200 liters of oil...not

Today is the day! I wake up way before the sun as usual and head to 100% Natural to blog, use their electricity and the bathroom.

I am friends now with a couple of the womyn there. One has a 4 year old that is just waking up when I arrive in the early mornings. She is so cute and smart – and everyone helps to care for her.

Lupita asks me about CodePINK and my work. Both womyn stare in fascination as I talk about Bush and womyn working to end war. They are so happy and so supportive. I run back to the truck to grab a couple of buttons for them before heading to the beach to stretch and watch the sun rise.

I cut my time on the beach this morning because I don’t want to be late for Javier and the 5 to 10 containers (100 to 200 liters) of veggie oil – at $25-35 pesos a shot – waiting for me, supposedly.

Of course, when I get there again Javier is barefoot in his grey shorts and shirt again, flooding the sandy brown painted cement floor with bleachy soapy water.

I greet him and ask if now is a good time to pick up the containers of oil. He tells me I think the man I want to speak with isn’t there.

I tell him I thought he was the man I want to speak with. He picks up his cell and calls and calls. Apparently no one is answering. Then Javier tells me to return on Saturday.

I protest to his deep, cross-his- heart-felt promise that he will have the oil for me then.

Okay. I wearily return my truck to my parking place and almost immediately Guillermo shows up. I complain to him about Javier and he tells me he used to run a restaurant and there are other people who are trying to get that oil.

I am astonished. He continues to tell me that 3 or 4 people a week used to come by, looking for oil – not to feed animals but he says they were other restaurant people who would take the oil, “clean” it, and use it again.

Okay. He advises me to give him some money, which I intended to do, although I don’t let on that I’ve been getting oil free.

Guillermo then explains to me that he will return with his helper in a little while. He wants to try to re-charge the batteries by connecting the solar directly to the batteries, bypassing the charger and inverter.

He gives me another couple of pages to read about batteries, charging 50%, and 30%, and 80% - and 100%, a percentage mine haven’t seen apparently in a long time.

He is trying to save my batteries – and save me close to $1000 – if he can power them up again.

At this point, I’ll try anything. I’ve eaten all the food from my fridge that would go bad, and I can live without lights – although living without the computer, that’s tough. But it’s temporary.