Prep, prep and more prep. Let's get on with it!

Welcome to our blog! This will be a work in progress and I hope you will all find it interesting and informative.

A six month driving trip to Mexico and Central America requires a lot of preparation. Brad and I have been working on this exclusively for over six months now. We chose to buy a 2015 Nissan Xterra for the clearance and the four wheel drive.  An older model may have cost less to insure but we hope the savings will come with less repair costs.

We researched quite extensively for car insurance that we could purchase prior to our trip. This involved online research and recommendations from other seasoned travelers to Mexico. We found that after leaving the USA, we have to purchase insurance separately for most countries. Mexico and Costa Rica, like British Columbia, have legislated that only domestic coverage is available.  So far, we have only purchased Mexican coverage and will need to deal with other countries as needed.

To avoid harassment by local police or at the border crossings, there are a few items you need to have in your vehicle not usually required in Canada. This included safety triangles, a first aid kit and a fire extinguisher. Another security issue that we needed to look closely at was getting through the reputedly treacherous northern border region of Mexico. With a plan to go down the Baja, we've decided to cross early in the morning at a smaller border crossing. We will post how that went later.

With a six month trip ahead of us and limited space, we have had to walk a fine line between what we think we need versus what we might like to have along.

I can't say that at times we haven't had a lot of trepidation and angst over the thought of being away for this long, but I know that we are both very ready to begin this adventure. Adventure in the dictionary is defined as "an unusual and exciting, typically hazardous, experience or activity"

We shall see!

Brad and Leona