Luckily this is the last one for us. At least the last one where we need to convince officials that the Indian passport is for real, and then need to explain to them the treaties that have been signed between our two countries etc etc. Sometimes coercion works, sometimes 'No intiendo espaniol' and sometime just plain waiting looking pissed off but with a smile. Tough one the last. Honestly, we haven't had too many problems crossing borders but it does take a while longer than the American and European passport holder. Well, I don't blame them because most terrestrial border migration officers have not seen Indians before. Guatemala was about a bribe but Mexico was the worst! I've jumped the story so let me backtrack a bit.
Early morning we were at the jetty waiting for our launch at 5.45 am. the sun rises quite early so it was light by then. The ride, cutting through lago Atitlan was beautiful. The rays of the sun streaming through the mist created a beautiful image. The volcano and the cloud of condensation above it was stunning.
The 45 min boat ride, and the next 4 hour ride in the minivan was super comfortable. We were only 3 of us in a van meant for 14, which meant we slept through the drive, not even stopping for a meal. The Gautemalan exit stamp was no problem even though I had been warned that an exit fee, nee a bribe might be asked of us. A bus picked us up from the Gautemalan border and drove us some 15 mins to the Mexico immigration.
Here our passports were taken, our US visas checked, and then we were asked to wait a little. Half an hour later, I tried to find out what was going on, and I was told it would take a few minutes more as they were waiting for an email form Mexico city confirming something. I must clarify that the offiers were polite and at no point in time did I feel they were gunning for a bribe.
We were hungry and the only food we could find was ice cream. It had been an hour an a half since we got here and our driver was getting anxious. Luckily for us, we were the only ones on the bus so no one else suffered while we waited. 2 hours into the ordeal, we finally met someone who spoke a little English. She explained that they had recieved a warning about travellers from our country about 3 weeks ago, and therfore had to get a confirmation that our US Visas were real. I explained that we had been in and out of the US on the same visa thrice in the last few months, but that did not help. They had to email their regional HQ, who would then email Mexico city, who would then somehow confirm that the visa wasn't a fake, mail these guys back, and then we would be on our way. Only problem was that there internet only worked intermittently, and of course it wasn't working all afternoon! I was livid because it seemed like a deadend and I couldn't help in any way.
Luckily, the boss of the office, headed out to the regional hq and just as the Bus driver was ready to leave us to our fate in a border town with no hotel, food or taxis, he came back with the news that our visas were indeed authentic!
4 hours later we were on our way to San Christobal de la casas.
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