Final Preparations

As with any trip of this magnitude, we have many final preparations to go through. Double checking passport expiration dates, reacquainting ourselves with various local customs, etc etc. Luckily we were able to find someone to care for our awesome albino ball python, Zohan, while we are away. We are both very excited with just one month until our planned departure date. It has been difficult trying to schedule in time to see all the people we want to see before we depart, and many have told us they will come visit at different places along our journey. Sarah is already getting excited about celebrating Día de Los Muertos in Chihuahua and it's still over a month away! I have been doing some serious brushing up on my Spanish and have realized that I have quite a bit of ground to cover in these next few weeks. Luckily there is a light at the end of the tunnel and I'm certain that as soon as we are immersed the Spanish will quickly become second nature. we have nearly all of our supplies, so the gear list will most likely be updated in a day or two. We are still trying to figure out what sort of container to use to transport over a year's worth of Sarah's contact lenses safely. I have been looking at some small otterbox containers, but if anyone has any ideas, please let us know.

At this point we are still debating how to get to Chihuahua. There are a few different routes, and the main difference is the location of the border crossing. Some buses go to El Paso and then cross into Mexico at Ciudad Juarez, where some cross into Mexico from San Diego into Tijuana. I have been leaning towards crossing the border at Tijuana to spend more of our travel time across the border, although some concerns have arisen regarding safety in Northern Mexico. For our purposes, it seems these safety fears are largely negligible, and there isn't any price difference that I've found. If anybody has a good reason to go one way or the other, we would be interested in hearing your story. In the meantime Zohan is happy to know he will be well cared for.