December 29
Some days are better than others..........
We departed Arriaga this morning after a few revueltos huevos (scrambled eggs) and a good night's rest. We had the best road so far across that little stretch. There was still the occasional topes (speed bumps) and small towns, but there was a lot less of them and a lot less traffic. Life is good. We entered the busy little town of Tapachula to take a late morning internet break and quickly ran up beside a small motorcyclists who lead us into downtown (el centro) to start our search. We got lucky and found service in a small shop just before reaching downtown, and was able to park just across the street. After settling in and hooking up, I felt a nature call. I was fortunate to be in town, but wasn't sure what my options would be. I asked the young lady attendent at the internet store for los banos (restroom), and she said there was nada (nothing). Oops, now what? I finished my upload to the internet. (Many times I update my website in the room during the night, and I wait and upload my pictures whenever I get a connection). I went back to the attendent and offered her $10 pesos por los banos, and she said OK and sent me upstairs. Little did she know the true market of the situation, because $100 pesos wouldn't have been too much. Off to the staircase I went to find several deserted rooms with one lonely restroom. I could see newspapers stacked on the sink and "several" pages wadded-up and discarded in the floor. Oops, more adventure. (You see, in Mexico, you never throw any of your toilet paper in the toilet, it all goes in the trash. And, if there is no trash, then you throw it onto the floor.) The newspaper didn't sound too good, even though I was in Rome, I could't be a Roman. Therefore, I ran back down downstairs and got one of my disposable shop towels to complete the event. After finally getting the relief that I so desparately needed, I discovered there was no water in the toilet. Ahh, that must be what this tub of water is far over in the corner. So, I proceeded to fill the toilet bowl with water from the tub to get the necessary flush, only after throwing my paper in the corner. I wanted adventure, I got adventure.

We soon departed Tapachula early in the day and still fresh enough to enjoy the remaining part of the day's ride. When we arrived at the border of Guatemala some fifteen miles or so from town we were bombarded with young "agents" running along beside the motorcycle who wanted to help us with the border crossing process. It was overwhelming. I had read many accounts of crossing the border and we were beginning to realize the blunt of the whole thing. They were relentless, and we were lost in the process. It was so crowded we couldn't even tell what buildings were for what. The officials wouldn't even talk to us. And, of course, we can't speak spanish. Several of the agents could speak english though. I told Dick that we had to first relinguish our permit for Mexico or they would charge us the $300-plus debit that they had made to our account back in Reynosa. Once we found someone that understood what we were asking, they said we had to go back to town for that? After leaving the very busy town of Tapachula, it's the last thing we wanted to do. However, we turned and headed back to a place that we didn't know the location. (If you're wanting a nice vacation, then go to Cancun and and lay on the beach, but don't ride to South America. This is not a vacation, it's a hard working adventure, and I don't want to mislead you. We are having great fun, but it's not for everyone.) We finally get back to the correct immigration office to return our permits about 3 pm and enjoy a quick taco and gatorade at a nearby vendor while waiting on the process. Once we're finished, we head back to the chaos of the border crossing. The whole process took us five hours and we were exhausted from the heat and frustration of it all.

Once leaving the border fiasco, we were immediately concerned that we had downgraded in cultures and lifestyles, because Guatemala wasn't looking too good. Within thirty miles it was dark and we were at a small town called Coatepeque. We soon rode through downtown to check out the possibilites, and didn't see a thing that would work. Dick pulled up beside me and said he saw something a few miles back down the road that might work. We hustled back down here and found an oasis in the middle nowhere. I even have wireless internet in my room. Wow, this is nice! We have found good fortune again. Tomorrow will be a better day.