Mexican Maintenance

Today Nancy & I walked for an hour along the sea wall in Campeche and after a bowl of my homemade granola, set off on a great day of travel. The 200 miles from Campeche to Valladolid took only four hours on a 4-lane divided highway. The two military checkpoints mainly involved inspecting our cooler!

For the past week, we’ve been discovering water in the trunk and on the floor of the car. This morning we finally discovered the source—a small gap in the rear window seal. A gardener at the hotel happened to have a tube of silicone handy, so he squeezed a bead into the gap. Now we just need to pull out the back seat and dry all the carpeting and padding!

This afternoon, after checking into a quaint Valladolid hotel, we got an oil change and new filter. Not exactly Rapid Oil, but the service in the open air shop was fast and friendly. While Nancy was chatting with Martin, the 70-year old proprietor, she learned that his dentist daughter's office was next door. So Nancy went in and introduced herself to la doctora, who happened to have an opening right then. (In Mexico, as in Costa Rica, dentists clean patients’ teeth themselves. Our Costa Rican dentist once said she doesn’t understand why dentists in the United States delegate such an important procedure to people with less training.) Zip, zap car and teeth were taken care of! The father charged $32, his daughter $39.

We love being back in the Yucatan. Even the air feels welcoming. Tomorrow we drive to Cancun and ride the car ferry to Isla Mujeres. This will complete the first part of our 3-month Mexican adventure.

Becky