Driving from Petén to Villahermosa, MX part 1

On Thanksgiving one of our missionary friends mentioned that the road was now paved between Naranjo, Petén and the border of Mexico. When we moved to Petén, there was no border crossing with Mexico that you could drive through. Because of this we travelled to Belize to get our paperwork.

This new information set me to researching and I found very little information about the border crossing at El Ceibo. I did find that in the city of Villahermosa there are not only Walmarts and a Sam's Club, there is also a Home Depot. Looking at the Home Depot website, prices advertised were less than half of those we can obtain in Guatemala for fixtures of lesser quality. Because we are at the point that we need to buy things like toilets, sinks and doors, we thought it would be a good idea to check it out in person. It appeared that the time driving to Villahermosa would be close to the time it takes to go to Guatemala City, so if we could also complete a Visa renewal and get cheaper stuff for our house, it seemed like it was worth the risk. Here is how our trip went:

We left La Libertad at 10:30am (after dropping off 8 boxes of school supplies at an elementary school close to there) in the direction of Naranjo. There are over 80 speed bumps on this road with almost 2 of them painted and marked. A good rule of thumb is that if there are houses next to the road, there is a speed bump in front of them even if you can't see it. There was a clear sign showing the road to Mexico about 8 km before you get to Naranjo.

At 12:30pm we arrived at the border. You first have to park on the road and take your passports to immigration. I was able to take all four passports to the immigration trailer without having to take the boys out of their car seats. We were several weeks expired on our visas which usually entails a Q10 fine per day per passport. There was nothing I could do about this as my lawyer had my passport for 2 months in Guatemala city while changing the title and plates on our micro. I mentioned this to the officer so that I didn't get a lecture or a disapproving glance like I was trying to hide something as has happened at the Belize border. He acted like he didn't hear me, stamped the passports without asking me for any money and told me that I was done. I guess it wasn't worth his trouble.

I then went to the Sat trailer to show my vehicle information so they would let me leave. This was my longest wait in Guatemala as the money changers had to get the Sat agent from the Banrural trailer where he was flirting with the teller. He looked at my stuff and said I could go.

I exchanged all of my quetzales into pesos at 100 quetzales for 150 pesos and drove to the Mexican side.

It was immediately different from the Guatemalan side. There I was greeted by a Mexican official who told the me entire process before fumigating my vehicle and then pointing me towards a parking spot. There I was greeted by a customs official who asked to see inside my bags, confiscated my beef jerky (it is prohibited to import beef products from the States even though I came from Guatemala), and told me everything was great. While this process was going on two immigration officers were working on my paperwork for our visas. There was no charge and I was able to sign for all four visas including my wife's. I was told to pay 60 pesos for the fumigation and directed to the far area to get my vehicle permit.

I came with all of my information: registration card, passport, Driver's license, Mexican insurance purchased through Sanborn the day before and printed up at home (which the guy didn't care about) and vehicle title. I was then informed that I would need to pay $436 in American cash. They do not have credit card capability and there is no ATM anywhere around. $36 is the price of the permit and $400 is a deposit that will be returned to me when I leave Mexico with my Microbus. (The deposit is tiered: 2004 and newer is $400, 2001-2004 is $300 and anything older than 2001 is $200.)

When I asked how I was supposed to get American dollars I was told to go talk to the money changers back in Guatemala. He did advise me that they would charge 14 or 15 pesos/dollar (the exchange they offered me before was 1 dollar for 11 pesos) but he knew a guy in the office that would do it for 13. I didn't have enough pesos anyway, so I would still have to go to Guatemala, exchange for pesos from quetzales and then come back and exchange for dollars to pay my deposit.

Well I haven't lived in Guatemala for over 4 years to get ripped off by a Mexican, so I went directly and found out the Guatemalans would give me dollars for only 12.5 pesos. The only problem was that they don't have dollars with them and I would have to wait for them to go to their house and come back. They came back with $300 instead of $400 so I had to wait for them to go back home again and come back. After 30 minutes I came back to the vehicle guy who had thankfully already processed all of my stuff. Here we found that the only $50 bill the guys gave me was ripped and he wouldn't accept it, even though he's supposedly going to give it back to me on Friday. He told me I would have to go back and exchange the $50 for another $50 bill. Not wanting to go through that again I gave him 650 pesos (50 x 13) so that he could exchange with the guy later (probably himself), and I was given my permit and all of my paperwork.

