From Anchorage to Ushuaia by Bike

• Goodbye Mexico!

We spent more than three months biking through Mexico. We have seen and experienced a lot, and we have told you a lot, but not everything. In Mexico, you’ll find:

* The sides of the road just covered in garbage

* Policemen with a little cash in hand to help smooth things along

* Six people travelling in a Clio or a Polo, and a pickup truck being used as a bus

* Buses stopping on the highways to pick up passengers

* People changing tires right in the middle of an intersection

* A little “jostling” on the side walk if a women passes by a man

* Teenagers with their young children in toe

* Abortions are illegal – except in the Federal District (Mexico City)

* Light bulbs are such a rarity that there are empty sockets everywhere

* You can never count on there being toilet paper… ever!

* Garbage bins beside the toilets for used toilet paper since the Mexican plumbing system can’t handle the blockage

* You buy eggs by weight

* A hotel room doesn’t necessarily mean hot water

* And even if the room comes with everything… it still doesn’t mean it works!

• Leaving Mexico

Like we said, so many people had warned us about Guatemala, and especially area near Mexico, that we decided to take a bus. When we bought the tickets, we were told that we would have to change buses at the border and would most likely have to pay extra for the bikes – 100 pesos per bike. As we got on the bus – really just a van – the driver reminded us again. Well, we’ll see.

We found ourselves squeezed into this van with 4 Americans, 2 Brits, 2 Japanese, 1 French women, 1 German and 1 guy from the Czech Republic. It was great to talk to each of them.

A little before the border we stopped at the Mexican customs to sort out our leaving the country. The driver called (or pretended to call) his Guatemalan colleague about the bikes. After he hung up he told us that he had arranged things with his colleague and that we would have to pay him 200 pesos up front and he would give it to Guatemalan driver. We were a little taken aback and we hesitated a bit, but in the end we decided to trust him since he had been so friendly and helpful during the trip.

A few kilometers later, at the border, he asked for our passports and 30 pesos each. Everyone else paid without thinking, but we weren’t sure since we’d been told that it was free for French citizens to enter the country. Also we could see the customs office on the other side of the road, and we felt quite capable of going over there ourselves to get our passports stamped! But since we had already taken out all our luggage and had to keep an eye on our bikes and 12 bags, we didn’t want to split up so we paid him the 60 pesos… we still don’t know whose pockets it ended up lining…

After bringing back our passports, the Mexican driver said loud and clear in front of the Guatemalan driver and all the other passengers that we had paid for the bikes and that everything was squared away, and the Guatemalan driver agreed.

Only a few hundred meters into Guatemala we had to stop because the emergency tire was flat. The Guatemalan driver turned out to be an even more reckless driver than the Mexican one… another break to pump more air into the back left tire, which badly needed it.

Then, about an hour before arriving, the driver shouted out: “Those traveling with bikes have to pay an extra 200 pesos!” We refused saying that we had already paid at the border, and that everything had been arranged. He was reluctant to let it go, and seemed annoyed. 15 minutes before we arrived he said that we were fine and didn’t have to pay anything… except maybe a tip! Then we stopped at a service station, apparently for a 10 minute break. The minutes ticked by and then another van drove up and parked beside ours. Our driver announced that we had to unload our bikes and put them on the roof of this third van. We did that, and then the two drivers had a long and involved discussion about the bikes and especially about the 200 pesos. We heard them call into the office and say that we didn’t want to pay.

We finally left, and our third driver assured us that we didn’t have to pay anything more. He got a call from the office and someone wanted to speak to us to ask us what happened in terms of this payment situation.
Little by little, and with the help of the driver, we started to understand what had happened. The Mexican and Guatemalan drivers must have made a deal: the Mexican would ask for 200 pesos,  keep half, and give the other half to the Guatemalan driver. He knew that his office needed to get 200 pesos (since they knew there were two bikes) and so he needed to get at least another 100 pesos from us, which is why he asked us for 200 again. Since he saw that we weren’t going to pay them, he asked for a tip hoping that it would cover the 100 pesos that he was missing.

Welcome to Guatemala!

Despite our little adventure, our first impression was generally good. The city of Quetzaltenango seems pretty nice. Our hosts, Sara and Miguel, helped us pick out a place to eat and so for my birthday we went to a “French” restaurant, although we didn’t really eat anything French. It didn’t matter though – I was already so happy to have received so many nice birthday wishes. Thank you so much!

Sébastie