Border Crossing Archives

Border Run to Panama at Paso Canoas

With my time at Puerto Viejo finished 🙁 it was time to make the border run to Panama at the Paso Canoas border.

San Jose

Of course all roads in Costa Rica lead through San Jose. Since I was just staying a night there, I picked a cheap, but really nice, hotel on the outskirts of San Jose – Hotel Posada Canal Grande.

The people hear were really nice and they actually had a nice restaurant in the hotel.

Jaco

My next stop on the way to the Panama border was Jaco. I had heard about Jaco, the beaches, and night-life. Unfortunately, it rained or threatened rain most of my time there.

The beaches were a bit disappointing to me. But still not too bad 🙂

There were a couple people with motorized kites flying about. I am sure there is an official name for them that I’m not aware of.

I stayed at a cool hostel in Jaco called Hotel Buddha House. Like all hostels it seems, the people there were very friendly and informal.

I ended up with a private room in the corner. So relaxing just sitting outside.

Coming back from a walk at night. My motorcycle was sleeping 🙂

Neily

My last stop before hitting the Panama border was the town of Neily.

It was a bit of a long ride to the town but with some nice views.

At one point I was looking for a coffee place to rest a bit. There was nothing until out of the blue I saw a coffee shop called Sibu. It was strange in that this was a extremely nice coffee place in the middle of nowhere and I didn’t see anything like it on my ride.

Of course I had to stop.

My hotel in Neily, Hotel Fortuna Verde, was basic for sure. And there was anything around within an easy walking distance. However, the people got some beer for me ha ha ha to add to some snacks I had stached …. and there was a place to park my motorcycle under a shelter. I guess those are the 2 most important things ha ha ha.

Panama Border at Paso Canoas

The day was finally here. Another border crossing. I actually don’t mind them too much, except for the fixers and heat. Otherwise, it is fun for me being able to talk to people and solve the problem of getting through it. It is a stretching exercise for me as I have to push myself through all the steps to finally find the answers and get through them. The Panama Border was no different.

Here is the border and steps that I will explain.

I had done some studying beforehand. It turned out a lot of what I studied was dated. So I was confused at first as I attempted to exit Costa Rica.

#1 on the map was paying the Costa Rica Exit fee at the bank located across the street from Immigration.

Next at #2 was going through immigration on the right in the photo.

The last step to exit Costa Rica was Customs at #3. It is located just past Immigration around the corner and through the glass doors.

The whole process of exiting Costa Rica was really simple and quick! It was now time to ride a short distance to the Panama Border to enter Panama.

Under the canopy at the Panama border I parked my motorcycle in a line of other vehicles.

I first went to immigration that you can see just ahead of my motorcycle. There I was approached by an older gentleman wearing an official looking name badge. He told me I had to get insurance first. Oh great … thanks. I thought that would be the end of it … but no. Turned out he was a fixer who now hung onto me. I wasn’t in the mood to fight him so I just let him drag me around through the process.

#4 was getting insurance. The insurance booth on my side of the road was closed so we went to the one on the other side of the complex.

After purchasing one month worth of insurance, it was to immigration.

This was the usual basic stuff, except that they took fingerprints.

Next was Customs at #5 just down from Immigration.

There I handed in all my motorcycle documentation while they took their time adding it on a computer and printing out another form.

#6 was the difficult part of the crossing. The Customs agent at the window said to find another Customs agent out there somewhere to inspect my bike and sign the document. So off my fixer and I went to find this guy.

After searching for a while, we found him but he was busy on a bus. To save some time we went to the Fumigation booth and paid for fumigation. Then it was back to finding the Customs Agent again.

We finally corralled the agent and guided him to my motorcycle. The agent made me open my panniers and top case. It touched a few of the contents but that was it. Then signed my temporary import permit for my motorcycle.

It was onto my last stop, #8, to get my motorcycle fumigated.

After that was done I paid my fixer $10 US. He didn’t look too happy with the amount, but I didn’t care at this stage. I was through the border and now about to explore Panama!

