money, recrossing the border, navigation and rental car

$0.20 - twenty cents american

we ended up not changing any money as we were able to get around using our credit cards and american dollars.  i had filled the gas tank in guatemala so i wouldn't have to in Honduras and that worked out great.  we ended up with a few lempira notes as change for coffee in one shop [give them american dollars - they give you a really crappy exchange rate - you get change back in local money] 

driving back to the border the road had dried out enough in washed out places that traffic was moving quickly.  

we all had valid stamps for Guatemala in our passports and since we had not been stamped out [just stamped into Honduras] i drove past the immigration buildings and to the Guatemalan border gate.  i get challenged by someone in the car who was either just thinking out loud or wanted to go stand in more immigration lines.  i say let's see what happens and let's not make it more complicated than it needs to be.  it takes a minute for the guard to walk out of his shack and he lifts the gate and waves us through.  i shout a 'muchas gracias' and it was that easy.  i don't believe we did anything improper but remote border crossings are always unpredictable so someone else might have a different experience.  

the route we took back was not the same because of a navigation error.  i had fallen asleep in the back seat and when i woke up we were off route.  so, not a big deal but driving in remote areas does require both a skilled driver and some with navigation skills.  roads are poorly marked and google maps/waze was not 100% reliable.

when i return the rental car there is of course a final surprise, the contract is in US$ but when you return the car if you don't pay in US$ cash then they convert using a very bad exchange rate and charge your credit card at the much higher Guat quetzales rate.  this pissed me off because it's just a blantant rip off but i need the transaction to go on my cc for coverage reasons.  i told them i would dispute the added costs with my cc company - which i did because i had a contract in US$ and didn't pay the extra amount.

this was a great adventure and i had a wonderful time.  i hope that my travels take me back to Honduras.

off to Copan in Honduras

this is no short tale and will require multiple posts for the telling.  

there are currently two major sites that tell the story of the Mayan civilization.  the most well known is Tikal in the north of Guatemala which i previously visited on a different trip.  it was phenomenal and ignited my interest in the Mayan history.

the second site is Copan which is in Honduras just a few miles over the Guatemala border.  it's a bit of a trek but one i know i must do.  after much debate a few friends and i decide to rent a car and drive Antigua to Copan.  i'm as excited as a kid at christmas.  i got quite a bit of noise from both expats and locals who thought we were crazy to get a rental car and drive.  i hate when you tell someone about what you are going to do and they start projecting your fears onto you but i digress.  security and decision making is a different post.

there is a third, very exciting site emerging named El Mirador which still has limited access.

but there is a second reason i want to visit Copan.  there is a guy there growing vanilla.  when i was at the macadamian finca [Valhalla] Lorenzo had called him to introduce me because of my passion/fixation/experience with vanilla in Africa. 

the drive is fantastic... we avoid the traffic and an uncomfortable ride in a van and get to see a lot of the southern part of Guatemala just bursting with color ... until we hit the border.

i was expected by the vanilla guy so i was anxious to arrive but as we approach the Guatemala/Honduras border there is a very long [like 1 mile] line of semis [what we call 18 wheelers in the US].  after waiting a while and chatting up a bunch of miscellaneous people [did i mention none of us was fluent in spanish?] at the border we hear there is a washed out road on the the Honduras side causing delays.  what?  washed out roads in Honduras ... i expected it so i wasn't surprised.

being resourceful [like i think i am] i follow a tourist shuttle as it weaves in and around the semis to and over the border.  this is a good strategy and we avoid hours [or days] of delays.  

after driving on the wrong side of the road for a mile dodging oncoming traffic to the border, customs and immigration was for us no problem.  we parked, entered a building were 'fingerprinted',  stamped and paid our $3 in less than 10 minutes.  i say 'fingerprinted' because the machines don't work and i watched as the agents would eventually give up and stamp the passports and wave people through.  Honduras is part of a C4 coalition [guatemala, honduras, el salvador and nicaragua] which makes the borders less formal like in the EU.  except they all keep their own money - so we went in with american dollars to exchange not knowing exactly what to expect.  at the rental car agency we had paid $28 border fee for paperwork to cross the border with a car but no one wanted to see the documentation and we could have easily crossed the border without either a stamp or the car paperwork.  

turns out there was a spot on the Honduras side where where the road was washed out and they were using a massive tractor [like a front end loader] to pull the semis up the muddy hill.  i follow the tourist shuttle and make it up the muddy, rutted, washed out hill.  i don't recommend this for everyone.  i have years of experience driving off road in the mountains of Colorado in winter and driving in Africa.  that seems to be the right balance to be comfortable navigating in 3rd world countries. 

the biggest hassle was dealing with the car rental agency in Antigua [Budget] which was typical gringo BS but that is a whole different post.