I should also say that in this office are two very well maintained public bathrooms. You will not find the same thing on the Guatemalan side or anywhere near here going either direction.

So I took an hour longer than I needed to at the border. The total time should have taken less than a half hour with both sides of the border. We left the border at 2pm in the direction of Tenosique (the only direction the highway will take you.)

My next post will detail our drive through Mexico and arriving in Villahermosa. I will say that whether in Guatemala or in Mexico, my new Garmin Nuvi would have been worthless if I had not previously studied several different road maps and had that information in my head. None of the necessary roads even exist on the GPS, let alone have them in the right spot. It is necessary to know ahead of time exactly where you are going and what towns you will be passing on the way in case you need to ask for directions. Please do not trust a GPS.

How to Cross the Border to Belize

My parents are here so last Thursday we went to Belize. The main purpose was to get our tourist visas renewed, but we also wanted to go to Spanish Lookout to do some shopping. If you're interested in crossing over, here's how it went:

Upon arriving at the border I had to pay Q10 to cross the bridge in our microbus. Then I drove up and past the Guatemalan immigration area and parked in their lot on the other side of the gate. Then, while the family waited in the bus I took all 6 passports up to the exit line. It was pretty straightforward, I got our exit stamps and then went to talk to the people about the vehicle. Our bus has Guatemalan plates so I showed my passport, US driver's license and registration card for the micro (tarjeta de circulación). I thought I would get some sort of form since everybody told me that I had to go talk to them, but they looked everything and then waved at me to leave. I'm not sure how I would prove if I came back a month from now that I had spoken to them, but I'm sure they know what they're doing.

So I returned to the micro after exchanging Q400 for 100 Belize dollars and drove through the fumigation area. There I had to pay $8 Belize (or $4 US.)

In front of you is the Belize immigration hall. Everybody has to leave the vehicle and walk down the hall with any bags you may have. We didn't take the cooler with drinks in it. It is again, pretty straightforward without any forms to fill out or anything to pay. They stamp your passport and write down your name. At customs they search your bags and after giving me another stamp for my vehicle asked me to go back and pull it up. They stopped me, asked me what was in the cooler, looked to make sure I was telling the truth and waved me on to pick up the family waiting in the sun.

From there you drive to the white building in front of you where you will buy your Belize vehicle insurance. I have no idea what it covers but for 24 hours on our micro they charged me $24 Belize.

After that everything was fine. Normally there is a checkpoint before leaving the border town where the police will check your vehicle papers and remind you that you're not in Guatemala any more and have to buckle your seat belts, but there wasn't one that day.

We normally eat at a Mennonite restaurant in Spanish Lookout called Golden Corral (hilarious I know...not part of the chain) but because they are closed in the afternoons (I think 2-5pm) we stopped at the San Ignacio Resort Hotel to eat at the Running W Steakhouse. It was fantastic and will become a regular stop for us.

We returned to the border at 5pm. This is where it gets tricky because you don't want to have too many Belize dollars on the other side because they rip you off in the exchange rate going back, but you have to pay an exit tax. They only accept Belize dollars (not US or Guatemalan Quetzales.) The tax is $30 Belize/person (not including children but I'm not sure what the cutoff is). Plus there is another tax posted at $7.50 Belize. The problem is that I've only been charged the $7.50 tax once in 4-5 times doing this. So do you take the chance that you won't have to pay or do you go ahead and exchange to have your bases covered? I covered my bases since having an extra $30 Belize (for the 4 adults) won't kill me since I'll be back in 3 months.

They didn't end up charging me after all.

After paying this tax and getting your receipt you take your passports to the immigration table to get your exit stamp.

They then sent me to the Entrance side of the hall to talk to Customs about getting my passport note signed. It was then that I could go get the vehicle and pick up my family for the drive again through fumigation (this time Q40, more than what Belize charges you). In Guatemala, everybody waited in the micro while I took the passports again but this time to the Entrance side where I quickly received my stamps as well as an offer by the nice immigration official to show me around El Salvador if I would ever like to see the coast there. He lives close to that border. Nothing to pay in Guatemala, nothing to do with the vehicle since it has plates, and nobody checked to see if I had purchased anything.