My Route on September 21, 2017

My Route on September 22, 2017

My Location on September 23, 2017

My Route on September 24, 2017

My Route on September 25, 2017 into Panama

Crossing the Border at Penas Blancas into Costa Rica

Little did I know as I packed up to leave San Juan del Sur that crossing the border at Penas Blancas into Costa Rica was the most frustrating border crossing to date.

It turned out my studying was of minimal help and even Google Maps was, and is, out of date.

Leaving Nicaragua

I arrived at the Nicaraguan side of the Penas Blancas border crossing and was confused right away. The building I was looking for wasn’t there. Well … it was … but I guess they must have redone it because it looked nothing like the picture I had studied. Now it had all glass walls on the outside. To make matters worse, there were no signs on where to go.

So, of course, I ended up going into immigration to enter Nicaragua! And I had to pay $1 US to do it ha ha. I was soon directed to the back of the building labeled #2 in the picture below. There is a door for immigration and one for customs that are not signed. Of course I did things backwards and went to customs first.

Once at the back, the customs officer wanted a form. What form???!!! I was told to go outside and look for a police officer to get the form. The police officer could be anywhere outside!

I walked around aimlessly looking for a police officer. Finally I found one at a shack at the far end. It is labelled #1 on my picture below. However, don’t count on a police officer being there again.

He gave me a form to fill out. I was being badgered by fixers outside, and it was hot, so I went back inside the air conditioned customs/immigration building to fill out the form.

Now you would think a completed form was enough. But oh no … I had to go back outside and find the police officer again to have him sign it. Then I also had to find a customs officer outside to sign it as well. Once again, they could be anywhere outside.

I headed back to where I saw the police officer last. He wasn’t there. I walked around the parking lot and across the street looking for a police officer.

Following me was a fixer who wasn’t saying much. No badgering like most of them. He told me to follow him and he located a police officer in the parking lot.

This police officer was not the friendliest and didn’t speak English. He asked me a couple things in Spanish which I didn’t understand. The fixer translated for me and the officer signed my form. I now had to find an immigration officer. At this point I was hot and frustrated and agreed to hire the quiet fixer.

The fixer, with me in tow, looked around for a customs officer. We finally saw one getting off of a bus parked in the lot. He walked with us to my bike where he looked at my VIN and looked in one of my paniers before signing the form. Back to Customs I went.

Finally, after providing them with copies of my documents, Customs approved the form and stamped my motorcycle permit to exit Nicaragua.

Since I ended up doing things backwards, I now needed to go through immigration in the same building at the back.

I handed the immigration officer all my documents and she wanted $2 US and didn’t have change! Back out I went again looking for a money changer. They are everywhere so that wasn’t difficult.

The fixer wanted $10 US for his trouble. Pretty pricey, but at this point I didn’t care. I just wanted out of there. Off I went to tackle the Costa Rica side of the border.

Entering Costa Rica

As I approached the Costa Rican side of the border I was sure hoping things would go smoother.

The first thing I needed to do was go through fumigation at the fork in the road labelled #3 in the picture below. However, when I turned down the road I was told by the “fumigator” to turn around and go down the other road. When I did that, an immigration officer said to go back to fumigation! Here we go again. With hand expressions I told the immigration officer that fumigation had sent me this way. Finally he smiled and waved me through. Phew. Onto the next hurdle.

The immigration building was as I had studied. Finally!

I waited in line inside the building labeled #4 in the picture below, only to be told when I reached the immigration officer that I needed to fill out a form. At least she gave me the form and didn’t send me outside searching for a police officer.

With the form filled out, immigration stamped my passport and it was on to the first customs.

Yes I said the “first” customs. It was right across the street.

I have labelled it #5 in the picture below.

Here I handed in copies of all my documents along with the originals. THe customs officer gave me 2 forms to fill out and said I also needed a copy of the passport page where immigration stamped it. Next door a woman said she would copy it for me.

After filling out the forms the customs officer gave me a document and I was onto the second customs building labelled #6 below.

