So you’re probably wondering how I have internet access on a night we were going to sleep in the Jeep…

You know that tiny squeak in your car that you keep meaning to check out? Well mine went away about a week ago and didn’t appear throughout the first 1000 miles of our journey. I figured it was a squeaky belt or something so I didn’t bother.

Bad choice. As we’re driving through a small town in Mexico, the clutch starts screaming like a banshee every time it’s engaged. Uh oh. So we limp along for about 150 more miles, being quite creative about not using the clutch as much as possible (including shifting by rev-matching). We weren’t able to avoid it all-together, especially a couple times when going through police checkpoints. After using it off and on for a minute or two, you could smell the burn.

So we’re now at a Holiday Inn in Tampico, Mexico and will be visiting a mechanic in the morning, likely as not to get a new clutch . Through it all, God was watching out for us, allowing us to reach a major city with qualified mechanics and available parts and a safe hotel with gated parking where we can leave the trailer while getting the Jeep fixed. Most of all, we weren’t stranded along the side of a remote highway in the dark in the middle of nowhere. I can almost see the bright side in that it will almost certainly be cheaper to repair here than either the US or Belize.

I’ll report back tomorrow when I know the full damage. Until then, we’ll be enjoying the tacos, but not drinking the water