Intense violence between the Mexican Government and the Indigenous community has marred the region in recent years but, as Gemma reports, surfers are now starting to return.

Listen to this awesome NPR style report.

la-ticla—gemma-snowdon

How did you get the idea to start Coyote Adventures?

First of all thank you for doing this feature on your site Derek, It’s a true honor. The idea came about from the love of surfing and adventure. My wife knows I love Tijuana and surfing, and while working in a Pacific Beach restaurant she actually suggested I should consider taking people on taco and culinary guides to Tijuana. I gradually developed the idea more into surfing and started integrating other aspects while bouncing off ideas with my friend Jorge.

I also wanted to demystify what the media has created—the drug and violence information we receive on a daily basis can be very debilitating. I feel so fortunate to be able to travel so easily into México and experience the colorful culture, food, music, art, waves and freedom my country of birth has to offer. Of course, when I travel I do it in an environmentally and socially consciousness way.

I want to share this experience and show people that there is a different face to Baja. They shouldn’t be intimidated by the thought of traveling and surfing there—it’s likely not what they think it is. When I go back to visit my family in Baja and surf, or simply spend the day with my wife or friends, we have a blast. In addition, my aunt and cousin are dentists so I always get the perks of that as well, it’s a great resource just across the border.

There is also a boom of the culinary scene there, the wine region is outstanding in Ensenada, the music is fantastic, and the murals of Tijuana are creative and beautiful. Our visual arts collective www.eye-94.com also had a show there this past November. There is a re-emergence and revival of Tijuana, and you do not want to miss it.

How is the trip different when you travel with a local?

I was born and raised in Tijuana, México. I studied up to 11th grade in High School there and finished off in San Diego. I have lived in the United States for 11 years now—having knowledge of both cultures is ideal. I know my way around Tijuana and Baja really well and my immediate family lives in Loreto, Baja Sur (Southern), very close to Scorpion Bay, San Juanico. I grew up traveling Baja roads with my family, every summer we would drive to visit my grandma. We would fish, swim, hike, hunt for rabbits and quails and enjoy the beautiful climate; I am a true water and desert kid.

I have traveled extensively throughout Baja and feel that every time I end up meeting a local, I have an awesome experience. Local knowledge of a location will always show you a side of a place that you may have never even imagined existed.

What are some of the spots you surf with your clients?

The common surf spots, depending on the season, run all the way from Playas de Tijuana to San Quintin. This includes Playas, Baja Malibu, Termoelectrica, Muelle (Pier) Rosarito, Playita, Popotla, Calafia, k36 (Bus Stops), Teresitas, k38, k42 (Raul’s), Campito, Chivos, Campo Lopez, La Fonda, Sal Si Puedes, San Miguel, M’s, Stacks, California, Punta San Jose, Punta Cabras, Erendira, Camalu, Cuatro Casas, and many secret spots in-between.

Do you feel that traveling through Baja by car is safe?

It is definitely safe as long as you do it by day, and I don’t say this because of hijacking. I say this because of the lack of illumination on some parts of the road. Once you get passed Ensenada there are many areas where it’s pitch black and there are a great number of semi trucks traveling all the way to Cabo San Lucas on this very narrow highway. Animals are another road hazard; you never know when they will cross the road and it’s especially dangerous at night.

Have you ever had any run-ins with the police or narcos?

Honestly, the narcos obviously do exist but you would never know where they are or who they are for the most part—they do their thing and the rest of the population does theirs. If you have no reason to interfere with their business, then there is nothing to worry about. I have never had an incident of this sort in my 32 years. The cops on the other hand tend to be thieves, although I believe they have gotten much better. They used to come up with any excuse to pull you over and try to get a few bucks. This is not the case anymore, and since they have gotten stricter with drinking and driving policies, most people which go out now tend to take taxis and avoid the $1000 DUI fine. You don’t get out of jail until you pay it with time or dinero.

I recently witnessed an example in which my friend had a few beers at home before he picked us up at a bar to give us a ride to my other friend’s house later in the evening. There were four of us in the car, we got pulled over and my friend ended up getting the breathalyzer test. He was past the legal limit, so they asked for money. One cop talked to the driver and the other lectured us on how we should not be placing people in danger while driving. He was very cool about it and once they realized we did not have any money in our wallets they told us to park the car and take a taxi home. So we took a taxi home and it made me realize it had been the most humanly possible incident I have ever had with a cop in general. The city has truly changed.

