We get up very early the next morning in order to be out of the room by 6:00 am. We head for Cd. Hidalgo, " la frontera" or "border" crossing which tranmigrantes must use. Arriving at the border we pull in behind the last truck in a long line of trucks. Two men on dirt bikes pull up beside us and tell us they will help us through the border crossing process for tips. (more on that later)
They show ID that "proves" they are qualified to help with customs. They are not Mexican, but are actually from the Guatemalan side of the border, a town called Tecun Uman, named after Guatemala's national hero, the last king and ruler of the K'iche' Maya people who died in battle in 1524 fighting against the Spanish Conquistador Don Pedro de Alvarado
I had been required to post a $500 dollar cash bond before entering Mexico as surety that we would exit the country within 10 days with all our belongings. At first I am leery of trusting these guys with all our paperwork, but they lead me to the office to get my bond money, explain to me the process of exiting Mexico, take the list of our cargo and redo them for Guatemala and tell me they will meet us on the Guatemalan side to help us through there as well.
Travel Note: If you are carrying cargo and need to exit through the commercial lanes at Cd. Hidalgo, the driver must have a safety vest. These can be purchased at any of the food stands for 50 pesos. Also, there are time slots (about every 2.5 hours) which you will need to be signed up for to exit Mexico.
We successfully exit Mexico and sure enough there is Carlos and his partner waiting for us on the other side. After passing through immigrations, fumigation and making Tiger an official visitor to Guate, Carlos tells us to park and to wait in the shade while his partner goes off to process our cargo paperwork. Hours pass. We are told that the "system" is slow. No one else seems to be leaving either. Finally our papers came through, the Mexican seals on our trailer are cut and replaced with Guatemalan seals and we pull out of customs.
This is where it gets a bit interesting. All of a sudden the "tips" that Carlos and his friend are supposed to be working for turn into quite a lot of money. I do pay them what they ask for because they really have taken good care of us and being new at all this with limited Spanish, it is well worth it. I can tell you this though...according to the Guatemalan average pay rate, they made a week or two's pay for a days work.
Travel Note: Lesson learned; work out a rate with these guys before using them. If you are not familiar with the process they are well worth whatever you do pay them.
As soon as we leave Tecun Uman we begin to climb. It is warm out. The van's engine temperature begins to climb. We turn off the A/C. It still climbs. We turn on the heater...full blast. The engine begins to cool slightly as we begin to swelter. (Turning on the heater gives additional cooling capacity by using the heater core)
We want to visit Panajachel and Lago Atitlan on our way through Guate. It is out of our way a bit, but it is a place that I have wanted to return to ever since I was there in 1980. Carlos has given me good directions. I see a "shortcut" on my map which is not in Carlos' directions and stop to ask someone if it is a good road. Oh yes, very good, it will save you an hour or two...but, it is very steep. We decide to go for it. Big, big mistake! Shortcuts in Guate are rarely shortcuts.
The road is good and it certainly does go up...and up...and up...and up. We climb from nearly sea level to over 8500 ft. Some of the grades I estimate at 15% or more. The van, even with the 6.0 V-8, is in first gear much of the way. At one point the road is so steep that it is all I can do to maintain 10 mph. I am, literally, afraid we will not have enough power to make it. Of course we do all this with the heater blasting.
The views are breath taking...when I dare to take my eyes from the road. Eventually we make it to CA 1. It is getting late and we begin looking for a hotel to spend the night in. We find a beautiful, brand new hotel located in San Mateo on the outskirts of Quetzaltenango. I highly recommend this hotel, Hotel Imperio Inn, to anyone traveling through the area. It has secure parking, a good restaurant and the entire staff was young, good looking and enthusiastic in making sure we feel welcome and have a pleasant stay. We spend a quiet evening there, enjoying an excellent meal in the restaurant and a good nights sleep.
They show ID that "proves" they are qualified to help with customs. They are not Mexican, but are actually from the Guatemalan side of the border, a town called Tecun Uman, named after Guatemala's national hero, the last king and ruler of the K'iche' Maya people who died in battle in 1524 fighting against the Spanish Conquistador Don Pedro de Alvarado
I had been required to post a $500 dollar cash bond before entering Mexico as surety that we would exit the country within 10 days with all our belongings. At first I am leery of trusting these guys with all our paperwork, but they lead me to the office to get my bond money, explain to me the process of exiting Mexico, take the list of our cargo and redo them for Guatemala and tell me they will meet us on the Guatemalan side to help us through there as well.
