[Above: The DATW Land Rovers are lined up at the crossing-point into Guatemala from Mexico.]

Journal by Neil Dana

So today we awoke in a small pink drive-in motel in Tapachula, about an hour away from the Mexico/Guatemala border. We all geared up and headed off to the airport to drop off Cristina, our new friend from Guadalajara, to head back home. She was with us for 5 days and we had a great time. She and I met a year and a half ago in San Francisco at a bar during the World Cup Games. I was teasing her since we, the USA, had just beat Mexico – but she later forgave me for my teasing and we became friends. Anyway, we dropped her off at Tapachula, and headed towards Talisman, the border town on the Mexico side of the border crossing into Guatemala.

And of course, we ran into the run-around. First, we passed by some the agricultural inspection and a bunch of kids jumped on our car and told us we needed to cancel our Mexico sticker, which we have on our vehicles. The stickers are our temporary permits to drive in Mexico. And we did need to cancel our permits, however trusting a bunch of children who are all yelling at you with instructions in the middle of nowhere an hour west of the border isn't the most comfortable situation. So we heeded their information that we needed to go to a bank called Banjercito to cancel our permits, but we pushed on closer to the border looking for a Banjercito. When we finally did find one, they told us the only place to cancel our permits was the one back at the agricultural inspection where all the kids had jumped on our car!

Oh well, we turned around and drove back and went across the street and cancelled our permits and received the appropriate documents to hand over to the border officials in Guatemala. While we were doing this, we bought some delicious empenadas with cheese and a spicy sauce, and some peeled pineapple, papaya, watermelon, and cantaloupe. The food in Mexico, especially when in the tropical south, is fantastic!

So onward we went until we finally arrived at the border. When we arrived there, there were two signs, one pointing towards the right, which was for cars without documentation, and the other was for cars with documents. We weren't exactly sure at first, then 15 or so kids jumped on our car as we were turning towards the right. I finally was able to tell them all to get off the car and just let one guy speak so I could understand what they were saying.

He told us to go back on the main road and head towards the border with him. If we went the other way, we would have to pay off officials and wait in a very long line. So we decided to listen to this guy, since the kids at the last passing earlier were correct as well.

Sure enough, this guy was our savior. He took us right into the border, and I grabbed all of our passports and we just went to a window with no line, got our exit stamps, then went to the other office, and got our entry stamps, and then to the copy machine to make copies of our documents for our vehicles. Each process cost us a few quetzals, which is the Guatemalan currency. And getting the quetzal was a funny experience.

The exchange rate was 7.9 quetzales to the dollar. When we told the guy we wanted to change $100, he would punch some numbers on his calculator, then show us the calculator and press 100 X 7.9 and it would come up as 690. And he kept doing it and I kept telling him, in Spanish, that this was nonsense. So I took his calculator and did it myself, and of course it came up 790. The silly guy would press -100 first, then show people the calculator and do the multiplication. I guess some people fall for it.

We then proceeded to the office where we needed to get our Guatemala car permits. Luckily, the letter we had from Mexico, which was notarized by a lawyer, worked here too. I assume it will work through the rest of Central and South America. So after a couple of hours of waiting for paperwork, we were through the border and into Guatemala. All in all, we paid about $60 for everything, not bad at all.

On to Guatemala!! Guatemala and Mexico are completely different from each other. We are in the intense tropics now and the people are definitely more of a Mayan descent. The people are very small as well. The children are so cute it is unbelievable. I love taking pictures, though it is known that some Guatemalans don't like their picture taken, so it is a fine line I was playing with, and filming them for our project is interesting as well.

The people here wear very colorful clothing. The women wear lovely dresses, filled with various color patterns, that cover most of their body and the men wear these striped wraps that are a cross between a sarong and pants, along with a Guatemalan shirt.

The people here walk around carrying fruit and supplies on their back with a blanket that is wrapped around their back. Many women carry baskets filled with bread or fruit on top of their head, balanced without the use of their hands.

Guatemala is extremely rich in culture and heritage. The people here are very traditional and preserve the way of life from their ancestry. Guatemala is also very poor. Driving towards Santiago de Atitlan, which is a huge crater lake amongst three volcanoes, we passed through many villages that were very poor. These villages have houses or shacks that are falling apart and barely standing. Guatemala is rich in culture, yet however, being very destitute, has been known to be dangerous as well. And driving through this country in our 4 new Land Rovers definitely turned everyone's head. We are a spectacle, there is no doubt about that.

And as we were driving towards Atitlan, we were approaching dark, and we still had an hour or so to go. We pulled over to the side of the road and had a very serious discussion about whether to head on or to stay where we were at. Some areas of Guatemala are known to be dangerous at night, and we had also all previously decided not to drive at night in Central American countries.

Early on in the trip we created a game of “firsts” – for example, who will be the first person to get sick, or the first to have diarrhea, or the first to get their foot run over by a Land Rover, etc. One of the categories was who would get angry and have a “meltdown” – and it looks like Rolf won. As we were having our meeting at the side of the road, Rolf got angry and said that the reason we were driving at night – the reason we didn’t arrive at Atitlan hours ago -- was because we never leave on time in the morning, and we waste a lot of time at gas stations and food stops. Nick insisted that leaving on time is really not that important, and Rolf just lost it. Holy cow, I have seen movies where people go nuts and the look of rage comes to the surface, but in person, I haven't witnessed this pure anger in a long, long time. It was fantastic!! He was yelling, throwing dirt, and everything!! Everything eventually got worked out and Nick admitted that we’ve been sloppy about wasting time, but all Rolf’s yelling was quite a spectacle! I’d say it was a healthy release and comedy for the rest of us, and something we can all tease Rolf about for the rest of his life.

So anyway, all us of voted to carry on to Atitlan at night. As we did, we drove on super windy roads up through small villages and into the beautiful volcanic mountains of Atitlan. We made it unscathed and drove through Santiago de Atitlan looking for a place to stay. This very traditional town was bustling, with a local soccer match going on in the town square on cement, and people all over the place walking around and enjoying this fine Monday evening. Guatemalans don't have much material wealth, but they do have an abundance of heritage and a zest for life.

I love being here and find it extremely interesting and full of authentic Guatemalan people. We have not seen many tourists at all. Guatemala is a place that people must experience in their lifetime. It does remind me of Peru and Bolivia in many ways. I highly recommend it.

Well, we ended up at a nice hotel on the lake, and half of us spent the night in our tents, and the other half in one big room. Tomorrow, we are heading to Antigua, which should be amazing. I wish we had more time to spend in each place we visit, but that is not the nature of our expedition. At least we get a taste, and can always come back another time. Until next Monday, ciao.

Best,

Neil Dana (A surfer who has sacrificed surfing for a fantastic opportunity to see the world and help Parkinson's Disease. Yikes, I have only surfed one day in the last month!!! However, in two days we are going to La Libertad in El Salvador, and those of you who know, KNOW how great that place is for surfing!!!!)

Logbook for November 24th
Start: Tapachula, Mexico
Finish: Santiago Atitlan, Guatemala
Mileage: 175

Help support our cause: Drive Around the World aims to raise money for Parkinson’s Disease research by taking four certified pre-owned Land Rover Discoverys around the globe following lines of longitude. Readers are encouraged to pledge small amounts of money per expedition-mile via a pledge form that can be found on our Parkinson’s page by clicking here. Everyone making a pledge of $10 or more to raise money for the Parkinson’s Institute will be put in a raffle to win an expedition-style Land Rover.