From Barra de la Cruz we continued south towards Guatemala, spending a night in Tanola, Chiapas and unother unfortunate night in Tapachula at the Mexican-Guatamlan border.
Remember that vehicle permit sticker that we told you about back at the U.S.-Mexico border? It's the sticker you must have if you travel more than 22 miles into Mexico in every state other than Baja California... well, if you don't have this sticker removed by a Mexican offical and recieve vehicle exit paperwork, you run the risk of finding yourself in a world of hurt the next time you travel through Mexico with or without said vehicle.
One would think that this vehicle exit process could be handled at the border. It can't. So all of you travellers driving vehicles thorugh the Tapachula, Guatemalan border, I urge you to make the following mental notes.
A. Your vehicle permit must be removed at the Banjercito office located at the Mexican Immigration and Customs office on Mex Hwy 1. This office will be on the left hand side of the hwy as you enter Tapachula.
B. You must pay an exit tax before reaching the border. This can be done at almost any bank. The accepted banks are listed on the back of your aduanas form issued at point of entry. This fee can not be paid legally at the border. It can be paid illegally at the border through the use of a "guia."
We learned all of this over a 10 hour period after reaching the border, being turned around by a hoard of guias, and racing through Tapachula at 3 in the afternoon trying to get to a mystery office by 4pm. As anyone who had driven in Mexico or Central America already knows, there are next to no road signs or addresses. On top of that no one we spoke to, store owners, teachers, policia, etc. had ever heard of the office we were looking for.
And so our stay in Tapachula began...
