Oh. My. God. What a trip! I can only imagine the anxiety, anger, frustration, and maybe fear behind all those smiles and laughs. So glad all 3 of you are ok!
Great video! So sorry about the scam. Amazing job handling it. When we drove our van through Mexico the only issue we had with the police was around CDMX. We did not handle our situation as well as you though. Hope the rest of the trip is smoother.
@@chrisandsara Anytime! I always get asked on the road about the lows og vanlife, and while there's certainly people who try to show those on TH-cam etc, I think you've done a stellar job here, really catching the feeling of sitting there with a broken water pump, leaks, in the rain, in a foreign country. Best of luck on the rest of your journey guys!
Hey y'all! Things are definitely on the up and up. A few issues to work through but we're doing well and happy to be back on the road. :) Hope you guys are doing well and finally getting a bit of relief from the summer heat in FL!
A mexican workshop probably would have sorted out all your truck issues for less than $100 in an afternoon. Starlink is for sale in Mexico. Dish and plan are cheaper too. Shipping anything into Mexico is a freaking nightmare. No need to use an e-sim in Mexico. Telcel 4G/5G coverage is good, and data is cheap.
With the water pump...those are the times I just want to be left alone while I have a cup of coffee and contemplate my life choices. Next time we all talk, ask us to tell you the story about how I figured out to fix our transmission.
😅 It's been one of those weeks where coffee is keeping us moving. Definitely going to ask about that transmission story when we see you again (which hopefully will be soon!). I know we keep saying this, but let's catchup soon!
Thank you for sharing the real experience about traveling. Sometimes it's fun, sometimes it's not. As Sara said it's life. I wish you good luck and I hope that the challenging situation will end very soon and you are back to calm days.
Thank you so much! Things are already getting [slightly] calmer. Today we're appreciative for a great campground to hunker down at and wonderful, hot showers. It could be so much worse! :)
Oh cool - you are in Cholula-Puebla where we are. The weather is wierd here nice warm days - and rains 4 or 5:00 pm every day with thunder - with nice cool evenings. Your video looked so stressful. And yes, in Mexico, you have to have ALOT of patience - LOL!
I didn't know y'all were in that area! I'm bummed we missed y'all! Cholula was absolutely charming and we loved our time there. It was one of our favorite places we've been in Mexico, largely for the people. Everyone was so nice! And you're right about the storms. Just like clockwork everyday they rolled in and cooled things off. :)
OMG, I am really sorry what the 3 of you are going through. First the fake cop, then the valet at hotel. Driving with no windshield wiper was very dangerous, but I had to laugh out loud! I trust that you will figure things out and get back on your journey. Remember, life is a test. And one more thing, you cannot climb pyramids anymore in Mexico.
hi, so you know for the future... "According to the CDMX Traffic Regulations, dogs must travel in the back seats of the car and must be secured with some type of harness or leash that keeps them still in one place." And even being in a cage for security of the driver and other drivers, it is the same in spain and other countries. "If you take your pet in the car, you may be subject to a fine of 10 to 20 times the Unit of Measurement and Update (UAM), which is economically equivalent to $1,374 and up to $2,174. Without forgetting that three points less are also dictated on the driver's license." In Mex, every state has different laws by the way... so be cafeful in CDMX, actually even mexas from outside CDMX have to apply for a permit to drive in cdmx online, so you can only drive in the city for a limited days of the year or you get a fine, just like in london. nice videos...
He actually was secure on a leash in the backseat and unable to move beyond his one seat so technically he wasn't violating the rules. And we've been very careful not to drive in the city beyond the dates we're allowed to. :) It's certainly a bit confusing but we completely understand why CDMX enforces those rules! It would be way too busy if everyone was allowed to drive on any given day. :)
@@chrisandsara well if the police see a car with a dog´s head outside the window, i think they will stop that car... I am just saying this so you wont be bother by the officers for this minor thing in the future, i think Quintana Roo is the same, dogs have to be in a cage too... your videos are great... =)
Really like Drew Holcomb & the Neighbors... Great music. Loved Sara's parting comment "Can't wait to see what happens next week." A little humor goes a long way in dealing with an "opportunity to excel" (aka adversity). Travel safe...... and hope you get everything sorted out quickly.