What are some tips you could offer to other surfers traveling through Baja?

Respect the culture and the people, try to blend in, learn some Spanish. Don’t drive on the road down the peninsula late at night, always be conscious of your surroundings, and most definitely don’t drink and drive.

Where is your favorite place to eat in Baja?

I have many, but right now it is Erizo (sea urchin in Spanish). This restaurant is in Tijuana on Avenida Sonora, where my mother and her family grew up. It is located where the new gastronomic center will be located and it is owned by Chef Javier Plascencia. He is at the forefront of a new revolutionary style of cuisine called Baja Med, which is truly outstanding and affordable. My wife and I recently had an incredible lunch there that included clam and scallop ceviche in a cucumber, jalapeño, and tomatillo sauce. The ceviche was accompanied by a Tijuanero Taco that contained grilled octopus, shrimp, and skirt steak with a sriracha aioli and cilantro. Next to that was a shrimp taco with cheese (called quesa taco) and a Baja style chowder made with maiz. Is your mouth watering yet?

Where do you stay?

I usually stay with family and friends but if I was taking someone on one of these excursions there are many awesome places to stay. Some examples would be the K38 Motel, La Fonda Hotel, Hotel La Mision, Hotel Calafia, Popotla Trailer Park, Hotel Las Rocas, Raul’s Surf Inn, Baja Seasons, Playa Saldamando, San Miguel, Hotel El Cid, Hotel California, Cuatro Casas Hotel and Coyote Cal’s.

There are so many beautiful Mexican ranches around the Santo Tomas region that offer campsites, water springs, showers, pools, grills and more—it’s where the local families go and they’re great.

I noticed that you go to 4 Casas, do you know Ricardo and Teresa the owners of the hostel?

I have camped there before but I have not actually stayed at the Hostel. I know they have been there for a very long time and I had planned in speaking with them about my new company. I have heard many nice things about them and I would definitely take excursion groups there once I have some contact.

Tell us about your company?

If you want to have a great time with someone who’s a native, knows the region, the culture, the breaks, and the language—well, don’t hesitate to give us a try. We help organize many different types of tours, from seeing the tourist site across the border to exploring Mexican cuisine as we chase waves down the coast. You tell us the experience you want and we’ll make it happen, from camping along the cliffs to sleeping at the ocean’s feet in a hotel. The company is fresh out of the box, so if you are looking for a unique experience send me an email or give a ring.

For more information on Coyote Adventures check out there webpage www.coyoteadventuresbaja.com

~

This interview was conducted and edited by Derek Dodds, eco warrior and founder of Wave Tribe. All photo credit by Ivan Feerman.

Surfing provided the only respite.

“The only time Hammar is not losing his mind is when he’s on the water,” said a fellow Marine veteran, Ian McDonough.

Hammar and McDonough devised a plan: They’d buy a used motor home, load on the surfboards and drive from the Miami area to Costa Rica to find “someplace to be left alone, someplace far off the grid,” McDonough said.

They made it to only the Mexican border. Hammar is in a Matamoros prison, where he spends much of his time chained to a bed and facing death threats from gangsters. He’s off the grid, for sure, in walking distance of the U.S. border. But it’s more of a black hole than a place to heal a troubled soul.

The reason might seem ludicrous. Hammar took a six-decade-old shotgun into Mexico. The .410 bore Sears & Roebuck shotgun once belonged to his great-grandfather. The firearm had been handed down through the generations, and it had become almost a part of Hammar, suitable for shooting birds and rabbits.

But Mexican prosecutors who looked at the disassembled relic in the 1972 Winnebago motor home dismissed the U.S. registration papers Hammar had filled out. They charged him with a serious crime: possession of a weapon restricted for use to Mexico’s armed forces.

Hammar isn’t the only American accused of questionable gun-related charges at Mexico’s border. Last April, a truck driver who was carrying ammunition through Texas got lost near the border, dipped into Mexico to make a U-turn and was forced to spend more than six months in jail.

