After spending 6 months stuck in the UK due to COVID, during a very cold winter. We decided it was finally time to make a move and leave the UK. The pandemic was still in full swing. However, we had both been vaccinated twice, so we decided it was a risk worth taking.
In June 2021, the border to Spain had just reopened to UK nationals. We decided we would ship the truck camper, our rig, to Spain. The land borders were still closed, due to COVID. As the UK had left the EU at this point, we knew we would only be able to stay in Europe for a maximum of 3 months. This still felt like a better option than staying in the UK.
Deciding to go to Mexico
Before going to Spain, we went to the UK Adventure Overland show. The plan was to start making arrangements to ship to Spain after the show. However, at the show, we found out that we could stay in Mexico for 6 months and that it was easy to extend the visa to stay longer. Although we had not planned to start our journey in Mexico, at least it got us on the right continent. It would mean we could explore Mexico while we wait for the borders to open in Canada and the USA. We had planned to start in Canada but due to COVID we were not able to.
We decided we would sit out the pandemic in Mexico, instead of Spain. It was a much bigger risk. We knew nothing about Mexico apart from some horror stories we had read in blogs. Cartel, crook police wanting money from you, not being able to drive after dark and many more stories. We didn’t speak a word of Spanish or know anything about the Mexican culture. Neither of us had ever been to Mexico. We’ve never taken the easy options in life, so it seemed like a gamble we were willing to take.
Putting the wheels in motion
Arranging shipping
Where do you even start to plan something like this? Of course, the obvious steps are to ship the rig, meet it at the other end and off we go. But, COVID complicated things! Steve built our rig deliberately so it fitted into a standard shipping container. All the research we had done, said its safer to ship the rig in a shipping container as opposed to Roll on Roll Off, also known as RORO. The differences between the two options are mainly that, in a shipping container, you drive the rig into the container, lock it and no one opens it until it arrives at the other end and we unlock it.
With RORO, you hand the keys over for the rig and they load and unload the rig. This means they have access to anything left in the cab. They could also get access to the camper if we left them the keys. Of course, we didn’t leave the keys but our shipping agent told us, if Customs ask for the camper key, we must hand it over. We saw some horrific stories on social media of the damage done to the vehicle and the camper inside, as well as a lot of things stolen when sent by RORO. That is why we agreed we would only ship by container and never by RORO. Never say never!
A shipping agent was recommended to us by Cloud 9 on tour, fellow Brits that have been overlanding South America for years.
When we contacted the shipping agent (International Vehicle Shipping Services), we were advised that they would not send any shipping containers at that time. COVID was affecting the number of employees in work at the Mexico end in Veracruz. This meant there was a minimum of a 4-week delay at the Veracruz end for shipping containers. Not an option for us. The 4 week delay would incur storage charges at the Port of Veracruz as well as accommodation costs.
Arranging our travel
OK so, we have a shipping agent. We’ve decided we are going to ship via RORO. Done, right? Not quite! We were given a date that the ship was due to leave. We were also told the date can be cancelled or changed at any time. If the shipping departure date was pushed back, so would the drop off date of our rig. This meant we couldn’t book flights yet.
If we booked flights and the ship was delayed, it would mean we wouldn’t be there to drop the rig off at the Port. There was also the potential that we could get on a flight and the ship gets cancelled. We would be in Mexico with our rig still in the UK.
If we left it too long to book a flight, there was a risk either, the flights may not be available or the borders could close. If the ship did go as scheduled and we hadn’t booked a flight yet, there may not have been any flights available. At the time, the only flights from the UK to Mexico were with United Airlines and British Airways. There was a flight available with a European airline but the cost was almost triple. The United flights went via a USA city. At the time, British nationals were not able to enter the USA, not even in transit. So, this was not an option for us. British Airways flights were filling up quick because the number of passengers was at 50% capacity due to COVID.
Then there is the transportation and accommodation to consider. After dropping the rig off at Southampton Port, we would be without transport or our home. We would need to get to Heathrow airport with a tone of luggage. Due to Customs requirements, we couldn’t keep any personal belongings in the rig while it was being shipped. All our clothes – summer and winter, all our tech equipment, all our snorkelling gear etc. had to come with us. We had four huge bags so we didn’t fancy public transport. The main thing was that the booking of the car hire had to start on the day or day before we dropped off the rig at the Port, to help keep costs down.
Lastly, the accommodation. We knew we wouldn’t be able to get a flight to Mexico within 24 hours of dropping the rig off at the Port, so we needed somewhere to stay given our home was going to be at the Port. The flights needed to be booked before we would know how long and what dates we needed accommodation for. We decided to go to Puerto Morelos, near Cancun for a couple of weeks while we waited for the rig to arrive. We could only book this once we knew what date we would arrive.
There was a lot to think about and a lot to juggle, with some things out of our control. The ship was delayed leaving by four days. We had already lined up all the above and just needed to confirm with the relevant companies to book everything – car hire, flight, accommodation.
Saying goodbye to our rig
When we got the call to say we could drop the rig off at the port we were super excited!
All the planning of the past year and a half was to reach this point. We dropped the rig off at the Port, to the place we were instructed to by our shipping agent. When we arrived at Southampton port, we were greeted by a lovely lady called Georgie.
