Rob and Anna's travel adventure

Border Crossing at Bethel, Guatemala

Anna´s entry:

We made it through another border, and are back in Mexico! I must say however, that our crossing the Guatemalan border (in Bethel) on the way to Mexico, yet one more time confirmed why we didn´t care a whole lot for Guatemala... When we took a ride to the border, apparently the immigration officer and the driver had a deal figured out between each other - when he gets people to the border, the so called ¨departure tax¨ is raised, and the profit goes in the pocket of an immigration officer and the driver... How do I know this? Well, I coincidentally witnessed it... First of all I was surprised, why that particular border had a higher departure tax (since we already crossed the border a few months ago)? Then, I had to use el bano in the immigration office, and apparently they did not know I was inside. When I walked out, I saw a bunch of money being given discretely to the driver from the pool of money paid by the travelers in our van. I asked the official why we were charged a higher price, he looked somewhat disappointed that I saw what happened, tried to tell me some stupid lie, but I knew I had no chance to win the battle, and left. So, there it was our last day in Central America, and yet another proof how corrupted the country of Guatemala is... I am glad I was just an outsider there, and I sympathise with the honest hard working people of Guatemala who have to take this s..t on every day basis.

posted by Rob and Anna @ 2:21 PM