It’s been months since Hammar’s Aug. 13 arrest, and his former Marine comrades are livid and dumbfounded, impotent to help.

“It’s heartbreaking. This is a guy who I served with in numerous combat situations, and he was one of the best we had,” said veteran Marine Sgt. James Garcia.

Hammar, 27, joined the Marines and deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq before receiving an honorable discharge in 2007, serving another four years in inactive reserve. In Fallujah, one of the most dangerous cities in Iraq, Hammar’s Marine battalion was hit hard, with 13 killed in action and more than 100 wounded, Garcia said.

“There were days where it was like, dude, I may not make it out of here,” Garcia said. “If it wasn’t the IEDs, it was the car bombs or the suicide bombs.”

In Afghanistan, the Marine unit provided security for President Hamid Karzai, protected election polls and disrupted insurgent cells around Kabul.

Hammar did not have an easy re-entry to civilian life. After recurring bouts of depression, he voluntarily checked into The Pathway Home, a residential treatment center for veterans in California’s Napa Valley, in August 2011 for treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder. He graduated nine months later.

“A big portion of his PTSD is survivor’s guilt. It’s a loss of innocence,” said Olivia Hammar, his mother, a Miami-Dade County magazine publisher. “You’re still trying to process all your friends who didn’t come home.”

After leaving Pathway, Jon Hammar and Ian McDonough spent $1,400 on the used Winnebago, splashed out another $3,000 to outfit it and mapped a route to Costa Rica, hitting surf breaks in Cocoa Beach, Fla., and in Louisiana and Texas along the way to Mexico. Inside the rolling white beast were up to nine surfboards.

“We begged him not to go, specifically because we were worried about his safety in Mexico, but they were fearless Marines and were undaunted,” Olivia Hammar said in an email.

McDonough, a U.S. citizen who’s lived off and on for three years in Argentina, said he and his friend were wary of dangers as they approached the Los Indios border crossing, which links Brownsville, Texas, with Matamoros, Mexico.

“We had enough gas in the vehicle that we were going to make it to southern Mexico before nightfall,” McDonough said. “We weren’t going to stop.”

The issue of the shotgun came up near the border.

“I told him that we probably shouldn’t take the shotgun with us,” McDonough said. “And he said, ‘No, I’m going to get it cleared with customs at the gate.’ So I said, ‘That’s fine. As long as it’s legit.’ ”

The Customs and Border Protection agent said it was all right to take the shotgun, McDonough said, adding that the agent told them: “ ‘All you have to do is register it.’ So they gave us a piece of paper and said, ‘This is your registration. You’ve got to pay this much.’ They gave us the piece of paper to give to the Mexican authorities.”

As soon as the Winnebago lumbered over the bridge and they handed over the form to Mexican agents, trouble began. The two spent several days in custody, separated from each other. Mexican authorities eventually freed McDonough, perhaps because of his Argentine residency, and he walked back to Brownsville.

On Aug. 18, Mexican prosecutors leveled serious charges against Hammar. Curiously, it wasn’t the type of shotgun that broke Mexican law. It was the length of the barrel, which the formal citation said was shorter than 25 inches, although a discrepancy has emerged over how the barrel was measured.

“It’s a glorified BB gun,” Olivia Hammar said.

Indeed, Mexico’s criminal groups routinely wield AK-47 and AR-15 assault rifles, high-powered .50-caliber sniper rifles, rocket-propelled grenades and other potent weaponry. If Hammar had any intention of causing mayhem, using his great-grandfather’s proud firearm would have been like Daniel Boone and his muzzle-loading Tick-Licker fighting a modern U.S. Marine.

Back in April, the Dallas truck driver, Jabin Bogan, carrying 25,000 pounds of ammunition in his 18-wheeler, said he got lost in El Paso en route to a delivery in Phoenix. When he lurched to a stop at the Mexican border, asking to turn around, a Customs and Border Protection agent told him it was impossible. He was told to enter Mexico and make a U-turn. He had no passport and couldn’t speak Spanish.

The ammunition was openly displayed on nine pallets in the truck, most of it of a caliber unsuitable for the AK-47 and AR-15 rifles favored by Mexico’s cartels.