Travel Note: If you are carrying cargo and need to exit through the commercial lanes at Cd. Hidalgo, the driver must have a safety vest. These can be purchased at any of the food stands for 50 pesos. Also, there are time slots (about every 2.5 hours) which you will need to be signed up for to exit Mexico.
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| Waiting in the shade for the "system". |
This is where it gets a bit interesting. All of a sudden the "tips" that Carlos and his friend are supposed to be working for turn into quite a lot of money. I do pay them what they ask for because they really have taken good care of us and being new at all this with limited Spanish, it is well worth it. I can tell you this though...according to the Guatemalan average pay rate, they made a week or two's pay for a days work.
Travel Note: Lesson learned; work out a rate with these guys before using them. If you are not familiar with the process they are well worth whatever you do pay them.
As soon as we leave Tecun Uman we begin to climb. It is warm out. The van's engine temperature begins to climb. We turn off the A/C. It still climbs. We turn on the heater...full blast. The engine begins to cool slightly as we begin to swelter. (Turning on the heater gives additional cooling capacity by using the heater core)
We want to visit Panajachel and Lago Atitlan on our way through Guate. It is out of our way a bit, but it is a place that I have wanted to return to ever since I was there in 1980. Carlos has given me good directions. I see a "shortcut" on my map which is not in Carlos' directions and stop to ask someone if it is a good road. Oh yes, very good, it will save you an hour or two...but, it is very steep. We decide to go for it. Big, big mistake! Shortcuts in Guate are rarely shortcuts.
 |
| Pulling off the road to let the van (and us) cool off. |
The road is good and it certainly does go up...and up...and up...and up. We climb from nearly sea level to over 8500 ft. Some of the grades I estimate at 15% or more. The van, even with the 6.0 V-8, is in first gear much of the way. At one point the road is so steep that it is all I can do to maintain 10 mph. I am, literally, afraid we will not have enough power to make it. Of course we do all this with the heater blasting.
The views are breath taking...when I dare to take my eyes from the road. Eventually we make it to CA 1. It is getting late and we begin looking for a hotel to spend the night in. We find a beautiful, brand new hotel located in San Mateo on the outskirts of Quetzaltenango. I highly recommend this hotel, Hotel Imperio Inn, to anyone traveling through the area. It has secure parking, a good restaurant and the entire staff was young, good looking and enthusiastic in making sure we feel welcome and have a pleasant stay. We spend a quiet evening there, enjoying an excellent meal in the restaurant and a good nights sleep.
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| Some of the really great staff at Hotel Imperio. Thanks Guys!!!! |
My name is Becki. My husband and I are moving to Panama after 14 years in Mexico. We are also believers and have ben amazed at how God has made it clear that this is where we need to go. We were thrilled to find your blog and hear your description of crossing the border into Guatemala, as we are here in Tapachula planning to cross the border ourselves. We have a car full of household items and our 2 dogs and a cat. I am wondering if we should consider ourselves as carrying "cargo" - or if these are considered household goods. Do you have any other suggestions for going through Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador? We aren't doing any sightseeing - just moving along to get there b/c of the animals. Thanks for any help you can give.
ReplyDeleteBecki,
DeleteThat is so cool! I don't know, but if you only have a car load and not a trailer load like us then they may just pass you through. I hope you applied for the pets permits to enter Guate. They were a bit more particular with us than Mexico was. Also, not entirely sure on this either, but I think the Demmings may have tried to take their Guatemalan dog to El Salvador and been rejected. Again, I may have misunderstood that from them. Be sure and clarify with Guate how much time you actually have to cross through the country. If you do come through Honduras instead of continuing straight theough to El Salvador from Guate, stop by and see us here in Siguatepeque. You can email me at wolfeent@copper.net. Another thing, if you are coming Sula )if they don't assign you a border crossing) This is by far and away the best road etc and is the best road through HN south. Hope to see you guys, or at least hear about your journeys. Stay in touch and let me know if we can help in any way.
To clarify that last sentence which didn't post correctly.
DeleteAnother thing, If you can pick your exit border crossing and you are coming through Honduras, cross at the one near Puerto Barrios and come into San Pedro Sula by way of Omoa.