Everything on that border is very relaxed and the people are very willing to give direction if you're not sure what to do. We had a good day but the boys were very happy to get home after driving around so much. Plus, we have another 90 days in Guatemala and my parents got some extra stamps on their passports.

San Andrés, Petén

The most popular places on lake Itza to swim are San Andrés and it's neighbor San José. Right in between those two cities is the Hotel Bahai Taitza. It is a wonderful location owned and run by Mauricio. He attended english schools in Guate, and actually speaks better english than any other Guatemalan born Guatemalan I've met.

Mauricio cooks the best food anywhere and will let you swim and use his kayaks or hammocks at no charge. His rooms are well decorated, however have no air conditioning. Being so close to the lake with the cool breeze at night, a ceiling fan is all you really need on most nights. If that's a big issue for you, come during the cold months of November-January. The lake is still warm during that time, even though temperatures dip down into the frigid low 70s.

With a little advanced notice he can cater for big groups. This is also where Los Tigres stayed when playing a concert in Petén, as well as the Rojos (soccer team) when they come to play. He also makes a big Gringo Thanksgiving spread and lots of turkey for Christmas as well.

Cutting some Corn

My friend Quincho planted his first 50mx50m plot of corn ("milpa" is when it is still on the stalk.) He was really proud of it and said that any day now the corn would be ready to cut "elotes" (corn on the cob). It would be a few more weeks before it would be ready for the big harvest that they could dry out and save to make tortilla dough. I told him that when it was ready, to let me know and I would go cut elotes with him and then my wife could make it for us for lunch.

I got the call and we went in the pickup. It was only about a 30 minute drive on a 4x4 only road. Quincho, Mateo (14 yrs old.) and a big Gringo armed with machetes and a sack. The showed me how to tell which plants were ready and where to slice the plant. Also, how to cut the corn down with the machete. I see now why there are so many thumb injuries (we hear every week about somebody else who almost cut their thumb off). The white and even yellow corn here is not the same as the States. It is tougher, and not very sweet, but it tastes good with salt and neither Quincho nor Mateo had ever had corn on the cob with butter on it. Apparently they liked it. I ate 2. Quincho ate 6 (after a hamburger).

One thing I didn't expect to see: In Guatemala you have to protect your corn from parrots instead of crows. Instead of making a scarecrow (or even a scareparrot) the man next to Quincho killed a pisote (coati mundi) and hung it on a stick. That attracted vultures, whose presence keeps parrots away. I don't know anything about the health effects of rotting carcass on corn, but we'll see if that guy dies.

Anybody for some jungle rodent?

Ever since arriving in Petén we have been told about the best meat in the whole world. Keep in mind that this is coming from either ex-guerrillas or Kekchi people, therefore from people who eat anything they can catch (such as iguana, parrots, monkeys, snakes...etc.) However, there is one animal that is better than chicken or deer or even beef.

Tepezcuintle here in Petén, also known as a Paca in English. Click HERE to go to the Wikipedia article. Basically it is a 25 pound jungle rodent. Sounds delicious right?

So after being here two years I still had managed to avoid eating it. It is pretty rare and just last year a law was passed, banning it from being served in restaurants. Lonely planet cautioned against eating anything in Petén that might jump from the menu to the endangered species list, and it turns out they were right.

However, my friend's mom has a restaurant and just so happens to have pet tepezcuintle, and they serve tepezcuintle to "amigos" which means anybody that won't rat (pun intended) them out to the authorities.

Finally we had the opportunity, on the way back from Belize, to stop by and eat. My wife ordered steak and I ordered the greatly coveted and slightly prohibited rodent. Grilled Please.

Honestly, it had so much spice on it that you would never known what it really was. It was a little too "Game-y" to be chicken, but it was white meat and had that texture.

So after this experience, a Peteneros "right of passage" you might say, of course I'm going to tell all my friends about it, right? I mean, they've been talking about this big rat for a long time, so of course the Gringo that thinks too much of himself has to brag at least a little. At first everybody got that glazed over look with slight drooling (kind of like my Boxer) and I got lots of kudos.