Mexican prosecutors charged him with crimes that could have brought more than 25 years in prison.

“My son was not trying to deliver no drugs or no guns to nobody,” Bogan’s mother, Aletha Smith, told an ABC-TV affiliate in Texas.

Through pressure from members of the U.S. Congress, Bogan was freed Nov. 23, and he returned to a tearful reunion in Dallas with his family.

While his ordeal was difficult, Hammar’s has been worse.

Once Hammar was sent to a state prison in Matamoros, mixed in with the general inmate population, late-night phone calls began to his parents in Palmetto Bay, Fla.

“They said, ‘I have your son. We need money.’ I said, ‘I’m going to call the (U.S.) consulate.’ They said, ‘The consulate can’t help you.’ Then they put him on the phone. He said, ‘Mom, you need to pay them,’ ” Olivia Hammar recalled.

Over subsequent calls, the extortionists offered a Western Union account number and demanded an initial payment of $1,800.

Frantic, the Hammars contacted U.S. diplomats, who helped get their son out of a general cellblock into solitary confinement. They didn’t pay the extortion. Nor did they speak to the news media until now.

“He was housed in a wing controlled by the drug cartel,” said Eddie Varon-Levy, a Mexican lawyer hired by the family.

Varon-Levy said that Hammar, if convicted, could receive a sentence of anywhere from three to 12 years in a federal prison.

Making matters worse is the nature of Hammar’s confinement, a matter that’s drawn the attention of Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., the chairwoman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the Hammars’ local representative.

“His family has described a very disturbing situation that includes their son being chained to a bed in a very small cell and receiving calls from fellow inmates threatening his life if they did not send them money,” Ros-Lehtinen said. “The family also says that the jail where their son is being held is controlled by the dreaded and brutal Zetas drug cartel. The family wants their son back home, and I will do my best to help them.”

For all the toughness instilled by the Marine Corps, friends say Hammar is a gentle soul.

“Hammar doesn’t take meds. Hammar doesn’t smoke, doesn’t drink. Hammar doesn’t do any of that. He surfs,” McDonough said. “If you meet Hammar, you have to like him. He’s always there for you. If you need something, he’ll literally give you everything.”

So far, Hammar’s parents have gotten little help from U.S. diplomats.

“They take a real hands-off approach. Unless your life is at threat, they aren’t going to do anything,” Olivia Hammar said.

For Garcia and dozens of other Marines who’ve learned of Hammar’s plight, it’s hardly conceivable not to take action.

“He doesn’t deserve this,” Garcia said. “We never leave a brother behind. We never leave a Marine behind. We have to do something.”

The quake was 25 miles (41 kilometers) below the surface. Tremors that occur deep underground tend to be less damaging, but their shaking can be felt over a wider area.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake was centered about 38 miles (60 kilometers) from the town of Liberia and 87 miles (140 kilometers) west of the capital, San Jose.

The area is a seismically active zone where the Cocos tectonic plate dives beneath the Caribbean plate. “All along the Pacific coast of Central America, you can expect fairly big earthquakes,” McNamara said.

The quake was followed by roughly 600 aftershocks, including at least three strong ones of magnitudes above 4.

Victor Gonzalez, director of the Volcanic and Seismological Observatory of Costa Rica, told ADN Radio on Thursday that researchers were examining whether the quake had liberated much of the energy built up along the nearby Nicoya Fault, or whether the region was at risk of another large quake. He said there was a possibility of even more aftershocks, including some as powerful as magnitude-6, that could do more damage than the original quake itself.

The relatively little damage from Wednesday’s quake was due in large part to strict building codes in Costa Rica, a country that has long enjoyed more stability, better governance and stronger economic development than many of its Central American neighbors, said Olman Vargas, president of the national College of Architecture and Engineering.

“We have a culture of concrete and steel,” he told The Associated Press. “Years ago we abandoned building in mud and adobe, something that’s caused a lot of problems and that they’re continuing in other countries.”

Costa Rica’s anti-earthquake structural codes have been updated in line with the latest international standards three times since they were enacted in 1974, most recently last year.

Officials said the quake collapsed some houses and at least one bridge and caused landslides that blocked highways. But Costa Rica President Laura Chinchilla said there were no reports of major damage.

