While you will see a lot of police in Mexico, if you have your paperwork in order, they will not bother you. It is my understanding that if you are asked for a bribe you should report the incident immediately to the nearest police station. The Mexican government has worked hard over the years to change the image of their police.  At present, asking tourists for bribes is dealt with severely. Every time you cross from one state in Mexico to the next, expect to be stopped by stern looking soldiers in olive green uniforms, and with semi-automatic weapons slung casually over their shoulders. They will want to see your passports, the paperwork for the car, including the original title, and they will often search the vehicle.  Plus, the closer you get to Belize and Guatemala, the more thorough these searches will become. Entering into the state of Quintana Roo, two police officers searched our belongings so thoroughly that they opened our shampoo bottle and then sniffed our toothpaste! Nothing was ever taken during these searches and it is best to just be patient and let them do their jobs.

Leaving Mexico and entering Guatemala, certain differences become obvious immediately. Gone are the four lane super highways and pothole-free pavements. On the Pan-American Highway, crossing into the highlands you will find yourself on narrow, often unmarked, two-lane roads. It is a good idea to plan on a leisurely drive, enjoying the scenery and resigning yourself to spending a lot of time stuck behind exquisitely painted busses that already saw a tour of duty in U.S. school districts. These busses are the most common forms of mass transit throughout Central America, but only Panama comes close to competing with the level of artwork put into these formerly canary yellow vehicles. In Guatemala, some busses will have elaborate dashboard altars, complete with plaster images of Christ and various saints, all adorned with flashing lights. The windows might be dressed with curtains similar to those found in my grandmother’s kitchen, with pom-poms swaying and dancing with the bumps in the road. The back doors and sides will be dedicated to the most important convictions of the driver- God and or his girlfriend/wife/mother. (In Panama busses go for more pop culture themes, with portraits of Britney Spears and other artists gracing a bus’ rear door.)

Guatemala has fairly good two lane highways, but it is best to rely on navigating from city to city rather than expecting highway numbers (I-99, for example) to keep you on course. We had a very frustrating experience the morning we left Antigua. To get from Antigua to the border with El Salvador, it was necessary to pass through Guatemala City. On our map, it didn’t look like such a complicated task.  However, once we hit the city we realized what a puzzle we had entered. None of the routes were marked and our very basic map proved to be useless. Worse-- every single Guatemalan we stopped to ask for directions would tell us something completely different, and when we would follow their instructions we would only end up more lost. We drove around for about five hours before finally finding our way OUT of the city. Once on the outskirts, and at last convinced that we were on the right track, we pulled into a Pollo Campero (a Guatemalan chicken chain that has spread throughout Central America and well into South America) and tried to settle our nerves over some good ol’ fried chicken. Unless you have a detailed map of the capital, or have some desire to actually stay there, I recommend avoiding the city altogether.

Crossing into El Salvador, we left behind the world of computers and the wonderful efficiency they can sometimes provide, and entered into the world of carbon paper and corrupt officials. Be prepared to spend an average of two hours at each border crossing. If you get a grumpy official, or one with a birthday in their family coming up, expect to be charged an extra $5-10 for his particular services. I repeatedly asked for receipts for these charges, but my requests were refused throughout, even when I asked nicely. Fortunately, the Salvadoran crossings were the only ones where we found that these “donations” were absolutely necessary.

While El Salvador has a growing reputation for crime, the worst cases we saw were the border officials. We traveled during the rainy season and possibly as a result, the roads were more potholes than pavement. This was especially bad near the Honduran border, where hurricane Mitch had struck months before. Perhaps another factor influencing the road conditions was the fact that we chose to travel the southern route through the country, hugging the coast and avoiding San Salvador.  I am assuming that since the road was not vital to the capital, it was possibly less maintained. 

Another difference we noticed in El Salvador was that it was hard to find decent places to stay that offered secure parking arrangements. We stopped at several “Moteles” before we realized that they were love shacks for couples that preferred anonymity. These places not only provide parking, but the parking areas are always adorned with nice curtains to close around your car so that no one knows you are there. These are also common in Honduras and Nicaragua and are best to avoid. Not only is their cleanliness questionable, since they charge by the hour, they tend to get expensive if you plan on spending the entire night there.