Little did I know that this is one of those times it is better to just keep your mouth shut. Instead of saying, "Hey everybody, I ate tepezcuintle!" I should have waited until somebody talked about it and then I could have said, "Yeah...I tried that once." And really downplayed the situation.

Case in point. Monday night, in between Bible Studies, my Kekchi friend Marcos came and invited my wife and I to his house for "frescos" (drinks). That alone is dangerous to drink here because I've seen the villages well and pipes and cistern, but it should have been obvious that no Kekchi invites you to his house just for some drinks. It always involves food.

So I walked in and was presented with the customary bowl of piping hot liquid with a hunk of meat inside. I sat down and started to eat, because although Kekchi food may not be the safest food to eat, it always tastes good and they probably put enough chili on it to kill any bad stuff...

As I'm eating I asked what it was because the last time I checked chickens didn't have little tiny ribs (the part of the animal I was fortunate to get.) I was told that it was tepezcuintle! Marcos had hunted and caught it with his dog and since he knew I liked it so much, his wife and daughters prepared it just for me that night!

Afterwards some boys that were there with me last night had seen other skins hanging outside Marcos' house, so I guess I'm lucky I got rodent instead of monkey! Nevertheless, I have eaten two tepezcuintles in a month and now I am wondering just how many more of these things I am going to eat now that I opened my big mouth...

El Encantadero

My wife's favorite restaurant in Flores is Las Puertas. It is owned by Cristina, a Chilean lady who has been in Guatemala for a very long time. She is a wonderful friend of ours, although pretty liberal and an avid environmentalist, and will speak English if cornered into it. Everything in her restaurant is safe to eat, and made from natural ingredients. She labels it "Gastronomical."

But if you want to get off the beaten track, head over to Jobompiche. There are micros, but I couldn't tell you how much they charge. The road is rough, but it is well worth it. There she converted her house (right on the clearest water of the lake) into a restaurant. Place your order, then head down to the lake to skip rocks, lounge in the hammocks, go out in her real wooden canoe, play with the crocodile (just kidding) or just sit on the dock and enjoy the view.

We always stop by here with our groups after a day at Tikal. We usually get there right before sunset and it's a great ending to a day. I order the steak because there are not many people here who have good steak. Tell Cristina that Jimmy sent you and it will get you a smile and maybe a free coffee with dessert.

The Caves of Santa Elena

Most people fly up, go to Tikal, and fly back to Guate that evening or the next morning. Tikal is great, and after going 12 times, I'm still not tired of it, but you really can see everything you need to in 4 hours with the right guide.

If you've got a few days, there are a lot of activities in Petén that are a lot of fun, but most tourists don't know about. A couple weeks ago I took 21 people from our two villages to Santa Elena for a trip out. It was for people in our Bible Studies who have been doing their homework, memorizing verses and bringing their Bibles. We wanted to have an incentive for those people who are committed. First we ate at Pollo Campero. Not only is it inexpensive and air conditioned, but not a single person had ever eaten there.

A tuk tuk can get you there (Q5/person.) You will see a store that sells bottled water, and it is there you pay. All the people laying around are part of the same family that gets paid to watch the cave for the government. Admission is Q20/person. You'll also want a flashlight (Q7) and a guide. It is great that once you enter the temperature drops down to what Peteneros call cold.

The formations are natural and the guide will show you around the semi-lighted area for Q50. After you are done you exit where you came in. This part is huge and worth it, however, for real fun, you can pay the guide and extra Q100 to take you to the other side. Make sure you have fresh batteries, as it can take 1.5-2 hours to make the 1.5 kilometer trip. The cave is muddy, slippery, and full of bats. There are a couple places you have to crawl on your belly, and if you have a back pack you won't fit. Other places you slide downhill on your nalgas.

Once you come out you will be filthy and the guide will take you up over the hill you climbed under. There is a place to rinse off your hands, but good luck getting a tuk tuk back. If you do get one to pull over, make sure he has plastic covering the seat and pay him double so that it is worth the cleaning he'll have to do later. If you like walking, it is only about 3 miles from Flores and is a pretty safe walk, so go for it. You'll probably get a lot of strange looks from the people in the market.

Now everybody play "¿Where's Gringo?" Only the guys in the group wanted to make the trip all the way through.