In central Texas

We woke up at 4 a.m. on Monday to make sure we would be on location when the shop where I was schedule to get additional off-road equipment would open.

At 10, after crossing central Texas in the fog, we arrived at Wimberley Four Wheels Drive, close to New Braunfels, in the northeast of San Antonio. Jim jackson, the who represents ARB in the U.S. called me after reading my story in the newspaper. He offered to help with some equipment he thinks I will need.

Daniel, the owner of Wimberley four wheels drive wishes the expedition good luck

At 1 p.m., the staff down there was done fitting a snorkel on the truck, and after pilling up some recovery tools in the back, we were heading to San Antonio.

San Antonio Riverwalk

It is now way warmer, for which I am grateful, since I still remember the first cold nights. In San Antonio, we parked and spent some time in the city, which seems to be more pedestrian friendly than Houston. We took the riverside walk, probably the city most famous tourist attraction.

I still had few things to do on the Toyota (I know, by now you guys are tired of the mechanical things), and we were on our way to meet with some new friends who from San Antonio and Austin who sent me an email few days ago after reading about my trip.

San Fernando cathedral

After trying some Texan red wine, Brant took us for dinner with his mother Audrey and his friend Will. We had Tex-Mex for the last time before passing the border.

Then, we welcomed warmly few drinks in a local sports bar.

We plan to get some paperwork done tomorrow, and arrive in Mexico in the afternoon. In the next few days, we will continue to get ready for the more serious part of the expedition, but I swear, after that, you will get great pictures of more exotic places.

Audrey, Nadia, Will, Nick and Brant at the Alamos Cafe

Other countries will have hard time matching the hospitality of the families we met since we left New York. Already, I feel this trip will be so great, because of all the people I will meet. Stuck behind my computer, I probably met as many people in the last year than in the last week.