I feel like this is a classic return to Mexico - It's absolute chaos, and there's always something to deal with! For us it was a broken Maxxair fan and a forgotten banana in the defrosted freezer 😂😭 You've probably sorted these out by this point, but Mexico sells Starlink - we bought ours while in Mexico and it showed up within 4 days. There's also Amazon in Mexico for plumbing parts etc. you can usually ship to DHL and they'll hold it for you 😊
So we ended up having to send the Starlink we purchased back home and bought the regular one at Home Depot for $120. We didn't want the same big one again since the mini is out and we don't have room to store the whole original size one (our old Starlink was permanently mounted on the roof). The mini isn't available in Mexico yet. :/ As far as plumbing sizes, I tried to order them via Amazon and have them shipped to DHL (like we had done for our Starlink), but it was going to take over a month. It's always something when living on the road! 😅
@@chrisandsara we got scammed in Mexico just recently on our cruise. For seasoned travelers the got us pretty smoothly we didnt realize till it was done. But they told us the cab was included for this beach rental and it wasn’t. By the time we got back the booth was closed.
🙃 It's certainly been a doozy of a few weeks and there have been tears shed, but thankfully we're enjoying the journey too much to let it pull us down for too long!
Guys, really hoping the clothing brand you are founding will take off in Mexico 😂 Jokes aside, glad you were able to sort everything out. I once spent an entire weekend trying to fix the rearview camer before realizing that i had built in a switch so it wouldn't always have power and the switch was just off 🤦🏼 So figuring out it it was the relais, well done. 💪🏼 Does that mean the pump wasn't actually broken and it was just the relais all along?
🤣🤣 Wow, I'm glad I'm not the only one. This qualifies as a cluster eff. Rock on: all will work out. Anything that breaks buy extra and carry a spare. Never know if the reason for a problem is a one-off or a systemic issue.
Overcoming challenges makes finding success all the sweeter. And, if we never left our comfort zone because someone might try to rip us off, everyone would still be living in their childhood basement. ¡Adventure on!
I seriously have to admire your handyman work Sara, if that makes sense. Definitely happy you guys are okay with that fake police. Be very careful out there.
The dog is not a violation of any rule. Thats not a reason to stop your car. And another advise, our highways are not made for tourism, is dangerous by violence, the ways are not made for being friendly to stay at the road, just to go point A to point B. I hope better luck next time
ohm meter? And dang, that's probably a good thing they took out that pole... seemed super rotten at the bottom of the wood haha may have saved someone's life
There are a lot of reasons I won’t ever consider traveling outside the US, but this video highlighted many of them, and just solidified my reasoning. The pros versus the cons are just not there.
Thankfully this is really our first major issue traveling. There are certainly pros and cons to traveling in and out of the USA. Thankfully the USA has so many incredible places to experience though and you couldn't see them all even in 10 lifetimes! :)
I hope one day you get a chance to give Mexico a shot. It's really an incredibly beautiful country with really wonderful people. It has corruption for sure, but overall our experiences here have been very positive!
Thanks for the laughs! The minute you said 'wrapped it in a t-shirt' I knew you were in for customs hell! You stayed in Teotihuacan? I love spending a few days there so I can be almost alone in the site when they open in the morning. Oh, and a suggestion for people reading this - the united states uses a lot of non standard sizes of things. If you travel outside the us with something that may need parts, bring spares of everything with you!
😅 Those t-shirts really messed us up! And yes, we stayed in Teotihuacan and it was lovely!! Such a charming town and the pyramids in the morning were so cool when they were quiet and not busy.
Oh. My. God. What a trip! I can only imagine the anxiety, anger, frustration, and maybe fear behind all those smiles and laughs. So glad all 3 of you are ok!
We're holding it together, thankfully! We've certainly had our low points but at the end of the day we're able to laugh at it all. 😁
Great video! So sorry about the scam. Amazing job handling it. When we drove our van through Mexico the only issue we had with the police was around CDMX. We did not handle our situation as well as you though. Hope the rest of the trip is smoother.
Thank you! Those scams in Mexico can be tricky though. This guy almost had us for a second!
You did a great job showing all the many lows of overlanding (and for probably most, vanlife) here. Great job guys!
Thanks so much! It's certainly a life of ups and downs. :)
@@chrisandsara Anytime! I always get asked on the road about the lows og vanlife, and while there's certainly people who try to show those on TH-cam etc, I think you've done a stellar job here, really catching the feeling of sitting there with a broken water pump, leaks, in the rain, in a foreign country.
Best of luck on the rest of your journey guys!
Oh my goodness, you guys went through a lot, but you guys always have the best attitude! Hope everything is all good now!
Hey y'all! Things are definitely on the up and up. A few issues to work through but we're doing well and happy to be back on the road. :) Hope you guys are doing well and finally getting a bit of relief from the summer heat in FL!
A mexican workshop probably would have sorted out all your truck issues for less than $100 in an afternoon. Starlink is for sale in Mexico. Dish and plan are cheaper too. Shipping anything into Mexico is a freaking nightmare. No need to use an e-sim in Mexico. Telcel 4G/5G coverage is good, and data is cheap.
