From Sand Castles to Mud Puddles

Today's blog will start on a very funny note. Yesterday afternoon when Mic and I were picking up our Mexican vehicle insurance, we took the dogs and had opened the sunroof. I stayed in the truck with the dogs to make sure none of them were too adventurous about the sunroof and possible escape attempts.

We picked up the insurance papers and were headed back to the hotel for the evening. Mic thought he would spray some bug juice on the windshield as it was covered in bug fatalities from  the states we have toured. Unfortunately, he neglected to close the sunroof before he sprayed the juice. Mental note; when in a moving vehicle with a sunroof, make sure it is closed before you spray. We were all splashed. The dogs even looked at him as if to say...what the heck! Pretty funny moment!

Well, today's blog post actually started before we left Uvalde, Texas. At midnight, I was awoken by flashes of light coming through the drawn drapes of our hotel room. The wind was howling and the rain pummelled the dry earth of the drought ridden plains. It was a low level tropical storm, not quite strong enough to be classified as a hurricane, but showing its ferocity with every gust of wind, clap of thunder and the sheets of rain. It was over almost as quickly as it appeared, but left a much needed abundance of water to soak into the parched ground.

We have gone from the wetness of Vancouver, Washington and California to the dryness of the Mojave Desert and back into some dampness.  Crazy weather, even down south.

When we arose this morning, the day greeted us with sunshine and birds singing as we packed up the truck and headed back out on our path to Roatan.  The route we were to be travelling today was closed as a result of construction and last night's downpour, so we quickly redirected with our GPS unit and found a beautiful two-lane highway which wove its way through farmland and ranches (they sure do have a lot of cattle in this part of the country) towards our final destination for today, Laredo, Texas. Tomorrow we will be crossing the border into Mexico.

As expected, the farther south we travel, the warmer it is getting. The thermometer on the truck reached 30C today. We are all feeling the change in the weather and the pups are already sleeping in their kennels for the night.

Today's tip is regarding vehicle (and personal) insurance when entering other countries. In the United States and Canada, it is usually pretty straight forward. Your vehicle insurance is respected north and south of the border. However, when entering countries such as Mexico, Guatemala, and Honduras, it is required to have federally approved insurance from the country you are entering. Be sure to order your paperwork well in advance as it may take up to 24 hours to receive the appropriate documents. Many insurance companies offer packages that are available for purchase online or in brick and mortar offices in border towns of the country you are entering. For example, Mic and I purchased our vehicle insurance policy (during our downtime while the truck was in the shop) in Uvalde, Texas. We purchased it over the phone and stopped by a local office of All-State Insurance to actually pick up the policy. Once you receive it, make sure you have a couple of copies with it in the event that the border asks you for copies of it, or if you just happen to misplace your original.

That is about all for today. Hope you all had a great day! Until tomorrow!