Meet Chivo, our 2018 Jeep Wrangler JL. This is our only vehicle and our transportation to Costa Rica. We ordered Chivo especially for this trip. We suffered through the winter without heated seats and the coveted heated steering wheel knowing we were driving to Costa Rica in the Springtime. Chivo is Spanish for Goat. It is an appropriate name for this Jeep because he can go anywhere and climb almost anything. We think Chivo is the perfect vehicle for Costa Rica, a capable 4×4 is needed with high ground clearance and when the top and the doors come off it transforms into the most fun vehicle to drive ever! The stock tires and wheels were replaced with JL Rubicon take offs for more traction and height. We added a RotoPax 3.75 gallon FuelPax and a 2 gallon water Rotopax as well. Throw in a Hi-Lift Jack and we are ready to go. Everything we own fits in the back with the seat folded up. It is going to be a tight ride for our 2 week journey through Central America but it is such a comfortable ride we don’t foresee too many issues.
When we announced our trip and our plans to drive through Mexico and Central America all of a sudden everyone was an expert on the safety of traveling through Mexico. It is amazing how many people that we know have a story that they heard from someone about a terrible thing that happened to a friend of a friend of an acquaintance of their sister.
Those of you that know Shannon know that there is ZERO chance that she would ok this trip if we didn’t do our research. I told her over a year ago that I wanted to drive and her immediate reaction was NO WAY IN HELL! I knew that once she started looking into what it actually takes and how many people make this drive everyday, she would come on board. She has gone above and beyond in terms of research for this trip. She joined many Facebook groups and has been reading numerous blogs about this same journey. We are only driving during the daylight hours and taking our time and enjoying the journey. We are not camping and have hotels and AirBnbs booked at every stop. We are even spending 2 nights in Puerta Vallarta as a treat to ourselves! We have researched every border crossing and taken lots of notes on what to do. We know we are taking a risk but this is such a calculated risk that we feel good about our trip.
Are we scared? There is for sure some apprehension, of course there is. We would be idiots to not be nervous. We hope that our planning and preparation outweigh any of our real nervousness.
