During the past few months EDenorte has been installing real ciment electricity posts ( as opposed to the old wooden ones ) and very high.
The good news is there are "normal " lines and the high/medium power ones high up on these posts, with brand new wiring.
Because, before hand, if it was windy and/or raining hard, the lines would short out, branches would hit them creating our own fireworks and earthquakes.........
So mid-december the lines finally arrived to our small campo. Then.......... nothing till yesterday. Edenortecame roumd to change the luz counters over to the new system.
So, for 2 years I have been asking Edenorte to install my meter on the wall in front of my house ( as opposed to on the pole 50/70 m away.), more control over the thing. I filled in forms, went to POP offdice, nothing never happened. I even had my electrician install thewhole fing and all we needed edenorte to do was hook up the4 meter cables........
So yesterday, they placed the meter where I wanted it. But didnt hook it up, saying if everything blew, I would blame them....
After assuring them I wouldnt blame the corporation, they did hook it up. Of course, before hand, I cut off the mains AND unplugged all appliances ( I am not mad.....).
Surprisingly all went well and smoothly.
Three cheers for edenorte !!!!!
The edenorte technician even told me he had cut the old cables at the pole and at my installation box on my wall. He said they were great quality and heavy duty ( one reason to build......CDNgringo
), and to dig them up before some tiguere got hold of them.
So we had burried the lines (so one cant easily steal ure luz ), in a flexible good quality tube ( keep the water out ).
I thought "great, I will just pull the cables out through the tube "
Yeah, right.
Tired of puffing and panting and getting nowhere, I had brainstorm. Got the pickup out, tied the 4 cables to the tow thingy ( 2 positive cables and 2 others ), got back in the car, put4 wheel drive in and steadily accelerated.
Guess what happened ???
The cables broke after a bit and whiplashed, cutting off 2 arms and a leg in the process ( well they didnt but only because I asked people to stand back,then told them twice to stand back, then got back out of theSUV and SCREAMED at them to stand back ).
So left everything for the night.
Today took my shovel and pickaxe and started digging. And dug, and dug and dug. The damn thing was 40 cm under earth at its worst, 25 cm at its best. Thats a lot of earth to dig through (and ants, loads of fire spitting ants ).
Of course I forgot that it is la
patronale of the nearby village. More on that in the next post.
So no one was working and every man and his dog stopped to look at me dig.
Every single soul asked " why are you digging ???"
"Clearly, as you can see, to take out the cables".
" No why are YOU digging ??".
"Do I look old ?? Handicapped??"
"No,no, but gringos dont do stuff like that".
" ok , thanks, I'll make a note to myself for next time".
After a couple of hours of hard work, hot and sweaty, feet bitten to pieces by the ants, I got the cables and the flexible tube out.
Victory !!!!!! ( small things can take on great importance, here in the dr ).