting out as much power as I expected, but I put it down to the fact that the sun doesn't get that high in the sky.

Here in Mexico it does though, and the problem actually seemed worse. In November I contacted the supplier and registered a complaint. They had me do some tests on the panels, and sure enough they were only putting out half what they were rated for. One, slightly better than the other.

Of course there was no way to return them, and at this point I didn't want the same panels anyhow. I negotiated with the supplier, and the best they would do was to refund 50% of my money. Not the best outcome, but it seemed like there was no other option.

Fast forward to today. We have a friend Doug, who lives in Guanajuato, and I found a great deal on two more 100 watt panels. They arrived at his place yesterday, and we will head there tomorrow. We'll probably stay in Guanajuato for week, and Doug has offered to help me install them, so we'll get that done at some point. I'll be glad to get the system operating the way I designed it!

Today, we are meeting friends Gregg and Janet for lunch. This is another traveling couple who we originally met in Morocco, and they just happen to be here at the same time as us! We sure do know a lot of people in different parts of the world!

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