As the bus approached the Guatemalan border, it was clear that the relatively well developed infrastructure of Mexico was deteriorating. The villages got poorer and dustier, and the vehicles older and more dilapidated. The bus was not international and stopped some way short of the border in a valley surrounded by lush hills – it wasn’t totally clear how to proceed. It turned out I had to get a taxi to get to the border post.
The Mexican border officials were confused when they looked at my passport and complained about something. It seemed that I was supposed to have a Mexican stamp and didn’t have one, but that for a small payment it wouldn’t matter. There were probably well aware that backpackers crossing the Rio Grande by local bus from the USA often didn’t have stamps. I took 2 dollars out, the “problema” promptly disappeared, and they happily waved me onwards into Guatemala.
Being properly stamped into Guatemala I asked about onward buses, but was told that due to the election there was a reduced service. With the same problem as me were some Italian backpackers, and “Hans” from Liechtenstein (I had never met anyone from Liechtenstein!). After a very long wait a bus turned up, we all piled on, and I was on my way to the town of Huehuetenango through winding and very scenic roads. The buses in Guatemala (at least those I’ve seen so far) are old US school buses – the Bluebird models with the long overhang at the rear. They are not particularly comfortable…
Huehuetenango looks a lot more “Third World” then anything I saw in Mexico. My experience of Mexico was generally more like southern Europe than what I had expected – at least until I had reached Oaxáca. No doubt there are areas that are a lot poorer.
I found a reasonable little room in the centre of town. Hans stayed in the same hotel and went for a meal with me later on – he was heading to Antigua (the old Guatemalan capital) in the morning. Other backpackers were in evidence. I suspect I’ve now reached the start of the Gringo Trail – the route taken by many backpackers through the Americas.
In the morning I decided to spend a second night in Huehuetenango and had a leisurely morning wandering round, trying to get some stamps to send off a few letters that I had written, trying to sort out the onward trip for the next day, and taking some photos.
In the afternoon I took a local bus out to the nearby Mayan ruins of Zaculeu which date from about 1700 years ago.
Back in Huehuetenango, I decided that in the morning (13th Nov) I would head for the small town of Panajachel on the shore of Lake Atitlán – a place that Hans had mentioned, and the book said was popular with backpackers.