When we explained we were here to drop off our rig, she took one look at it and said ‘you’re not leaving that rig there, its coming to my locked compound where I can keep an eye on it’. We followed Georgie round to the compound where we also met Kim who worked with Georgie. We were so grateful to meet these ladies as they became the guardian angles of our rig. They watched over her, watched her get loaded and told them where on the ship to put the rig. They even sent us pictures at each stage of the process at the UK end.
Making our way to pick up our rig
We got ourselves a flight to Cancun, booked a hotel in Puerto Morelos for 2 weeks and off we went! We were so happy to be finally leaving the UK and starting our adventure.
Tried to relax but with the constant nagging of – our rig is on the ship. What state will it be in when we get it? Did anyone get into the camper? Will anything have been stolen? Will the truck or camper have any damage? In the end we decided to stop thinking about it as it was completely freaking me out! Once I stopped thinking about it, I started to enjoy the holiday.
After the 2 weeks in Puerto Morelos, we took a flight from Cancun to Veracruz. We were both super excited but equally nervous. I normally look after booking flights, accommodation, transport etc. The day before the flight to Veracruz, I went through the usual routine of checking to make sure we have all the right paperwork, we’re packed and ready to go and what time we need to be at the airport. The flight was at 8am the next day. We had an early night. Taxi booked to the airport. Arrive at the airport in plenty of time and check in.
As we check in, the check in staff said ‘oh you are early’. I replied, yes, we don’t like to be late. They took our luggage, checked us in and pointed us to security. We queued at security. When we go to the front of the queue, the lady told us we are too early. I showed her the ticket and said ‘look, the flight is at 8am’. It was 5.30am at this point. She replied ‘no its at 8pm tonight’. The rush of feeling completely stupid came over me!! We were at the airport 12 hours early. Too far to go anywhere and way too expensive for a taxi. So we hung out at the airport writing postcards, eating and chilling until we were able to board our flight. At first, I was really frustrated with myself! But, after a while we both laughed about it for days lol!
We were able to track the ship. It was pretty cool seeing it make its way over to Mexico across the Atlantic. It gave use peace of mind knowing it was on track. The ship would take just under 3 weeks to travel from the UK to Mexico, via a few stops on its way.
Next dilemma… when should we arrive in Veracruz? Where should we stay? How long should we stay for? The ship could be delayed by a few days to a couple of weeks. Once the ship arrives, Customs can hold it for up to 5 days. We need to get the Temporary Import Permit before we could collect the rig.
As the rig was arriving into Veracruz Port, we did some research on the area. Because it’s a Port city, crime rates are very high. So, we didn’t want accommodation in a rough area or where anyone could steel our stuff. We needed somewhere we could layout all our stuff! Everything that was inside the camper and everything we brought with us, so we could repack the camper. We booked an Airbnb 15 miles south of the Port. We knew it was a bit further out from the Port. But it gave us security and space to prepare to get on the road at a lower cost than an Airbnb closer to the Port.
We arrived at our Airbnb at midnight, after a long day at the airport. Luckily, our host of the Airbnb hooked us up with a local taxi that we could trust to not over charge us and be our transport until we picked up our rig. He collected us from the airport and took us to the Airbnb. We had to be at our shipping agent’s, CEVERTAN, office for 9am the next day.
Arranging collection of our rig
The taxi driver came back to get us in the morning, to drop us at the shipping agent’s office. From the shipping agent’s office, our agent took us to a bank to get our truck import permit (TIP). You can only get a TIP at a border, unless you come to Mexico via Baja California.
The bank BBVA, that we were taken to, was the only place in Veracruz to get a TIP. It was also a military bank, as well as a bank for the public. It was busy!! We waited in the baking sun for 6 hours before they let us into the bank, because the queue was so long. We then waited a further 2 hours inside the bank before we walked away with our TIP. Due to the late night before, not knowing the area and not having much in the Airbnb, we left to go to the shipping agent’s office without having had anything to drink or eat. After a couple of hours in the baking sun we found somewhere to get food and a drink. Thankfully our shipping agent stayed in the queue for us so we didn’t lose our place.
The next step was to wait for Customs to call us to the Port for a Customs inspection. This was delayed by a day but when we got to the Port, we got to see our rig for the first time since leaving the UK. It was an incredible feeling to see she had made it to Mexico. The shipping agents in Veracruz had also take photos of the rig when she arrived at the Port, so we knew there was no visible damage to the exterior.
The Customs officers asked us to completely unload everything in the camper and truck. By doing this, we could see nothing had been stolen. No one tried to get into the camper and the rig was exactly as we had left her! An absolute relief after a few sleepless nights. We honestly believe that the reason our rig made it to Mexico without any damage or loss, is down to Georgie and Kim.
They placed it on the ship away from all the other campers and motorhomes, with the JCB’s. We think where it was located was out of sight of anyone that may have been looking to steel from a camper or motorhome. They really were out rig’s guardian angles. We will be forever grateful to them!
The Customs check went without a hitch. It was quite amusing watching each of the Customs officers taking a look inside the camper. They said they had never seen anything like it. With Customs clearing the rig, we still had to wait another 2 days before we were allowed to pick it up.
The first night after picking up our rig, we sat on the doorstep of the Airbnb staring at the rig for hours. We couldn’t believe our UK truck was sitting in Mexico!! We did it. We were at the start of our overlanding adventure. We were no longer just talking and planning, we were doing it!
We spent the next couple of days loading up the truck and the camper. We had spent so much time in the past few weeks in very tourist areas or cities. So, we decided that our first night in the rig in Mexico would be in the jungle.
Look out for our next blog on our travels through Mexico……
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