😊 thank you!! and yes, i wish we had just taken it to a Mexican workshop to get that pipe fixed. It would have saved us a lot of time! 😅
Dude when the valet guy said, “te dije guey” after knocking over the power pole I started cracking up. 😂
😅😅😅 we felt so bad for him!
With the water pump...those are the times I just want to be left alone while I have a cup of coffee and contemplate my life choices. Next time we all talk, ask us to tell you the story about how I figured out to fix our transmission.
😅 It's been one of those weeks where coffee is keeping us moving. Definitely going to ask about that transmission story when we see you again (which hopefully will be soon!). I know we keep saying this, but let's catchup soon!
Sorry about all the bad luck , you guys still rock!
☺️ thanks, Paul! We're still loving the adventure overall!
Thank you for sharing the real experience about traveling. Sometimes it's fun, sometimes it's not. As Sara said it's life. I wish you good luck and I hope that the challenging situation will end very soon and you are back to calm days.
Thank you so much! Things are already getting [slightly] calmer. Today we're appreciative for a great campground to hunker down at and wonderful, hot showers. It could be so much worse! :)
JB WaterWeld is fantastic for all kinds of funky plumbing "repairs"... as long as it's not under pressure. I've never tried it in that scenario.
😂😂 well let you know how it pans out!
That’s frustrating, glad you are getting through it. Hope your trip gets better!
It's already getting better! Hopefully most of the problems are in the past and we can keep moving forward! 🌎
Oh cool - you are in Cholula-Puebla where we are. The weather is wierd here nice warm days - and rains 4 or 5:00 pm every day with thunder - with nice cool evenings. Your video looked so stressful. And yes, in Mexico, you have to have ALOT of patience - LOL!
I didn't know y'all were in that area! I'm bummed we missed y'all! Cholula was absolutely charming and we loved our time there. It was one of our favorite places we've been in Mexico, largely for the people. Everyone was so nice!
And you're right about the storms. Just like clockwork everyday they rolled in and cooled things off. :)
@@chrisandsara Yeah, too bad! We are considering moving down to Buenos Aires (but it wouldn't happen right away). Might catch u down there 😉👍
OMG, I am really sorry what the 3 of you are going through. First the fake cop, then the valet at hotel. Driving with no windshield wiper was very dangerous, but I had to laugh out loud! I trust that you will figure things out and get back on your journey. Remember, life is a test. And one more thing, you cannot climb pyramids anymore in Mexico.
hi, so you know for the future... "According to the CDMX Traffic Regulations, dogs must travel in the back seats of the car and must be secured with some type of harness or leash that keeps them still in one place." And even being in a cage for security of the driver and other drivers, it is the same in spain and other countries. "If you take your pet in the car, you may be subject to a fine of 10 to 20 times the Unit of Measurement and Update (UAM), which is economically equivalent to $1,374 and up to $2,174. Without forgetting that three points less are also dictated on the driver's license." In Mex, every state has different laws by the way... so be cafeful in CDMX, actually even mexas from outside CDMX have to apply for a permit to drive in cdmx online, so you can only drive in the city for a limited days of the year or you get a fine, just like in london. nice videos...
He actually was secure on a leash in the backseat and unable to move beyond his one seat so technically he wasn't violating the rules. And we've been very careful not to drive in the city beyond the dates we're allowed to. :) It's certainly a bit confusing but we completely understand why CDMX enforces those rules! It would be way too busy if everyone was allowed to drive on any given day. :)
@@chrisandsara well if the police see a car with a dog´s head outside the window, i think they will stop that car... I am just saying this so you wont be bother by the officers for this minor thing in the future, i think Quintana Roo is the same, dogs have to be in a cage too... your videos are great... =)
Really like Drew Holcomb & the Neighbors... Great music. Loved Sara's parting comment "Can't wait to see what happens next week." A little humor goes a long way in dealing with an "opportunity to excel" (aka adversity). Travel safe...... and hope you get everything sorted out quickly.
Thanks, y'all!! Hope you're enjoying the last days of your CO summer! Would love for our paths to cross again one day soon. :)
I feel like this is a classic return to Mexico - It's absolute chaos, and there's always something to deal with! For us it was a broken Maxxair fan and a forgotten banana in the defrosted freezer 😂😭
You've probably sorted these out by this point, but Mexico sells Starlink - we bought ours while in Mexico and it showed up within 4 days. There's also Amazon in Mexico for plumbing parts etc. you can usually ship to DHL and they'll hold it for you 😊
So we ended up having to send the Starlink we purchased back home and bought the regular one at Home Depot for $120. We didn't want the same big one again since the mini is out and we don't have room to store the whole original size one (our old Starlink was permanently mounted on the roof). The mini isn't available in Mexico yet. :/
As far as plumbing sizes, I tried to order them via Amazon and have them shipped to DHL (like we had done for our Starlink), but it was going to take over a month.
