The troubles in Oman, which block the shipment, at the border with Dubai are short-lived and the shipment from Dubai is on its way. The parts are supposed to arrive on January 26, it cannot be faster because the man in Dubai did not choose an “express” formula. We enthusiastically announce the expected delivery date to the people at Toyota in the hope that they will adjust their schedule. The days fly by because there is no much stress for the time being. After half a week of surfing and calling, Michel manages to rent a bike and have it delivered to the loft. Away from the city there is a lot of unspoilt nature and it is wonderful to cycle, only the stray dogs occasionally cause an unwelcome tension. Roos takes a trip to the Hacienda de la Luz, a cocoa farm in Comalcalco and we eat yummy chocolate for a couple of days.

Roos continues to look for sporting options but in vain, you have to be a member of the club and take an annual subscription. Alex thinks there is a possibility to swim in the city’s swimming pool and is astonished when he hears and sees the subscription  conditions. The parts are delivered a day earlier and on Friday we can take them to the garage, the responsible manager promises that work will start the following Monday. Of course, that is not the case and the start is only on Thursday. On Friday there is a message that one of the parts does not fit, Michel ask to use the old piece. After a few phone calls, e-mails and research, it is clear that it concerns two different parts, which the Toyota mechanic should have known. These incredible bad experiences pile up and make matters worse, we also get the bad news that we have to leave the loft because it can be rented for a month. Fortunately, Alex has a cousin who is  furnishing flats in the centre of the city. When we make an exploratory visit, we find that there is still a lot of work to be done before we move in the next day. We have our doubts about the feasibility. On Sunday we get a first phone call with the message that they have not been able to connect the electricity, a second to say that we have to drive ourselves with a pick-up to move our belongings. We sleep one more night in the loft to move early the next morning. On the spot, we see that promises are not kept and we have to move three times, once because there is no running water, toilets are not flushing or that the wrong bedding was bought. The next morning there is still no water in the shower and we have to go out for breakfast. As to comfort there is already a big improvement by the evening of the second day and after Michel has cleaned we can also cook and do the dishes and take cold showers. Our annoyance grows and we don’t want to pay the full price because nothing works properly, The negotiations are a bit difficult but we get two nights free and the third at half price. There is a lot of hard work to be done, the dust and noise is part of it. Renting a hotel room is not an option because a lot of material was taken out of the tsjolbak to give us a little more comfort. Hopeful news comes from the Toyota garage: the works will be completed in three days. Our new home is located in a rich, secure residential area. The houses are built above and around garages, three garages are no exception! The streets are a bit bumpy, but there is no litter lying around. There is a laguna nearby and Roos takes some pictures of crocodiles (the Mexican call them cocodrilos), herons and a raccoon. After three days, Michel is invited for a test drive and the tsjolbak is running completely fine. We buy another new battery. Michel still has work to do to restore the electrical power inside, then we can make a trip to the coast of 210 km and do a drive in the sand on the beach in 4×4 to make sure everything is working properly.

A cleaning and washing day follows and on Wednesday 14 February we can hit the road again, after a waiting period of 2 months and 9 days.