Crossing into Honduras from El Salvador was difficult. This is the craziest and most confusing border that we have ever crossed. We camped at the border town in El Salvador the night before. A guide actually approached us as we woke up in the morning. We could not understand him. The hotel owner came out and started yelling at Dorian. We could not understand the guide or the owner. We heard the owner say "no vaya" over and over which means don't go. Dorian didn't like the tone in the old man's voice and told me to pack it up as quickly as possible. We broke down camp in record time and bailed.
The guide followed us and eventually showed us his badge. We realized that the hotel owner was telling us to not pay the guide. We wish we had understood him before. When the rest of the guides rush the truck. We made sure to hire a guy who spoke English. All of the guys working seamed shady including the guy we hired.
The process of crossing the border is insane. It would be nearly impossible to cross without a guide. Even with good Spanish skills. We were dragged in the heat across the town for more than three hours. The offices are unmarked and dirty. The guide zig zagged through the crowd to get us our necessary papers. The whole process is incredibly unorganized. We were unsure if our guide was legit but he did manage to get us across eventually. Other travels notified us that they went through the same tedious process. It didn't seam like we got ripped off or bribed. It was just very confusing and very unorganized.
1 comment:
We've been through there a couple of times and last time managed to do it without a guide. It didn't save any time but saved the fee (we would normally pay $4-5 for guides, but on our first crossing at El Amatillo we were held up for $50!). If you speak Spanish it is just a matter of persevering until you find the right official. Having a sense of humor helps. Most people were friendly if not always helpful.
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