Yesterday when I posted that Lazaro and I were going to adopt the travel routine mindset, I never imagined 3 short hours later that I would be canceling all of our existing hotel reservations and starting a new mid-stream.

Everything had been moving along pretty well until we got to monterrey yesterday. Our initial plan had been that we would arrive in monterrey and then pick up a rental car. I knew it was slightly difficult to rent a car here, but thought I had my bases covered. I knew that the Mexican government required a special car insurance-- so I found a company that included the insurance in their base price. I knew that road conditions, and other factors should inspire us to purchase extra rental car coverage that we would otherwise skip in the states. So I found a plan provided by American Express that provided this extra coverage for one flat fee opposed to the daily rates charged by rental car companies. So I had my paper work in hand as Lazaro and I strolled into the car rental office. When the lady behind the counter informed us that if we did not buy their coverage ($500) that they would place a hold on the credit card for the amount of the car ($10,000)! Following a very brief and very animated conversation with Lazaro we opted to leave the car rental place minus the car.

We were too far into the trip to call it off--but not far enough in to laugh and say this is no big deal. It is the equivalent of arriving in Maine when you really want to be in Virginia. With an ipad and free hotel wifi 2 hours later our options were clear-- we could travel by bus for 10 hours each way or fly for 1.5 hours for roughly the same price. We opted to fly. Other than a round trip ticket to Guadalajara and 1 night hotel booked, everything is left open. For me this is extremely liberating and terrifying all at the same time!

I am happy to report, so far this mindset is working out. Lazaro and I were able to explore monterrey (even the rain couldn't dampen our spirits.) We walked, took the metro, buses, and taxies around the city. (The taxi during rush hour is one I am not looking forward to repeating)...but we were able to make the best out of the situation and enjoyed good food along the way. I am very optimistic that tomorrow will be better than today as we look for transportation options that will take us to Lazaro's hometown where we hope to spend a couple of days visiting with Lazaro's mom, sisters, and brother living in mexico. I am not sure what our wifi coverage will be like for the next couple of days, but I will post again when I can.