About 190 homes were damaged and 203 people are in emergency shelters while officials check if their homes are safe to return to, said David Melendez of National Emergency Commission. Teams with heavy equipment were working to clear the last blocked roads.

Residents described being shocked by the force of the quake, which was felt as far away as Panama and Nicaragua and was the biggest since a 7.6-magnitude quake in 1991 that killed 47 people.

Unfortunately, Costa Rica’s parks, jungles, and marshes do not only attract tourists. These also call in drug traffickers, who may have found a vast, lightly populated, and less policed paradise in these areas. They often use these places as a stop-off point and meet up with other traffickers, exchanging drugs including Colombian cocaine, which will eventually find its way to the United States.

Security is limited and not as strict in these areas (only park rangers often do rounds and they seldom complete the rounds considering the wide 1.5 million acres of park land). This is why some are able to grow marijuana amid park trees without being caught.

Warding Off Drug Traffickers

Efforts to catch and ward off these drug traffickers have been continually increased the national parks. Their efforts are bearing fruits as lightly armed park rangers have been able to seize more than 6.6 tons of cocaine in the first half of this year, almost 1 ton were found just this January in a swampy mud in the Palo Seco park.

During the previous year, however, a total of 8.9 tons of cocaine were seized, 3 tons of which were obtained in the first half of 2011. Despite doubling efforts and results, however, drug traffickers continue to come in and use the country’s parks to meet up with drug shipments safely and conveniently.

These individuals manage to stay off the radar of local police and park rangers by trying to blend in with other tourists and campers. Their frequent visits and stays prompted them to build and establish encampments which serve as their house while waiting for their shipments. Park rangers have reported to see gasoline containers, benches for sitting, remains of water and food supplies, and canvas to cover up drugs inside their encampments

Until now, park rangers are doing their best to control, if not completely eliminate, the incursions of drug traffickers and gangs in the country’s national forests and parks. Although it is believed that tourists are highly unlikely to bump into cocaine smugglers, it won’t hurt for park rangers to constantly keep their opens and ensure no tourist will wander in the depths of these forests, where drug traffickers and gangs are most likely encamping.

After all, there’s always that overly active and extremely adventurous surfer who won’t stop at anything just for adventure. Park rangers need to ensure all tourists are safe from having a confrontation with the drug traffickers and gang members.

That’s a 7.4 percent increase over the same period last year.

For 2011 as a whole, Costa Rica received 2,195,960 foreigners, up just 4 percent over the prior year.

ICT’s 2010-2016 National Sustainable Tourism Plan aims to boost tourist arrivals by five percent annually.

So the 2011 figures exceeded the target.

The project, worth an estimated $992 million, will permit Dutch company APM Terminals to modernize the Atlantic coast’s dilapidated ports.

Nobody knows ports and water systems better than the Dutch.

This is great news for Costa Rica and will exponentially improve their port and shipping infrastructure.

Hopefully this will drive down the cost of exporting your vehicle back to the states if this is the route you wish to take.

“This is excellent news for the country and for the province of Limón in terms of investment, generating employment and revitalizing the economy,” Chinchilla said in a press release. “This will help us continue working for the development of the province and improving the future for residents. Furthermore, the port will lift Costa Rica from the shameful position that we occupy worldwide for port infrastructure.”

Red More.

Back in the day this sort of thing was more acceptable in Latin culture but as CR becomes more ‘westernized’ the policies become more Americanized.

A Costa Rican government official who was dismissed from her position over a racy video says she was being extorted to prevent its release.

Karina Bolaños, the deputy minister for youth, lost her job Tuesday after a home-made video surfaced with a message to a lover whom she calls “little man.”

Dressed only in underwear and lying in bed, Bolaños says she loves and misses the unknown recipient.

Bolaños told CNN en Espanol that the video was recorded in 2007 during a separation from her husband and it was later stolen from her home by a computer engineer she had hired.

Part I: Honduras to Guatemala

This entry covers my 90-day visa journey from Trujillo, Honduras to San Ignacio, Belize. Just under 500 miles if you don’t get lost! As I’m sure some of you know after 90 days in Honduras you have to leave the country for one day and then return for another 90 day Visa. Some people have said it’s 4 days, but it is really only one day. Also, if you drove your car down from the US you’ll have to exit and reenter with the vehicle also—as it is stamped in your passport that you arrived with a vehicle.

