We are stuck in Paducah, Kentucky - trying to source a steering box for our VW Kombi. If anyone can assist, it would be much appreciated.

On the plus side, Paducah is a lovely town - if you haven't had a chance to visit it, then you really should!

We must admit we were a little nervous about the crossing into America - but we did it - safe and sound. Because our vehicle was not allowed initial entry into Mexico, our nerves were a little on edge. But in all honesty it was the easiest country crossing we had done to date. We were all happy to see the "Welcome to Texas" sign that greeted us when we entered. In actual fact, too easy! No one checked our vehicle papers or even bothered to check the status of our US insurance (we had none!)

​We stopped to gather our wits, visit the toilet (rejoiced that we could finally flush toilet paper in over 4 years) and picked up a few chocolate bars. Then we continued on our way to Laredo.

It took us a couple of days to finally secure some insurance for our vehicle, but we eventually managed to get some through a local insurance company in Laredo. It was a little more than we wanted to pay, ($169 for the first month) but many companies turned us away leaving us no choice. The best way, we were told, was to sign up as unlicensed drivers because we did not fit all the boxes. We were happy enough with that as it meant we could continue on our way to San Antonio to visit The Alamo. Next stop Austin and then Dallas.

So far everyone is liking America a lot!

We planned one day in Mexico City due to limited time and managed to achieve what we set out to do. 

We started with an early morning bus trip from Puebla.

We headed straight to Frida Kahlo's house aka The Blue House.

Then we went around the corner to Leon Trotsky's house.

We went to the centre of town and had a bite of lunch in a little sidewalk cafe.

We then took to the skies to get a bird's eye view of the city.

We did a spot of shopping at the anime centre.

And then we boarded the bus back to Puebla.

6 and a half hours in the city - not bad at all!

Well even when things go wrong, they go right. Our van was playing up so we decided to stop at Tula. Who knew they had such amazing ruins there! Super happy with our impromptu stop.

In a story that is just too unbelievable to be true, we broke down on the way home from the mechanics. For real! But we are hardly surprised. Either we have a van that just cannot be repaired or there are literally no qualified mechanics in the whole of South America all the way down to Mexico. You choose!

We made good time from Merida to Campeche, despite the rainy weather, and experienced no car issues whatsoever. A lovely relief as every trip up until now has been plagued with disaster after disaster. We checked into our hostel, toured the town, had lunch and enjoyed some down time. In the evening we took a night tram tour before having a late dinner.

Today we spent a fun day exploring the city. We visited the local market and toured part of the wall learning more about the pirate rich history of this fascinating city. We had an enjoyable lunch outdoors and wandered to the square in the evening to view the light and sound show.

We enjoyed the waterside scenery and after hitting Champoton, headed inland to Escarcega. So great to be able to see the diversity of the Mexican countryside after staying so long in the Yucatan. Can't wait to see more of it.

From Campeche to Tabasco to Chiapas - today we drove cross country from Escarcega to Palenque. We enjoyed dinner al fresco in a small cafe style restaurant. Looking forward to bed tonight in lieu of our BIG day tomorrow.

Today we explored the Palenque ruins and the eco parque to feed the manatees - what a busy day!

We experienced some mechanical difficulties today but eventually arrived in San Cristobal in the late evening. Poor Matthew felt a little car sick today on the windy roads.

We decided we would stay in San Cristobal de las Casas to rest the vehicle and give us a chance to explore the city.

Not a good sign when the van won't start in the morning. However 3 hours and $20 later, we were on the road again. We crossed into Oaxaca and stopped at San Pedro Tapanatepec for the evening. ​

Despite the vehicle troubles and the fact it took 12 hours to travel approximately 240kms, I was reminded today why we do what we do. We were faced again with the kindness of strangers - kindness that comes simply from someone wanting to do something to help someone else. Matt even had a ride in a digger to the next town in search of a mechanic. Thank you ​Heleodora for escorting us all the way to Oaxaca.

We spent a lovely quiet Christmas in Merida, Mexico. We visited a fair two nights before Christmas, returning Christmas Eve only to find it was rained out.

​Christmas morning was purely a family affair. Santa had come early in the form of a new laptop and camera so we could continue to document our travels and work as we go. Matthew was up way too early. Emilia would have slept all day if we let her.

We went to the Hyatt to enjoy a relaxing Christmas lunch. No dishes, no cleaning - the best way to enjoy Christmas in my opinion.

From our family to yours - we would like to wish you a happy new year with plenty of travel and adventure in 2017.

Tomorrow we head back to the Belize/Mexican border to Chetumal to try again to secure a vehicle visa for Mexico to drive to the U.S. They did not give it to us the first time because we did not have the correct paperwork.

After speaking to many people in the travel community, their advice was to try again. So on their advisement, we are doing just that.

If they don't give it to us this time round, then we will have to come up with an alternate plan. But I refuse to think about that for the moment in the hope that things will work out and we can head to Merida next week as planned.

We have been enjoying our stay in Playa Del Carmen - it has many great family-friendly options. And of course, we love the warm winter weather. No snow in sight!

So on this note, wish us luck! We will keep you posted.

Today we went swimming and snorkelling with another world schooling family from Chile and we had so much fun. While my kids don't take naturally to snorkelling, they both got over their fears and jumped in the water. 

Yal-Ku Lagoon is beautiful and suitable for families of all ages as it remains calm despite the roughness of the nearby ocean. And it is just a hop, skip and a jump from Akumal so very convenient to get to.

We enjoyed swimming in the water, browsing the statues that scattered the grounds and even managed to grab some lunch.

The Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico is stunning. We have been spending our time between Tulum and Akumal and our lifestyle revolves around water. We have the luxury of the beach, the pools and the cenotes surrounding us in every direction we look.

It wouldn't be an adventure if something didn't go wrong and this time our concern revolves around my health. I have been visiting the doctor to see if we get whatever is bothering me resolved. On the plus side we seem to have found a very good mechanic named Jesus who is currently working on our VW Kombi to see if he cannot repair a few things for us.

Life is good!