Mark Twain said that if you try to grab a cat by the tail, there are things that you'll learn that you can't learn any other way... or something like that. I think the same could be said about one's first dealings with ocean shipping companies, mercurial ship schedules, port authorities, and the many disgruntled and generally grumpy people of which they are comprised. Cargo shipping agents, in particular, are a notorious lot, many of whom have fallen into this line of work after having shown a lack of required character and integrity to succeed as used car salesmen. To partially quote Steve Carrell (from The Office), if I were in a room with Osama bin Laden, Hitler, and a cargo shipping agent, and had only a gun with just two bullets, I'd shoot the shipping ... read more

It's been some time since we last posted a blog, largely because we've ended up staying in San Miguel de Allende for the last month! We unhooked Tortuga from the truck and did a couple of short day trips in the surrounding area, and we also took a bus to the astonishing city of Guanajuato, where we spent a couple of days ambling around the historic centre, but otherwise we've been quite sedentary for a change. When we first arrived in this beautiful city, we planned on staying for just a couple of nights at the central campground, but before we knew it we'd been here for a week, then two...and then we discovered that if we stayed for 3 weeks we would get the fourth week for free, so it seemed crazy not to! On ... read more

We finally tore ourselves away from the gorgeous city of Oaxaca after three weeks of lazing around, eating loads of local dishes and getting some more work done on the truck's suspension. We also spent a few days up in the mountains near Oaxaca and enjoyed a couple of hikes on some well-maintained trails that are also popular with mountain bikers. We both loved the city but agreed that it is probably a bit bigger than what we're really looking for in terms of a place to call home. Pollution and general air quality weren't great either, partly due to controlled brush burns up in the mountains, which is something for us to consider. It was a great time though and so far one of our favourite places in Mexico. We broke up the long drive ... read more

Hello folks, and thanks for checking in with us again. It's been a few weeks since our last update. Since then we've traveled from Mazatlan to Acapulco, from beaches to mountains, through a couple of really pretty cities and towns, and back to the beach. In Mazatlan, we met Jen and Gavin, a British couple who were more than a year and a half into a 2-year trip up and down (or down and up) the western hemisphere. We hit it off with them really well, although being the only American in our foursome, I often found myself trying to decipher what seemed to be a foreign language at times. Between references to car parks and crisps, lifts and lorries, I had better luck with the Mexican Spanish. They were, and have been, a lot of ... read more

This blog entry is a little dedication to our sweet Goldie, whom we put to sleep on the 11thJanuary when her tumour had reached the point that it was causing her unnecessary pain and suffering. We weren’t sure whether to write an entry like this, but decided that she was such a big part of our lives, and indeed this trip, that it would be wrong not to. Ken rescued Goldie from the roadside in Puerto Rico back in 2007, when she was just a little pup, but she soon made herself at home with him and ended up spending the next 10+ years by our sides. From then on she led life at only one speed: full on! From chasing tennis balls or squirrels to swimming in lakes or scampering up mountains, she was always ... read more