But, and in Central America there is always a but, you have to cross two borders from what I call the four corners countries meaning you have to travel to Belize, Mexico or Costa Rica. So seeing as how I am at “the end of the road” in Honduras, Belize is closest.

After spending countless hours on the internet trying to find the best route to go and not finding anything more current than 2004 and lots of maps that show different roads I decide to just wing it and go. I know I have to head for San Pedro Sula, 5 hours, and then on towards Puerto Cortes. Getting close to Puerto Cortes the road splits and you take the  road to Frontera Guatemala—a very good road all the way to the Guatemalan border.

Let me say here and now, when you are traveling by car down here SAVE all the paperwork you get at each and every border crossing coming and going. They can really help when you reenter a different country.

Honduras to Guatemala.

At the Honduran border exit they don’t stamp your passport with an exit stamp, but you need to show the papers at Aduana for your car. Change your money here, as this is the last time you will be able to do so. I found this out the hard way! A ten-mile drive gets you to the Guatemala checkpoint. This is where things start getting ugly. I pick up a very nice couple from Holland at the Honda border crossing and they spoke much better Spanish than I did and probably saved my butt in this next part of my travels.

Part II: Crossing The Belize Border

This is the only legal border crossing between Guatemala and Belize. It is small and very busy as tour buses are taking people to Tikal, there are lots of semi trucks traveling back and forth and there are more chicken buses than a Mac nugget convention.

There is a point where the road merges into one lane, and you have to cross the river over a one-lane bridge. As I cross the river I remembered what the Honduran and Guatemalan border agents told me, “no stamp until Belize.” Could this be right? I drive through a five-dollar bug spray car wash and go chat with the Belize customs folks. Now if you are just doing your 90-day turnaround you have to lie a bit to the officials and tell them that you’re staying a few days in their fine country. Also if you tell them that you will be driving farther than San Ignacio you have to get car insurance. There is a police checkpoint at the city limits where the officials check for insurance, so don’t think you can just slip by unnoticed.

Belize is very easy to get into even with a vehicle. It costs you nothing to get in, but $13.00 US to get out and five more bucks for another bug spray. I wonder what this spray is doing to the paint on my Rover! There are a couple nice places to stay before you get to San Ignacio. I stayed at Windy Hill, The Log Cab-Inn is right across the road. Now let me say right now that Belize is not cheap. There are no deals as the entire country is catering to the eco-tourist industry. Lodging starts at $65.00 US and goes up from there. Food and beer are about the same as going out to a nice restaurant in the states. My travel budget is going straight down the tubes in Belize!

Part III: Returning to Honduras

Now that I drank way to many Belikans (Belize beer) and ate a great dinner last night, it’s time to head home. I have a full tank of gas, water, fig Newton’s, and Ritz crackers. I’m prepared for the trip back to Honduras, the procedures for saying goodbye to Belize are:

* Check out of Belize
* Pay the exit fee
* Get the Rover sprayed again and check into Guatemala.

While checking out of Belize, the lady wants to know why I have no exit stamp from Guatemala in my passport and I start the No Stampa mantra. This does not go over well and I am fined 200 Q for not checking out the day before. No problems except I only have Honduran Lempira in my wallet and they won’t take it at the bank on the Belize side. So I find a moneychanger that will change it for me at a very bad rate so that I can pay my fine.

Drivemeloco Lesson: always carry extra currency from each country for unforeseen fees.

Next to aduana, unfortunately the guy can’t figure out why I’m there because all my paperwork is good. A very nice Belize gentleman explains to him how I screwed up and that I was headed back to Honduras today and how sorry I was for being a stupid Norte Americano and he tells me to go home. I’m in!

