Into Guatemala
Day 27, 28
Sunday, April 4 - Monday April 5, 2010
San Cristobal De Las Casas - Quetzaltenango (almost)
Convalescing in Quetzaltenango area
Meeting up with Sergio unfortunately didn't work out. So I saddled up and decided to "risk" the complicated border formalities for Guatemala. I've heard many conflicting stories, some of them wonderful, some of them worthy of a Steven King movie. "Don't cross borders on a weekend" I also read several times in trip reports. So what do I do? I cross on Easter Sunday. Everyone had told me that I had to give up the Mexican bike import permit. On the Mexican side they gave me a bit of a dumbfounded look, pointed at the July expiry date on the permit and insisted I keep it since I'd need it on the way back. Migracion also let me keep the tourist visa after I explained that I was coming back.
On to the Guatemalan side. A very grumpy, stern looking fellow in a green uniform told me to stop and gruffly ordered me to turn off the engine. After I dismounted he sprayed the tires and bottom part of my bike. The Cynic in me thinks it was just water but it's supposedly fumigation to prevent the spread of mad Mexican driver disease ...anyway, that's my story and I'm sticking to it. 12 Quetzal ($1.60) was paid to an official and a receipt was issued. On to Migracion. The nice young man stamped my passport and asked for 20pesos ($1.60). Pesos? I asked. Si, pesos. So I handed over a 20peso note and he slipped it into a slot under the counter. No receipt was issued. Legit? not? who knows! My friends from BC paid nothing for the stamp when they entered. On to Aduana for the bike import permit. Another very nice young man did a whole bunch of paperwork with lots of stamping done with a flourish. Then he handed me an invoice for 40Quetzal ($5.33) and told me to go to the official cashier next door. She processed the payment, issued a receipt and sent me back to Aduana where I was issued the import sticker and sent on my merry way. I somehow think the import fee was legit and that my friends who also paid nothing for their bike just got lucky.
I would highly recommend this crossing for everyone. There was not one single tramitador (helper) to be seen and everyone was nice and civilized. Even the money changers were easy going and not the least bit aggressive. When I told them I'd get back to them later once I'd figured out their currency, they politely gave the time I needed. A very civilized crossing indeed.
Immediately upon crossing the border everything changes. As you approach the border from a flat area of Mexico you can see steep mountains rising out of the ground. That's Guatemala. La Mesilla, the border town on the Guatemala side is a free trade zone and the short street is lined with ramshackle little shops selling all kinds of cheap wares. The road steadily climbs and winds its' way through a narrow valley with steep mountains and cliffs rising sharply skyward. It's stunning. This is Chicken Bus territory. Colourfully decorated former school buses zip along like Greyhounds on crack. Black smoke belches from their exhaust pipes each time they floor it to pass someone.
Pan American Highway CA1
Guatemala is quite densely populated and there seems to be some form of inhabitation almost everywhere along the road. Little shacks sit high up on steep mountains with no apparent road access. I have no idea how these people get up and down. It's also apparent that much of the countryside has been deforested. Many of the mountains, albeit still beautiful, are devoid of large trees and dotted with rectangular wildly growing patches of scrub.
Pretty soon the Ponderosa pines are back once more. But now they're intermingled with the tropical pine that I've been expecting all along. The air cools beautifully and the road surface is very nice. Much better than most of the Mexican roads I've been on. The poverty of Guatemala quickly shows. There is garbage everywhere, or at least much more than in Mexico. The quality of the buildings and dwellings also seems below even Mexican standards. The Guatemaltecans make up for it with their friendliness I believe.
I was going to make it a short day and pulled into Huehuetenango about 90km's after the border. I really didn't like that city and ended up near the bus station where a Sunday market had just finished up. There was garbage strewn everywhere on the street. Unsold rotting produce, plastic bottles, paper, you name it. I looked at a few hotels and declined a $20 place (too expensive) and almost went for a $16 place. But something told me to keep on going. So back on the road I went and headed further south. The road climbs even more and the air was now getting cool to the point that I had to put on more clothing and turn on the heated grips since I couldn't locate my gloves. A quick check of the map showed that I was only about 40km's away from Quetzaltenango. Unlike Mexico which has a tendency to put distance signs as close together as 1km apart, they're almost nonexistent on this road. The road follows a high ridge and looking down is breath stopping. You can see fields several thousand feet down and more steep mountains in the distance.
