We left Jose's place a bit teary-eyed yet excited to be on our way to a new country.

In Tonala, we tracked down a bus station and arranged transport as far as Tapachutla on the border to Guatemala.
(see the sick report, starting on this page)

In Tapachutla, it was a little more difficult to get information. Aparently the border is sometimes open to traffic, sometimes not. We hopped on a bus to the frontiera and tried our luck. We worried a bit about the departure tax we would have to pay, but it turned out that we somehow skipped that step in the crossing. (a spot of luck for a long and stressful day)

After telling the many motorcycle taxis that we would not need a ride over the border (thinking it was only about 50 meters away) we, with all of our packs, walked through the sweltering heat into Guatemala (approx. 20 minute walk)

Then after getting through without a hitch and thinking that this was our lucky day, we were thrown onto a chicken-bus (aptly named for the variety and number of passengers)

Peter and I were lucky, only 2 other people were in our front seat. Jort was crammed into a back seat with a family of 5. Peter sleeps on buses. This makes my journey extremely boring as I cannot, even without the mewing and chirping and chattering going on around me. As it got darker and Peter fell fast asleep, I couldn't help wondering about Guerrillas. Why hadn't I read up on it before coming here... oh yes, I didn't plan this bit did I?

We arrived in Xela (Quetzaltenango) late in the evening and after a MacDonald's coffee (I know, I know) we headed off to the center to get a hotel.

Sick Report

It all started in the Tonala bus station. Smug in the fact that Montezuma was not interested in me, my intestines exploded. I started on a regular dietary supplement of Immodium that would last nearly the remainder of my trip.

Because the public toilet facilities were... very public, Peter stood guard at the "door" for me. Apparently, he never wanted to get to know me THAT well. Only the beginning darling, just you wait!