No other problems through Guatemala, I get to the border and check in with my now very good friends at the Guatemalan border—ten more miles and I am in Honduras. My passport gets stamped for another 90 days—YES—and off I go to check the truck in. The girl tells me I need copies of two pages of my passport, a copy of my registration, pink slip and I have to take my license plate off and have that copied too. No problem, “where do I get these copies made,” I ask? She goes on to tell me that the girl that runs the copy machine business has gone home early today, so I have to go back to Guatemala and get the copies made there. I go into my chain-smoking-wish-it–would-rain-beer mode and head back to la frontera. The boys at the border also have no copier but they tell me of a mercado (market) that does have one just down the road. They laugh as I leave, of course. I find the store, ask the woman if I can have copies made on one of the oldest Xerox machines I have ever seen, and she says “si.” I kiss her hand and thank God in Spanish after giving her a very large tip.

I returned to Honduras and with everything I need. Interestingly, when I first came into Honduras at Agua Caliente 90 days earlier it cost me $127.00 US to enter that country. At this border crossing it cost me $38.00 US. I do believe someone has a little payola scam going at some crossings.

Drivemeloco Lesson: make multiple copies of:

* passport
* registration
* pink slip (car title)
* license plates

The rest of the trip was uneventful, just another extra night in Tella and then home three hours later.

The expanded Belize section has been submitted by our very own drivemeloco community member John Host, our man on the ground in Honduras.

Drivemeloco editors have gone through and helped do some light editing, however the wisdom and knowledge comes directly from John’s trip from Honduras to Belize with his car this month.

Thanks a million to John for sharing the love, I’d like to encourage member to submit updates to our community so that we can all have the best experience possible on our travels.

The Drive

The drive through Mexico and Central America is a wonderful experience, however, it’s not an adventure for everyone.

What type of person would like this sort of trip? First and foremost, you go to like to drive—if the open road turns you on then this is a great trip for you.

Even through you could rush the trip, ideally it is better to have an open agenda tat isn’t too pressured by time.

You don’t need tons of money but you should have a nice money reserve for emergencies and potential car issues.

Places and conditions change, thus be prepared to make variations or detours altered from the original directions; though generally speaking things in Central America change slowly—except for Costa Rica where it seems different every time I go back, which has been every six months for the last decade.

There is no one correct way of doing anything and therefore if you find a way or route that you feel is easier or less complicated, please send your comments to us at DriveMeLoco so that your information may be included in the next publication and so that the loco community gets updated—we are stronger together.

Which Route?

There are three main routes through Mexico, one is along the Atlantic Coast (actually the Gulf of Mexico), the second is through Central Mexico and Mexico City, and the third is by the way of the Pacific Coast.

From Texas the four main entry points are El Paso, Piedras Negras, Laredo and Brownsville.

There are several east-west, north-south links as you journey south through Mexico.

The Pacific Coast route is the hands down favorite among travelers. The roads are better overall, drivers don’t have to circumnavigate Mexico City, and there are plenty of beautiful sites along the way.

Those travelers that have driven all three route agree that the Pacific Coast route is by far the best.

The route detailed in the city-by-city portion of this guide is the Pacific Coast route of Mexico, until Chiapas where I recommend diverting to the interior to see the jewels left by the Mayan civilization.

If Central America is your goal, then the central route bogs you down too much in Mexico City and the surrounding areas.

The Atlantic route is just plain hard on vehicles and the scenic delightful places are fewer. Head for the Pacific Coast and then south through Mexico.

From Chiapas I always take the route into Guatemala heading directly for Antigua (one of my favorite cities in all of Central America.

From Guatemala you have two choices, continue through El Salvador or through the beautiful rolling hills of Honduras.

Surfers may want to head to El Salvador but if you need a break from all the great waves you got in Mexcio and would like to do some diving or spend some time in Copan, Honduras.

Gringo Behavior

Most often once officials see your gringo face an unrestrained passage can be expected, usually they ask a few questions and check your paperwork and send you on your way.

In all my years of travel I have only been hustled by the police around the USA border, most of the other officials are quite friendly.

In situations where you are motioned to pull over the officers will ask a few general questions and then check your vehicle or migration paperwork.

No problem, always present a polite and respectful attitude and the officers will do the same.

Idiotic, disrespectful travelers can expect a synonymous response from officials.

If you are traveling with a fluent Spanish speaker, have that person deal with the officials.

All things being equal in these situations, have a women talk to a man and a man talk to a women when dealing with border officials or customs inspectors.

Have a great trip, be safe and don’t drink and drive or drive at night!