The ride to the Guatemalan border near Cuidad Hidalgo (I decided not to go to Tapachula) was a nice combination of mountian and lowland plains with the silhouette of the volcanic mountians ever present. However it was hot, very hot. I arrived a little tired after a stop in Hidalago to do some banking. It was a mistake to go to this border crossing. I was advised by fellow HU membrs to use La Mesilla but I ws not interested in Guatemala City and wanted to take CA2 (southern route through Central America) as I had seen most of he sights many years ago and didn't want to see if they had changed for the worse.
In any case the bordr was almost invisible. Only the immigration guy wore a uniform. The rest of them wore jeans and sneakrs and seemed to have their office in a photocopy shop a few blocks into town- very confusing! To help matters there was no Mexican offfice at the borber so I had to ride 40 minutes each way back to Hidalgo to get the bike cleared and my bond back. Next was to find that I had to clear the bike at another crossing (used by trucks) about 10 km up the road. I would never have found it without help. The "helper" scam here is that for a flat fee ($130US) they will get get you and your bike through the border with a special permit that is honoured by all C.A. countries except Costa Rica and Panama. By insisting that I carry the papers and speak to the officials (who were not about to stop someone from making a buck off a gringo) I manged to escape for about $70 which included an escort to the "hidden" Mexican aduana near Hidalgo. I still don't know what the official fees are. By the time I was finished it was getting dark. As I sped away from the awful border town my head was full of the dire warnings about riding at night especially in Guatemala. So it made perfect sense to stop at the first motel - just happened to be another of those "love motels" that are so popular in Latin America. It was inexpensive, very clean, had hot shower, TV and the private garage were I could do some servicing on the bike. The owner said that is was not safe for me to go out to eat and arranged for food to be brought in.
I was feeling better about Guatemala now. But the ride the next day was amazing and made me feel real good about the country and the people - border officials excepted. Compared to Mexico the vegetation was green and lush. Often the tree formed an arch over the road for kilometers at a time which not only very cool to ride through but also very cool! CA2 was a goood choice for me.