Hacienda Grande Hotel Near Quetzaltenango
I pulled into Hacienda Grande Hotel 15km's north of Quetzaltenango and went for the $20room with hot water, TV, very nice bed with soft blankets and of course, Wi-Fi.
I'd been feeling a bit queasy the last few days and was just waiting for it to pass. Tonight is when all hell broke loose. My legs were aching to the point that I couldn't sleep. I felt like throwing up (but didn't), instead it came out the other end. I had the shakes as well. All I could think of was "rats' H1N1". I barely slept, sleepily crawled to the front desk and asked to stay another night since I was sick. Francisco gladly took the money but advised me that the room I was in was reserved for someone else tonight. He helped me move my stuff into another room. I swallowed a nice cocktail of Tylenol 3's and the one Zopiclone sleeping pill I had left over from last summer. I finally woke up at 3:30pm and felt much, much better. I'm so glad the Codeine causes constipation :-)
I decided to ride into Quetzaltenango for some dinner. But almost everything was closed and it started to rain. Got lost, got soaked, made it back to near my hotel, stopped at the gas station for some chips and beer, dropped the beer in front of the cashier, sent glass all over the place, offered to clean it up but they insisted they'd do it, got charged for the busted bottle ...fair enough, went back to the hotel, dropped the bike while trying to park it near the doorway, agreed with Francisco that it might be better to just leave it in the driveway, and then had a great sleep.
Quick note about Guatemala fuel prices. Don't freak when you see the 30Quetzal ($3.90) price at the pump. For some unexplained reason Guatemala uses gallons. Still expensive but hey! I'm from Canada and used to it. Ours is actually a few cents more expensive (in larger cities with fuel taxes).
Sunday, April 4 - Monday April 5, 2010
San Cristobal De Las Casas - Quetzaltenango (almost)
Convalescing in Quetzaltenango area
Meeting up with Sergio unfortunately didn't work out. So I saddled up and decided to "risk" the complicated border formalities for Guatemala. I've heard many conflicting stories, some of them wonderful, some of them worthy of a Steven King movie. "Don't cross borders on a weekend" I also read several times in trip reports. So what do I do? I cross on Easter Sunday. Everyone had told me that I had to give up the Mexican bike import permit. On the Mexican side they gave me a bit of a dumbfounded look, pointed at the July expiry date on the permit and insisted I keep it since I'd need it on the way back. Migracion also let me keep the tourist visa after I explained that I was coming back.
On to the Guatemalan side. A very grumpy, stern looking fellow in a green uniform told me to stop and gruffly ordered me to turn off the engine. After I dismounted he sprayed the tires and bottom part of my bike. The Cynic in me thinks it was just water but it's supposedly fumigation to prevent the spread of mad Mexican driver disease ...anyway, that's my story and I'm sticking to it. 12 Quetzal ($1.60) was paid to an official and a receipt was issued. On to Migracion. The nice young man stamped my passport and asked for 20pesos ($1.60). Pesos? I asked. Si, pesos. So I handed over a 20peso note and he slipped it into a slot under the counter. No receipt was issued. Legit? not? who knows! My friends from BC paid nothing for the stamp when they entered. On to Aduana for the bike import permit. Another very nice young man did a whole bunch of paperwork with lots of stamping done with a flourish. Then he handed me an invoice for 40Quetzal ($5.33) and told me to go to the official cashier next door. She processed the payment, issued a receipt and sent me back to Aduana where I was issued the import sticker and sent on my merry way. I somehow think the import fee was legit and that my friends who also paid nothing for their bike just got lucky.
