surprise at the border

Our guidebook has almost no information about crossing borders with your own car. Just before heading for one border, we confirmed with our very limited Spanish that the border crossing we were heading for could only be crossed by boat. Also our Guatemala map came from Mexico, and neither that map nor Lonely Planet´s had much useful information. So we got nervous and researched online. No official information online, just other travelers´ accounts, all of which had harrowing tales of tons of bureaucracy and bribery required at the border. Scary stuff including people with guns. Even warnings to just drive through Guatemala as quickly as possible because it was just awful and dangerous. Lots of contradictory information, no clear answers. To make matters worse we weren´t sure we´d gotten the right permit for taking the vehicle through Mexico and might have trouble getting out before we even faced the horrors of getting into Guatemala.

So we just drove there. Surprise. Friendly, helpful Mexicans explained the permit process for when we return to Mexico. In Guatemala, friendly, helpful Guatemalans helped us through the whole process on that side. No bribes, no wierd extra costs or harrassment. Lots of very young men carrying very big guns, but everyone smiling. It took us about 50 km into Guatemala to believe we were really in and official. Drove on to Huehuetenango, a beautiful town with very nice people. We liked Mexico, but so far, we love Guatemala. A little tougher to figure things out - the Spanish, what little we knew - is different here, as is some of the etiquette. Also, they don´t seem to be expecting tourists, and nobody local travels much outside their home town, so nobody has maps or can tell you how to get anywhere except maybe the next town. But it´s a fabulous adventure so far.

Next we head into very remote territory, taking what the guidebook calls ¨the backdoor route¨to Tikal.