It's always something when living on the road! 😅
Sorry to hear the troubles guys!! Mexico is always such a scammy place. I guess it makes for a good story. 😊
We're definitely getting some good story material this round back in Mexico. Still wouldn't trade the experience for anything!
@@chrisandsara we got scammed in Mexico just recently on our cruise. For seasoned travelers the got us pretty smoothly we didnt realize till it was done. But they told us the cab was included for this beach rental and it wasn’t. By the time we got back the booth was closed.
Sorry you've had such a trying start back in Mexico, I hope it only gets better from here :)
Thanks, Emma! It's already going so much better and we're happy to be back. Hope y'all are doing well!! :)
I would cry so much. So many sad things happened to you.
🙃 It's certainly been a doozy of a few weeks and there have been tears shed, but thankfully we're enjoying the journey too much to let it pull us down for too long!
Guys, really hoping the clothing brand you are founding will take off in Mexico 😂
Jokes aside, glad you were able to sort everything out.
I once spent an entire weekend trying to fix the rearview camer before realizing that i had built in a switch so it wouldn't always have power and the switch was just off 🤦🏼
So figuring out it it was the relais, well done. 💪🏼
Does that mean the pump wasn't actually broken and it was just the relais all along?
There is two wires to the pump, reverse them and try it.
👍
🤣🤣 Wow, I'm glad I'm not the only one. This qualifies as a cluster eff. Rock on: all will work out. Anything that breaks buy extra and carry a spare. Never know if the reason for a problem is a one-off or a systemic issue.
😂 It definitely has been a heck of a week!
You could ask customs to throw out aka keep everything else in the package.
We did try to explain but they weren’t having it 😂
Overcoming challenges makes finding success all the sweeter. And, if we never left our comfort zone because someone might try to rip us off, everyone would still be living in their childhood basement. ¡Adventure on!
Agreed!!! Our thoughts exactly!! 😁
I seriously have to admire your handyman work Sara, if that makes sense. Definitely happy you guys are okay with that fake police. Be very careful out there.
haha thank you!! i'm not sure it was my finest work, but it's still holding two weeks later! 😂
Glad y’all are okay
Thank you!! We're doing well and on the up and up. :)
The dog is not a violation of any rule. Thats not a reason to stop your car. And another advise, our highways are not made for tourism, is dangerous by violence, the ways are not made for being friendly to stay at the road, just to go point A to point B. I hope better luck next time
We figured🤣
In CDMX it is.
i told i in another comment guys, rains in mexico are INTENSE, these months XDDDDDDD
You weren't kidding!! 😳
ohm meter? And dang, that's probably a good thing they took out that pole... seemed super rotten at the bottom of the wood haha may have saved someone's life
Haha! Maybe you're right... we'll go ahead and view it like our truck did someone a favor. 😁
OHMYGOSH 😮!!!
🫠 we could use a good visit with friends and Járdin right now!
❤And while driving never make eye contact with the officer's ❤
Good tip!! Thank you!
you guys need to learn spanish. what are you doing in mexico only speaking english???
No,we are learning Spanish and speaking regularly but we are not fluent.
12:10: Kramer can't bear to watch...
Poor dog.. he puts with so much. 😂
Thanks for sharing the faux-police officer scam and reminding everyone to have copies of important documents.
Hopefully that will help other travelers. Laminated copies of important documents are a must! :)
💜💜💜
🙃
There are a lot of reasons I won’t ever consider traveling outside the US, but this video highlighted many of them, and just solidified my reasoning. The pros versus the cons are just not there.
Thankfully this is really our first major issue traveling. There are certainly pros and cons to traveling in and out of the USA. Thankfully the USA has so many incredible places to experience though and you couldn't see them all even in 10 lifetimes! :)
🙄
🙃
You couldn’t pay me enough to go to Mexico.
I hope one day you get a chance to give Mexico a shot. It's really an incredibly beautiful country with really wonderful people. It has corruption for sure, but overall our experiences here have been very positive!
Scams 😳
😬
So the truck broke down because of Mexico? 😅😅😅😅 I just wanna go home !
😅
Thanks for the laughs! The minute you said 'wrapped it in a t-shirt' I knew you were in for customs hell! You stayed in Teotihuacan? I love spending a few days there so I can be almost alone in the site when they open in the morning. Oh, and a suggestion for people reading this - the united states uses a lot of non standard sizes of things. If you travel outside the us with something that may need parts, bring spares of everything with you!
😅 Those t-shirts really messed us up! And yes, we stayed in Teotihuacan and it was lovely!! Such a charming town and the pyramids in the morning were so cool when they were quiet and not busy.