Ruth and the sunset at the island of Dhiffushi, Maldives.
Where are Kevin and Ruth now? Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Where are Kevin and Ruth going next? Kuwait City, Kuwait on March 31st.

Tuesday, March 5, 2019

Our life is a logistical nightmare sometimes...

Well, I just spent the last hour and a half this morning on the phone to various parts of the world trying to figure out how to pay for an Australian RV using a Canadian bank account to a couple in Switzerland while I am in Mexico!

Our life is a logistical nightmare sometimes... but we wouldn't have it any other way!

Still, it was frustrating. It shouldn't have been this difficult. The easiest way would have been doing an International Wire Transfer. But that's also the most expensive way. The banks charge a fee to the sender, and a fee to the recipient and they mark up the foreign exchange rate by 2%. And then, it turns out that we can't do it anyhow because you have to be in person in your branch in Canada in order to initiate the transfer. I would have had to first transfer the money to our daughter and she would have had to do the transfer.

The cheapest option is using Transferwise. I have received money this way, but have never sent it. It turns out the big banks in Canada don't like Transferwise much because they undercut the fees so much. We save about $400 CAD on the transaction by using Transferwise instead of a wire transfer, so it's a worthwhile route to go. But, it turns out there is a $9,500 CAD limit to get your money from your bank in Canada into your Transferwise account. So I have to do it in two payments.

Oh well... we will get it done, it's just going to take an extra couple of days.

Great sunrise yesterday morning.

The big pool at Roca Azul.

It's busy on weekends, but during the week it is very quiet.

Some of the RV sites.

It's pretty busy right now.

There are some who stay here year round.

This guy has a view of the lake.

Roca Azul RV Park.

They have a huge sports field.

This is a new long term resident. 
They were planting trees here the day we arrived.

The price is reasonable... 300 pesos ($15.75 USD, $21 CAD) a night, or 4,500 pesos ($235 USD, $315 CAD) per month with full hookups. Decent 30 amp electric, water, and sewer, and good wifi if you happen to have a spot in the right part of the park.

We're only here for four nights to take a break. We have zero interest in the nearby Chapala - Ajijic area, but we wanted to support Roca Azul RV park and it is a nice spot just to take a break and get some things done. A few minor repairs to Sherman that I hadn't had time to get to. So I got some of that done, and we did some cleaning and sat outside and played some backgammon. Never left the park.

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And in Canada...




6 comments:

  1. Your post makes me wonder what difficulty you will run into when you reverse the process and want to sale the Australian RV?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Who knows, it is possible that there will be no problem at all. And, it is also possible that if this truck camper works out well for us, we just may not sell it for a few years so that we can make return visits to see more of the country.

      Delete
  2. Looking forward to the Aussie trip! I have some Aus/Can friends who are moving back down under next year. I have extensively discussed with them our planned campervan trip one day and it's on the list! Great truck camper combo you found and I agree whoever built it knew what they were doing and built it for compact comfort. I'm not a diesel guy, but I have heard that Morey's diesel fuel conditioner is an awesome product and makes these engines run forever. Still winter in the South Okanagan BTW. Cheers

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We are so looking forward to this trip ourselves! :-)

      Yes, it looks like the camper was built well and nicely designed, I guess we will know for sure once we are actually there and see it in person. Kevin isn't a diesel guy either but he will learn more as we go along.

      Sorry that you are still having winter there in the Okanagan, hopefully it will be over very soon.

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  3. Given the front&back end costs and logistics could renting this rig from them be a possibility?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Nope, it is still cheaper to buy a unit and sell it when you are done. It just takes a little patience and research to make it all work. Plus, these people don't want to rent it, they want to sell it as they are going back to their home country to work.

      Delete

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