A mad dash to Guatemala
7 may 2001
After one night in Leon, Shay and I crossed the border to Honduras and spent the night in an overpriced hotel in Choluteca. I'm afraid paranoia has set in. We've had very difficult, hot, overpriced border crossings everywhere. Honduras was the most expensive at over $100. I think I got ripped off. I rarely felt this way in South America but, in Central America, it seems everybody takes a shot at you. You have to be careful to count your change every time as it seems always to be short. An internet cafe in Guatemala City tried to charge Shay $7 for a half hour. He only had $5 on him and told them to take it or leave it. He'd tried to get the rate ahead of time but the attendant mumbled something that he couldn't understand. He figured $5 should cover it since we have never paid more than $4 an hour. Never assume anything in Central America.
We left early from Choluteca and crossed both borders of El Salvador in one day. Unfortunately, due to the recent earthquake in San Salvador, the highway was closed when we got there. I was told that they are closing it from 1 pm until 6 pm every day to do repairs. We actually got back on the road at about 5:30 but it was already dark when we got to the border. This was the easiest border crossing. It cost only a few bucks. (I insisted on paying for everything personally.) After all was done, the police tried to squeeze another $20 out of me. I said I wanted an official receipt. The "guide" said they don't give receipts here. I said, "Then I'll go the cashier and pay so they can give me a receipt. He said, basically, "Never mind." I was told the border is open until 10 pm. Maybe crossing at night is better (at least it wasn't so darned hot!) but it means at least a little driving at night which is scary. Since we didn't know where to go on the Guatemalan side, we drove to the first well-lit, 24 hour service station and asked if we could park there for the night. The attendant pointed to the jefe nearby. He was packing an automatic rifle and said we should camp close to where he stands guard all night. We felt safe enough there but, really, the omnipresent armed guards in Central America are a little intimidating.
My advice to anyone going through Central America is to insist that you go everywhere with your documents, even though it may take a little longer. It also helps to look stupid sometimes. Going into Honduras, I let the "guide" take my stuff and when it was all over he handed me "receipts" for $103. I really had my doubts. Also, after searching the entire van (the first time on the entire trip), the police started hinting that we should give them something, like our music CDs. I put a really blank look on my face. Then they said it might take until 8 o'clock at night to finish the search. I just acted a little outraged and astonished. I would have stayed until 8 before I'd give them anything. When we crossed into El Salvador, the police went through the van with a dog. I certainly prefer dogs to pulling out all our stuff in 100 degree heat. It's also something of a comfort to me to know that nobody has hidden anything anywhere in or on the van. Good dog!
We spent last night in Guatemala City in Hotel Excel. We made an attempt at exploring but both of us have colds and we didn't last long. We're in Antigua Guatemala, a short drive west. We intend to do some exploring to the west and north of here. Then we'll return to Guatemala City for a day on our way east to Belen/Tikal.
Jeanne
