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So that you may have an idea of what to expect on a drive on the Pan-
American Highway, the following is a day-by-day account of our drive from
El Toro, California to San José de la Montaña, Costa Rica. You will realize
that just about any one can make the trip. I was 73 years of age, and my
wife was 59. She had been a stewardess with both American Airlines on
the Dallas to Mexico City run, and with TACA Airlines throughout Central
America. She had taken Spanish in High School, and her flight career had
given her sufficient background that, with the help of her English-Spanish
dictionary, she was able to handle most situations we would encounter. My
Spanish was limited to the four-letter words boys learn, and which were
of no help in this situation.

In case you do not speak Spanish--Don't worry! You will have no
problem finding someone who speaks "poquito" English. With the aid of
your Spanish English dictionary (which is a "must"), you look up key words
in English, and let them read the Spanish translation, and you will get by.
I understand that you can now buy an English-Spanish pocket calculator
where you spell the word in English, and the calculator gives you the
Spanish word for it. To assist you, we have included some key phrases so
you can get your idea across and make yourself understood. When using
this method of dialogue, do not memorize the Spanish phrase and try them
out, or you will end up with a five-minute response that will blow your
mind. My wife says that she is afraid to ask a question, because they might
answer. (Also see the handy Spanish survival book and cassette we advertise
in this book).

If you do speak high school level Spanish, do not be afraid to ask
people to speak slowly, or they will rattle it off like a machine gun. Actually
you will find this a fun game, making yourself understood. When it comes
to numbers, I either hand them a pen and paper so they can write the
numbers, or just hand them a pocket calculator (which is also a "must") and
just let them punch out the numbers for you.

Once we had made all of the preparations listed in the first chapter,
we were ready to make our trip. As we wanted to stay away from as much
hot weather as possible, and because the AAA book had hinted of possible
problems on the west coast route, we decided to stick to the route that
followed the higher altitudes, and had more larger cities. That would mean
that we would enter Mexico via Laredo, Texas. As I have a son and
grandchildren living in Killeen, Texas, this was an added advantage for an
en route visit.

I will skip the California to Texas drive, except to mention that it did
give us a chance to discover a couple of mechanical problems with the car
that we were able to fix before entering Mexico.

We were driving a seven-year-old Plymouth Voyager mini-van with four
cylinders. We felt it was in good enough shape to endure the trip with no
problem after we had it checked out and serviced. We had removed the
rear seats and shipped them to Costa Rica with our furniture. We rigged
up the springs of a twin bed with plywood panels to serve as legs on each
end, and to hold the springs at sufficient height to allow storage of some
boxes filled with items we would need until our furniture arrived in Costa
Rica. We put a new mattress on the bed, along with making it up with sheets,
blankets and pillows. Just before we left El Toro, some sweet person gave
us a feather comforter that added a touch of luxury. If we got tired enroute,
we had a place for a nap.

We also included an ice chest for en route snacks. It was a Coleman-
type, which I strongly recommend. The most important--and useful item
that is absolutely a "must", was a folding porta-potty.

After a nice visit with the family and grandchildren, we left Killeen early
in the morning of January 22nd, skirted San Antonio and arrived in Laredo
in time for lunch. After servicing the car, we headed for the border.

The border guard, assuming we were just going to Nueva Laredo for
shopping, waved us through. I told him that we were driving through
Mexico, so he had us pull over and checked our papers. We had everything
except the clearance for the car. He had a young soldier get into the car
with us, who directed us a few blocks to an official compound. He told us
to take our papers, the car registration, drivers license and passports, inside
for clearance.

They pulled certain papers and had us take them to a clerk, where we
paid one dollar for her to photocopy them. They made out some forms
and punched some holes in a windshield sticker to indicate the valid dates,
then went out to the car to verify that the car we were driving matched our
paperwork. They put the sticker on the windshield and pointed us on the
road out of town. They wished us "Vaya con Diós", and after 1 1/2 hours,
we were on our way south.

The first 25 miles were great. We were on a newly paved four lane
divided highway where our speed averaged between 65 and 75 miles per
hour. Then we came to a customs check point. They checked our passports,
glanced at the back of the van, and waved us ahead, telling us what sounded
like, "directo". As we left the check point, we noticed that they were
checking the luggage of the car that had left the compound while they
were putting the sticker on our car.

After leaving the customs check, we found ourselves on a two lane road
filled with chuck holes. So, for the next 50 or 60 miles we were lucky if we
averaged 20 m.p.h..

In addition to the bad road conditions, the road was filled with slow
moving trucks and buses. We soon learned that the truck and bus drivers
throughout Mexico are very courteous. As soon as the road clears to where
we could pass them, they signal with their left-turn indicators. If they are
not moving into the passing lane, this meant for us to pass them. We
missed a few opportunities to pass before we caught on to their method of
signaling. Do it with caution, however, because they use the same turn
indicators when they are going to pass a vehicle. The only difference is that
when they are passing, they make their move at the same time they start
signaling. Just use caution.