We left Comitan early and got to the border town of Ciudad Cuauhtemoc around 10:30 am.
We somehow missed the passport control building which was four kilometers before the actual border so had to turn back and do the formalities there. I was surprised to get the US 300 deposit we had paid Customs for the car when entering Mexico in US$ rather than Pesos(M$) as I expected. The guard at the border did an inspection of the car and poked his nose in the back, asking what was in certain boxes …etc but let us through after a few minutes.
On the Guatemalan side, literally on the other side of the barrier, we were asked to pay M$50 to fumigate the car ! The Customs officer took a while to fill in several forms, we had to pay GTQ 160 ( US$ 20) at the bank next door. He then affixed a sticker on our windscreen, gave us the Temporary Import Permit and we were on our way.
The next town Huehuetenango is about 3 hours away but the road was bad with lots of big potholes and heavy traffic, mainly trucks and “chicken buses”( US school buses re-purposed for long distance transport with fancy paint job). The bus drivers do not care about other road users and pass at full speed around bends even if they cannot see the oncoming traffic.
We arrived in Huehuetenango, an industrial town after 4pm and had to look at 5 or 6 hotel rooms before settling for a Motel type where we could park the car in front of the room. The room was basic but OK for GQT220 (US$ 27) so not that cheap but at least with a HOT shower: true luxury !!