I would highly recommend this crossing for everyone. There was not one single tramitador (helper) to be seen and everyone was nice and civilized. Even the money changers were easy going and not the least bit aggressive. When I told them I'd get back to them later once I'd figured out their currency, they politely gave the time I needed. A very civilized crossing indeed.
Immediately upon crossing the border everything changes. As you approach the border from a flat area of Mexico you can see steep mountains rising out of the ground. That's Guatemala. La Mesilla, the border town on the Guatemala side is a free trade zone and the short street is lined with ramshackle little shops selling all kinds of cheap wares. The road steadily climbs and winds its' way through a narrow valley with steep mountains and cliffs rising sharply skyward. It's stunning. This is Chicken Bus territory. Colourfully decorated former school buses zip along like Greyhounds on crack. Black smoke belches from their exhaust pipes each time they floor it to pass someone.
Pan American Highway CA1
Guatemala is quite densely populated and there seems to be some form of inhabitation almost everywhere along the road. Little shacks sit high up on steep mountains with no apparent road access. I have no idea how these people get up and down. It's also apparent that much of the countryside has been deforested. Many of the mountains, albeit still beautiful, are devoid of large trees and dotted with rectangular wildly growing patches of scrub.
Pretty soon the Ponderosa pines are back once more. But now they're intermingled with the tropical pine that I've been expecting all along. The air cools beautifully and the road surface is very nice. Much better than most of the Mexican roads I've been on. The poverty of Guatemala quickly shows. There is garbage everywhere, or at least much more than in Mexico. The quality of the buildings and dwellings also seems below even Mexican standards. The Guatemaltecans make up for it with their friendliness I believe.
I was going to make it a short day and pulled into Huehuetenango about 90km's after the border. I really didn't like that city and ended up near the bus station where a Sunday market had just finished up. There was garbage strewn everywhere on the street. Unsold rotting produce, plastic bottles, paper, you name it. I looked at a few hotels and declined a $20 place (too expensive) and almost went for a $16 place. But something told me to keep on going. So back on the road I went and headed further south. The road climbs even more and the air was now getting cool to the point that I had to put on more clothing and turn on the heated grips since I couldn't locate my gloves. A quick check of the map showed that I was only about 40km's away from Quetzaltenango. Unlike Mexico which has a tendency to put distance signs as close together as 1km apart, they're almost nonexistent on this road. The road follows a high ridge and looking down is breath stopping. You can see fields several thousand feet down and more steep mountains in the distance.
Hacienda Grande Hotel Near Quetzaltenango
I pulled into Hacienda Grande Hotel 15km's north of Quetzaltenango and went for the $20room with hot water, TV, very nice bed with soft blankets and of course, Wi-Fi.
I'd been feeling a bit queasy the last few days and was just waiting for it to pass. Tonight is when all hell broke loose. My legs were aching to the point that I couldn't sleep. I felt like throwing up (but didn't), instead it came out the other end. I had the shakes as well. All I could think of was "rats' H1N1". I barely slept, sleepily crawled to the front desk and asked to stay another night since I was sick. Francisco gladly took the money but advised me that the room I was in was reserved for someone else tonight. He helped me move my stuff into another room. I swallowed a nice cocktail of Tylenol 3's and the one Zopiclone sleeping pill I had left over from last summer. I finally woke up at 3:30pm and felt much, much better. I'm so glad the Codeine causes constipation :-)
I decided to ride into Quetzaltenango for some dinner. But almost everything was closed and it started to rain. Got lost, got soaked, made it back to near my hotel, stopped at the gas station for some chips and beer, dropped the beer in front of the cashier, sent glass all over the place, offered to clean it up but they insisted they'd do it, got charged for the busted bottle ...fair enough, went back to the hotel, dropped the bike while trying to park it near the doorway, agreed with Francisco that it might be better to just leave it in the driveway, and then had a great sleep.
Quick note about Guatemala fuel prices. Don't freak when you see the 30Quetzal ($3.90) price at the pump. For some unexplained reason Guatemala uses gallons. Still expensive but hey! I'm from Canada and used to it. Ours is actually a few cents more expensive (in larger cities with fuel taxes).
Comments