Honduras - The 12 hours border
So you guys are lucky - you are getting all the latest information on border crossing...
We just arrived in Copan. We decided not to go through El Salvador and instead going through the North of Honduras. So far I think it has been the best decision.
We left Antigua around 4 pm yesterday, just in time to get in Guatemala for the 5pm traffic.
It seems like we are not satisfied enough with driving at night so we also need to add more challenges...such at crossing Guatemala city at rush hour or tempting to cross the Honduras border at night.
We actually made it through Guatemala City quite easily. We took the "Annillo Periferico" direction North and only missed one exit somehow - which sent us directly downtown. But after asking a few bus drivers and local policia, we managed to quickly get back on the road (Martinez is the name of that street for the locals) and went through Guatemala City in less than 1 hour.
And got to meet the most aspiring Pablo Escobar look alike person ever, driving his nicely restored 1972 Mitsubishi Galant gold. Hopefully he will join the forum soon.
We then headed toward Puerto Las Barrias where at kilometers 135 you take the junction to go to Copan. You can't really miss it, just follow the thousand of trucks that take that road 24/7 to deliver goods between the port and the city.
All in all it took us about 5.30 hours to get to the border - about 30 minutes too late. The border is open 24 hours but the officina for the road permit closes at 9pm on the Guatemalan side.
Since the immigration was still open, we had the option to take a cab to get to Copan to spend the night and leave the truck at the border (which seems totally safe) or just camp there, next to the gate. We choose the second option, thinking that by waking up at 6am the next morning we would get across quickly.
Shaun tied his hamac between the front bull bar (isn't why we have these?) and the nearest phone pole. I slept in the Maggiolina one more time...
We actually slept pretty well as the border is really quiet - except for the roasters.
By 6:10 we were ready to go but hit our first challenge - the lady needed photocopies of our Guatemalan permits but the only office where to make them was not opened. They did open about an hour later.
By the way, contrary to what it is being said often on the web, don't bother making tons of photocopies of all your documents thinking that you will save money/time at the borders. They always need copies of the receipts/stamps/permisio/etc that you got in the country or the one before - which you don't have back home... So no matter what, you are going to have to go make copies - it is impossible not to.
The nice thing about sleeping at the border the night before is that it gives you plenty of time to meet the officials and other local characters. We actually had dinner at the only local Comeda with the Honduras immigration officer and the guy in charge of the car permit. There are no "helpers" at this border and only a few very non-aggressive money changers.
We were charged 10 Quatzales ($1.2) for an exit fee for Guatemala and $3US (with receipt) for an entry fee in Honduras.
Around 8am we started doing the paperwork for the Honduras permit for both vehicles. We were the only ones at the office and it took us 1.5 hour.
The officer was courteous but was very precise - and slow. He asks for a bunch of paperwork - including a copy of the paperwork showing that we had canceled the Guatemalan license.
Important note - Make sure you keep every single document you get. It took us 1.5 hour and we were well prepared, having 3 copies of all requested documents (what you need is written on the window).
The only little glitch that the officer noticed was that the Guatemalan permit said something about the license plate number not matching the title document for my truck.
The problem is that the Arizona title does not show the license plate number!!!! I have never seen that before and that is giving me a bit of problem every time. This is where speaking some Spanish really helps - when you have to explain the whole thing.
The cost for the Honduras permit was $35 per vehicle. You pay this at the bank across the river, after avoiding the concrete tail of the gate, watching not to fall in the polluted creek, and walking around 4/5 dead car bodies. You get a receipt, and if you are lucky and get the same nice clerk as we got, he will also do all the copies you need - it's all inclusive.
Total cost was therefore about $40 - no bribe, no corruption and all the receipts.
So we are now in Copan, very excited and heading to see the ruins. We will cross the country tomorrow and head out at Los Manos, and most likely stick to our bad habit of driving every night...
