(Nick) Deciding that we had spent way too much money on the hotel and the meal last night, we were keen to get going from Mexico city now. Getting up early, we headed across the road to the Land Rover garage.

The news wasn't good. As Land Rover do not sell Diesel variants in Mexico, no work could be done on the smoke or power problems we had been experiencing. No synthetic oil was availiable for our oil change, but mineral oil had been used instead. The inspection had shown up significant wear on the axle pivots, but nothing could be done to help remedy the problem. As the Defender was not sold in Mexico, there were no replacements for the shock mount, and noone who could help with the clutch problem.

Better news was that the wheel rotation had started, and the brake pads were being changed for our spares. Looking at the old brake pads, this was not a minute too soon, as the bare metal was beginning to show behind the pads. As we only had three spares however, the changeover to new wheels could only be done on the front, and we moved the best two tyres onto the rear.

Keen to leave Land Rover's mechanics to their job, Daniel and I went into MacDonalds, the only place we could afford to eat, and sat down, bringing our laptops with us to use their wireless internet connection. Daniel also bought a webcamera and a headset so he could talk to his fiancee Nee, who was getting quite worried about the lack of communication over the last few days.

Finding a power socket, Daniel and I were able to set up an office in the corner of MacDonalds, eating Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner, and returning to the drinks machine for free refills!

At the end of the day, Daniel and I returned to Land Rover, hoping to find that the work was finished and we could go. Unfortunately, it hadn't been finished, although the fuel sedimentors had been removed, and cleaned out. While they were full of rubbish, it wasn't as bad as we would expect to cause our power and smoke problems.

As the work would need to continue tomorrow, we returned to the hotel for another expensive night. Once in the room, we decided that whatever happens, we will be leaving Mexico City tomorrow.

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