When planning your trip through El Salvador, give yourself plenty of options as to where you might stay and plenty of time to check them out. All Mexican and Central American highways are dark and dangerous places to be at night, and it’s no fun to be out after dark still wondering where you will sleep.

After yet another LONG hour and another “donation,” we crossed into Honduras. Admittedly, the El Salvador experience made us anxious just to arrive to Nicaragua, so we plotted the shortest course possible through Honduras and we spent only two hours in the country on a very nice, straight, two-lane road. Honduras is, however, known for its excellent highways. There is much to see and do in Honduras, especially if one is interested in snorkeling or scuba diving. The Caribbean coast of Honduras is not only easily accessible by car (unlike Nicaragua), but boasts the continuation of the coral reef found in Belize. For these reasons and more, Honduras is a great country worth driving around in—which, unfortunately, we didn’t have time to do.

Our border crossing exiting Honduras was a breeze, but entering Nicaragua was a different story. We happened to arrive at high noon-- lunchtime. Following a custom found commonly in small towns in Nicaragua, the border closed for two hours. There were no air-conditioned restaurants in which to sit and relax. No air was moving anywhere, and it must have been 95 degrees in the shade. This lunchtime two-hour border closing might have changed by now, as I know that the Costa Rican-Nicaraguan border is now open all day long.

Once we were finally on our way, practically three hours later, we realized that the delay was going to force us to do some night driving in order to reach the next town. The implications of this realization came to us as we faced a highway full of potholes from Hurricane Mitch and resembled something from the surface of the moon (the road has since been repaired). 

Some of the hazards we encountered in our mere one-hour of night driving were drunks staggering on the side of the road, a wandering cow or half-starved horse here and there, and the occasional skeletal dog scratching his fleas. The worst one was this large shape looming ahead that neither one of us could really identify. It turned out to be a wooden cart pulled by two oxen. Since the cart had no lights, no reflectors, and was painted a dark red, it was extremely difficult to see from a distance. Fortunately for us, the ox cart driver noticed our fast approach and he steered off the road into the shallow, grassy ditch. We swerved to give him extra space and with our hearts racing vowed never to drive at night in Nicaragua again.

Once in Nicaragua and well beyond the damage done by hurricane Mitch, the roads improve and driving becomes slightly easier. However, driving in Nicaragua requires more caution than in other countries due to the large amount of animals that you encounter in the roads. Many farmers only own one or two horses, or cows, or pigs, and they often tie them up along the roadside to graze. These animals inevitably get loose and it is not unusual to see a horse wandering alone, even through the busy streets of Managua! Other than the large animals, there are seemingly endless mangy dogs and foraging chickens to look out for, not to mention the many pedestrians.

All in all, driving through Central America and Mexico is an adventure few will ever regret. Drivers need to be prepared to accept that for the most part, not only life, but traffic, as well, seems to move at a different pace the further south of the United States one gets.  Plan your trip with plenty of spare time to compensate for sightseeing, slow traffic, random unexpected stops to watch a religious procession pass by, and whatever else the region might have to offer. It is generally best to plan your trip during the Central American dry season that runs from January-May, but while the rains have started by June and July, the road conditions usually haven’t deteriorated too terribly. You will find that a trip by car will indeed give you the options and freedom to see Central America and Mexico in a way that just isn’t possible by plane or bus.

What to take:

• Roadmaps (AAA can provide good maps of Central America and Mexico)
• Aerosol flat tire repair kit
• Copies of passport, license, and car title (just in case) in addition to the originals
• Car Insurance from Sanborn’s (can be purchased at any U.S. border town and is available on a daily or monthly rate while you are out of the U.S.)
• Extra tire--not a temporary 30 mile spare. While this takes up additional space, should the time come when you need to use it, you will find that it is more than worth its weight in gold.

In the past, unleaded gasoline was not readily available in this region and drivers were advised to have their catalytic converters removed from their cars. This is no longer necessary since unleaded gasoline is easy to obtain and the removal of your catalytic converter is actually illegal in the United States.