Once again my studying DID NOT pay off. I went to the building where others before me had went but it was now vacant! I had no idea where to go. I did see a new building down a path towards the main road and walked down there. At the first entrance I was told to go to the next entrance.

I knew motorcycle insurance was required in Costa Rica and the booth for that was on the right as I entered the building. $30 US later I had insurance. The main booth in the building was the second customs office. I have no idea why there are two customs. Perhaps I could have done everything at this office. I don’t know. Anyways, I handed the customs officer my passport, insurance, registration, the first customs document and everything else I could think of. After a lot of data entry onto his computer he handed me a temporary import permit for my motorcycle. I was finally done and riding to the beach at Tamarindo!!!!

My Route for August 8, 2017

Crossing the Border into Guatemala

After a relaxing time in San Cristabol it was time to tackle the border into Guatemala. I first wanted to get a little closer to the border. But not too close as border towns are infamously chaotic places. I chose Comitán de Domínguez.

Comitán de Domínguez

I arrived early to Comitán. As usual the weather forecast was for rain everyday. But I am discovering the pattern. It is nice in the morning and afternoon. Then late afternoon and into the evening it rains or thunders. So the plan was to get to Comitán before the rain started.

Comitán surprised me! What a nice place. Hardly any foreign tourists and the town plaza was beautiful.

Of course there were the usual amazing churches.

Then the rain struck.

It didn’t last long though and I was back to the plaza to enjoy some wings and beer 🙂

Checking out of Mexico

The next day I tackled the border into Guatemala at La Messila. I had done some research but there wasn’t the detail I wanted to really understand where to go etc. So hopefully here I can provide a little bit more for those who may wish to follow.

First I needed to check out of Mexico. Where to go? Where to go? As I got close to the border I saw on the other side of the street some buildings that looked like an Aduana. I turned around and headed back.

No one was around. I walked into building #1 in the photo and was greeted by a security guard. He said to wait a minute. A little bit later an older man came to the desk. He looked at my passport, visa, and my 500 peso entrance fee paperwork. He handed my passport back and that was it. He didn’t say a word.

As I walked outside, another security guard asked me to pulled my motorcycle up to building #2. He then directed me to the Banjercito bank booth and told me to wait.

Eventually a gentleman came and took my paperwork for the $400 USD temporary import permit for my motorcycle. He then went outside and took a photo of my motorcycle VIN and came back inside. Moments later he handed me back $400 USD and that was it! Pretty simple. No hassle.

Crossing the Border in Guatemala at La Mesilla

Now for the hard part. Well …. it really wasn’t that hard. Just more chaotic.

So there is a long stretch of no man’s land between when you check out of Mexico, #3 in the photo and reach the Gautemalan border at #4 in the photo.

I reached an open gate at the border, #5 in the photos. I did stop before the gate as it looked like a government building there. But I was waved on by a money changer who said the fumingation and border was on the other side of the gate.

Just on the other side of the gate, at #6 in the photo, is where you have to get your motorcycle fumingated. It cost 11 Q or about $2 Canadian.

I then exchanged my Mexican pesos with the money changer that showed me where to go. He was the only one there. I didn’t have much so I really didn’t care about the exchange rate. Plus he had helped me. But the rate seemed reasonable.

Right next door at #7 in the photo is the immigration office. They were really friendly. I just filled out some paperwork, and he stamped my passport. That was it. I hope that is all that was required … huuummmm. I guess I will find out.

The Aduana for my motorcycle entry is just next door at #8 in the photo.

The people at the Aduana were equally as nice. I gave him my registration, passport and drivers license and he spent what seemed like an eternity filling out paperwork. I then had to go next door to pay a fee of 160 Q or about $30 Canadian. Then it was back to the Aduana where he had more paperwork to do ha ha. Poor guy. After all that he came out to my motorcycle and put a import sticker on my windshield.

I was now in Guatemala! I let out a cheer. The policeman next to me said welcome to Guatemala 🙂

Riding into Guatemala

As I left the Aduana it felt like I was riding into the abyss ha ha.

