here we go......

Here's the current hurdle: when we were headed down, we knew we needed to get a Temporary Vehicle Importation Permit. Its good for 6 months. Its for people who are down here driving around, vacationing, then they drive back home. We actually went out of our way to the specific locations where one could obtain this. First stop was Salt Lake City. After getting off the freeway and locating the address, we found out it had moved...OK....found the new location. " Cool, look theres nobody in there" well, thats because they dont do much in there....we were not able to get what we needed. We were directed to New Mexico...OK...long story short, we got it, crossed the border and all is well. After getting here, we got our FM 2 which means we are residents. Now, fast forward...we've been here 6 months and the permit is going to expire on the 29th- tomorrow. And on April 2nd the insurance expires. So, for the last week or two we have been inquiring about what to do. Its been like asking people "how do you catch a fish?" Everyone has an opinion, a story, a suggestion. My head has been spinning! We are in a foreign country, we want to follow the law but just what the law IS is rather vague. Three different people have assured us that we don't have to do anything. They say the temporoary import was before we became residents. Others have said " you don't want to mess around. if your vehicle isn't legal and they stop you, they can take your truck". Another woman spent a night in jail until they got it straightened out. Another guy told me he and his wife spent THOUSANDS of dollars- not pesos- getting their car legal. What I can gather from all this is, you may drive around forever and be just fine or ....you might not. Now, I am an adventurous person, but I am not really into finding out first hand about a Mexican jail or losing our only means of transportation. Some experiences I want to participate in for myself-like eating pizza in Italy. Others, i'll take your word for - like a sting ray sting is excruciatingly painful. A gentleman named Eduardo is coming to pick us up in an hour to take us to wherever it is we need to go to handle this car business. From what i can gather, it will cost us roughly $200-dollars-and another $30 for this guys time.I also gather it makes a trip to DMV look like a leisurely stroll through a rose garden where refreshments are served and massages are given at the end. Our friend Mark tells us " trust me on this one-you don't need to do anything". I have hardly been able to sleep trying to decide which course to take...Give me a clear directive on what needs to be done and no matter how unpleasant, Ill tackle it. But when there is no definitive answer, I flounder. For many years, my best thinking got me in trouble so Ive learned to follow direction when I am navigating unchartered waters. The problem here is there are several captains and two very different maps. So what would you do? Say screw the system? If you go in there, of course they are going to take your money? You're fine? Or, I think I want to cover my bases and the $250 or so dollars is worth peace of mind? As a sidenote....Ive been talking to some folks who are down from Idaho looking for a place to buy. We were discussing how safe it is here in the Yucatan. " I don't know if you've seen any of the newspapers here, but they are pretty explicit. They show these really grisly pictures of heads and arms and legs chopped off. But none of that is going on here". Oops...next thing you know, they guy is telling his son " i think we should go home..." So, I have to close now because Eduardo will be pulling up in 10 min. I'll let you know how it goes......