The Trials and Tribulations of driving in a New Country

Driving in Central America represents challenges in many different ways; both on and off road!

I left you off yesterday with a tidbit about the challenges of bringing your vehicle to a foreign country. It is nothing like driving between the United States and Canada. As North Americans, we become so accustomed to the freedom those two countries share and the ease of access to bring vehicles in and out as you wish.

We first experienced this change driving into Mexico and Guatemala, where you are required to purchase a temporary permit to import the vehicle based on how long you would be in the country. It was fairly straight forward in both Mexico, and Guatemala. The crossing in Guatemala as I had written about in a previous post, was incredibly rustic, but the service and assistance we received was phenomenal. It may have been that not many whites are in that area, and that we kind of stood out in the crowd (very short people in that area of the world), regardless, they were wonderful. The first office we were ushered to looked after the dogs' paperwork and they also sprayed the underside of the vehicle to help prevent the spread of invasive species. The clerk that helped us at this station walked us next door to where they stamped our passports and served as out customs check. That clerk then took us to the next office where we received separate paperwork for the truck and conveniently they put a little bank right there so that you can pay for your temporary import licence. All very  civilized and with a smile at every station. We thoroughly enjoyed our travels through Guatemala and hope to spend some more time there exploring the country.

Well, different story when you reach the Honduran border which is spread over 14 kilometres. This was our first lesson we learned about Honduras. You need to ask the right question as information shared is merely based on the question you ask. Be sure to ask all of the right questions and ask many.

Each station stop has poor, poor signage or is completely overgrown by palm trees if it even exists. After making it all the way to the border, we discovered that we had to back track and surrender our temporary permit from Guatemala before they would allow our vehicle access. We found that station and met an older gentleman who he, along with a number of other "officials" had watched us drive slowly past. We had the appropriate documentation done, had our passports stamped and they sent us back on to the border. We stopped at the next station where we understood they were also stamping our passports for immigration and our vehicle importation.

Once this official gave our passports back, we asked him where we needed to go next. He pointed to the gate that left the country and entered into Honduras.  So we proceeded as directed.

Now, as you will recall, we had three travelling partners; Paige and Willie, our two Jack Russell terriers and Molly our new Doberman puppy (the flatulent one!). We approached the guard and the actual border gate and Molly's hackles were up as she took exception to this young man who was clearly terrified. Well, with Molly throwing a fit, the two Jacks felt they should chime in (rubber arms that they have and anyone that owns a JR will know what we are talking about).

The guard who was evidently Spanish speaking was heard exclaiming as we approached "Ohhh  myyyy Goddd - the only English we heard from his lips! We somewhat settled the dogs but at this point he just wanted to get rid of us so he said "go, go, go," and raised the barrier. So off we went. Unfortunately, if this gentleman had actually done his job, we would have not had the problems we had down the road. Apparently the guard on the gate is the final check to ensure all of your paperwork is in order before crossing into Honduras. He didn't even look at our passports.

We drove into Honduras, even passing through three road blocks with no problem. We spent an night in La Ceiba at the beautiful boutique hotel we had spoken about in a previous post and the next day we were off to Roatan.

Everything was fine, until we realized that in addition to the stamps in our passports for the truck, we had not been given the correct paperwork which is a 90 temporary import permit. We immediately started to work on this with our lawyer to try and get this situation rectified. Unfortunately, Mic was eventually pulled over on his way to the hardware store to pick up some supplies he needed for repairs to the house. The national police were demanding the paperwork for the vehicle and ended up seizing our truck as we could not produce said paperwork.We did not want the vehicle staying with them as we were advised there was a good chance we would never see it again as their impound is an unsecured field with no fencing around it, in one of the roughest neighbourhoods on the island. Fortunately, we were able to talk them into leaving the truck at our house and we surrendered the keys to them - well, we surrendered Mic's keys. They did not ask me if I had any keys for it, so I did not offer them. Just remember; you need to ask the correct question. That game can be played both ways.


We looked into every way to correct this issue, through every channel possible. We spoke with the Aduana (head customs official for the island) that we would pay whatever fine there and if we could simply move ahead with the registration process. But no, not so easy. What would have taken 15-20 minutes in Canada to correct this problem, wound up being almost six months. According to the customs authority, the only way to correct the problem was to drive the truck back to our point of entry, leave the country for 72 hours and then re-enter. Spock would not be happy - it is not a logical process. But wait, did the police not clearly indicate to us that we were not to drive the vehicle, but another department of the government told us to drive it. Go figure! Damn the torpedoes! We needed the truck back so we were on the road again!

We learned a few good things out of this, aside from the obvious in making sure that we had all the originals and a mountain of paperwork to enter the country with a vehicle. First off, be sure you always ask many questions and the right questions that will get you the information you are looking for. Needless to say, this extends beyond Honduras and permeates every aspect of our lives. Always ask the questions that will give you the information you are looking for. And if your first question does not show results, ask as many as you need until you get the information you need.

Secondly, it was the first time since Mic and I were new drivers that we were without a vehicle. You learn who your friends are quickly when you are in a situation like this. One of our new Honduran friends and neighbour, Vivian Scott was a life saver and gave us rides and loaned us her vehicle to run our errands, do grocery shopping and even just to have a day away from the stresses we were enduring to have a day at the beach. We will be eternally grateful for all of her help and support. I dedicate today's post to her and her wonderful children Vanessa and Hansel; our Honduran family!

Have a wonderful day and check back tomorrow for another update. Enjoy life.