Guatemala to Tapachula, Mexico – 5/26/2013
May 30th, 2013 by rallyadmin
If you look at a map of Central America, you’ll have to search for tiny El Salvador. (Hint: Pacific coast,halfway down.) That, of course doesn’t mean that it doesn’t have it’s own rules and one fof those rules was that we only had 24 hours to “transit” El Salvador. We we entered El Salvador, John was asked what type of temporary permit he wanted and how long we would be in El Salvador.
That exchange got us a 24 hour transit permit instead of a 7 or 30 day tourist permit. And, we come to find out later, that they cost much more and that the office gets a commission for everyone that they sell. We should have asked for a tourist permit. Instead they suggested that we get a transit permit. It’s not really a problem but a “guide” would never have let that happen. We have to be out nof El Salvador by 4:00PM. But, still, it’s a small country and we get an early start.
It’s hard to tell what country your in when you’re driving the Panamericana. But should do notice the rising poverty level. The villages in El Salvador don’t look quite as poor as those in Honduras but they don’t look good.
Farther south, we’d see mothers walking their uniformed children to the local escuela, the school. We’d see the men bicycling off to somewhere with the always present machete and a shovel or weed-whacker. Not so much here. A lot of people sitting in front of huts or sleeping in hammocks.
And it’s not yet noon when we get to the Salvadoran/Guatemala border. This turns out to be the opposite of the efficient entry into El Salvador. What should be a simple return of the permit and a few stamps ends up being a couple hour long search for copies of passport pages and other documents and the money to pay for them. (We’re trying to get out of El Salvador without ending up with any excess local currency.)
We finally, get everything done and head for passport control. Which is hidden down the hill in a row of small shops. Luckily, one of the ever-present money-changers point us in the right direction and we get our “stamp, stamp” and we’re on our way to Guatemala. It’s just after noon and it looks like we might make Mexico today.
We make good time through eastern Guatemala and when we pass Guatemala City, it looks like we’ll have no trouble making it to Tapachula, Mexico tonight. (Making it before dark might be a stretch, though.) West of Guatemala City, we head north to Antigua Guatemala, once the ancient capitol of Guatemala. The capitol was moved centuries ago after a severe earthquake (terramoto, I just love that word.)
We founder around a bit trying to actually find it but John had been here years before and he eventually sniffs it out. But just as we get into the old part of the town with it’s ancient buildings and ruins, the rain starts and stops any chance of a decent walkabout. The older building in the warren of the old town are now trendy shops, cafes and restaurants. Itr’s till a beautiful little town that deserves a good look.
We leave Antigua and start climbing. And climbing. And climbing. And, in every little town, there are the maddening tumulos, the speed bumps. (How you get anywhere in this country in real time is beyond me.) And the rain starts.
We continue to climb until we’re at 9,500 to 10,000 feet and the visibility is nil. This is probably a beautiful ride when the weather is good. But today there’s nothing to see, including the on-coming traffic, which making for some very intense driving. I’m so ready to be out of these mountain roads.
A couple hours to climb up. A couple of hours to descend. A 100 small towns with probably a thousand speed bumps between them. And the rain is getting more intense as we get closer to the frontier.
We get into the last Guatemalan town before the frontier with Mexico, Malacatan, and promptly get lost trying to follow the GPS to the frontier. The GPS really isn’t at fault for this one. The town is a rabbit warren of closed for repair and one-way roads. There are signs pointing to the frontier but when we start the detour around the closed and one-way streets, the GPS goes into “recalc” mode and petulantly refuses to come out.
Now the rain is just coming down in a downpour and it’s starting to get dark. We wander around while the GPS has it’s hissy fit and just stumble on a sign pointing to the frontier. We leave town and head for the border.
It’s dark by the time we get to the Guatemalan exit control and things could be any easier. There’s no one in line, no trucks, no cars, no buses. The aduana officer takes the forms, goes out to check the VIN number and plate on the car, goes back to the office. Stamp, stamp. The car is out.
We walk down the sidewalk to passport control and, in quick order, we hear the “stamp, stamp” for me and then for John. Now, we’re out and headed for Mexico. The last country before we’re home. Across no-mans-land and into the Mexican border control area.
We pull into the lane for cars and immediately people are motioning for us to go back and stop in the quarantine for fumigation. We pull in to the stall, get out, the operator walks around the car spraying insecticide under the car. (Did I mention that we’re in the middle of a downpour?) We pay and drive back to immigration control.
The first officer we meet is an aduana officer which is odd. Everywhere else, the first stop on entry is passport control. Here, the first step is checking passports and drivers licenses and then a reasonably search of the car. Into the metal box, open a couple of the spares boxes, look into a couple of duffel bags, check my computer and camera bags.
While seraching the metal box, the officer asks me if we have any guns. I tell him no. Then he asks if we have any food. I tell him no. Then he asks if we have any drugs. I just laugh and say while giving him a look that says “how dumb do I look?” He smiles and closes the box. The first officer pokes a few more bags, asks a couple of questions and the says to park the car off to the side and start the paperwork thrash.
By now, the rain is really coming down and it’s almost dark. I park the car and run back through the rain. When I catch up with John at the passport control, I ask if he got the documents and driver’s licenses back from the aduana officer. He says no. I go back to the aduana officer who says that he either gave them back or he put them in the car. I tell him that he didn’t give them back and he replies that he must have put them in the car.
As panic ensues, I run back in the rain and start searching for the drivers licenses. We can cannot lose them. A passport we could replace but we’ll never get replacement drivers licenses here in Mexico and it’s both of our licenses that are missing. I remember that the first thing the aduana officer did we go to the metal box and wait for me to get it open. Maybe, just maybe, he put them on the box and they fell down behind the drivers seat.
I look down behind the seat but in the dark I can’t see a thing. I reach down and rummage about. I feel something that might be one. I lift it out and it’s John’s California license. I reach in again but I can’t feel another so I start taking out things from behind the seat. Finally, on the floor behind the seat, I find it. I’m soaked but very relieved. This is definitely today’s miracle.
The rest of the entry procedure goes without a hitch. We have free 7 day visas. If we stay longer than 7 days we’ll have to buy a new visa for about $25. What we don’t have is the permit for the car. That isn’t done at the border anymore. It’s done somewhere near Tapachula at a kiosk run by a bank. The aduana officer gives us directions to the permit office and, since the office is closed now and won’t be open until 7:00AM, recommends that we spend the night in the Holiday Inn Express in Tapachula.
We thank him, get back in the car and start off for Tapacula. By now, it’s pitch black and raining even harder, if that’s possible. As we turn onto the main road to Tapachula, we can see emergency lights in the distance. There’s been a serious wreck and just as we pass it, an ambulance pulls in front of us, lights flashing but no siren and not moving especially fast. Not a good sign and probably a good wakeup call for us.
We find the Holiday Inn Express which looks brand new. It’s located next to a mall that’s anchored by a Walmart. In the last city in Mexico before the border with Guatemala, wre’re spending the night in a Holiday Inn Express next to a Walmart, the uncontrollable virus of US marketing.
Obi-wan
One Response to “Guatemala to Tapachula, Mexico – 5/26/2013”
It appears you are getting closer….. how about a round of…..
Homeward Bound…..
it’s better than 100 bottles of beer on the wall……….