I didn’t want to stay too close to the border but still close enough because I had no idea how long it would take to cross. I decided on Huehuetenango.

Huehuetenango

The hotel I stayed at, La Chacra de Joel Hotel, was tucked in off the street in a quiet treed area.

As usual I decided to explore the town a bit. Boy, there wasn’t much there that I could find of interest.

Tripadvisor did recommend a coffee place nearby, Fuego Café. I headed there hoping it would be a bit a refuge in unknown territory. It was.

I had a victory coffee and sandwich for crossing another border 🙂

My Route from San Cristabol to Comitan on May 15, 2017

My Route from Comitan to Huehuetenango on May 16, 2017

Back to Mexico from Belize

Alas, it was finally time to go back to Mexico. This was not my original plan. Before my surgery the plan was to go to Belize and then onto Guatemala. My surgery changed things. Because I spent 2 months at home recovering from surgery, I needed to get my motorcycle out of the country fast. However, I hadn’t seen everything in Mexico I wanted to.

So I went to Belize to get my bike out of Mexico in time and to see the country. Instead of going into Guatemala today, I was heading back into Mexico. I would go to Guatemala from Mexico.

Ride to the Border

As I packed up to head back into Mexico I realized I was going to miss Belize. It had grown on me. The people were really nice. Often people said hi to me as I walked the city. And they didn’t even want anything. I was also going to miss Spoonaz and my server Jolene. And my morning coffee at La Petit Cafe. Oh well … leaving places and people is part of my life as a traveler.

Like every day here, it was hot in the mid 30 degrees C. However, once I started to ride it was OK.

I just hoped the newly updated Belize maps would be a lot better. They were. That is until I reached the border town. Once again I got twisted around. My GPS lead me down to a dirt road and to a waters edge. It was up to me to find the border on my own. It really wasn’t that difficult. I just followed the main road north.

Belize Border

It was now time to do the border dance again. First the Belize border.

I pulled into the parking lot at #1 and went into the building at #2 to go to immigration. However the first booth was to pay $40 US worth of tourism departure fees. Good thing I had US money as I didn’t have enough Belizean dollars left.

After that is was the immigration booth where I handed in my departure form. They directed to teh vehicle booth in the far building labeled #3 in the photo. This was the same booth I attended when I entered the country. There I handed in my Temporary Import Permit and passport for them to cancel the permit. It was pretty simple. They just stamped over the passport stamp where they documented the import of my motorcycle.

From there it was back on my motorcycle to leave. But as I rode down the road I encountered another booth. This one was to check my passport and to make sure I had completed everything I needed to leave. The officer was really nice and wanted to know all about my trip. Now off to the Mexico border.

Mexico Border

As I rode up to the border I parked in the parking lot at #2 where I had done all the documentation when I crossed into Belize. I went inside to go to immigration. People were lined up with their entry cards but I couldn’t find any in the building. Huuuummmmm. So I watched where people were coming from with their cards in hand. It turned out there was a building at #1 where a customs officer questions you and hands you an entry card.

Once I had the card I lined up in building #2 with my card in hand. The immigration officer just asked a couple of questions and stamped me in.

Now I had to get my Temporary Import Permit for Mexico. I attended Banjercito to get it. I handed the woman my passport, vehicle registration, my entry card, and $400 US as a deposit. The woman noticed right away that my vehicle registration was a copy. She said she needed the original. Back out into the parking lot I went to get the original registration from my panier.

Back inside i gave it to her and she completed lots of paperwork. This is where it got a bit confusing. First she asked for 500 pesos as a tourism fee. I gave her that. Then she asked for $50 US (in Spanish) for something that I didn’t quite get what it was for. I handed her $60 US and then she motioned something. In the end she didn’t give me $10 US in return and I forgot all about it until I was on my way to Chetamul. So I am not quite sure if I was taken there or what happened. Also confusing was the 500 pesos as I paid it before when I left Mexico and not when I entered. However, I understand it is suppose to be paid when you enter.

In the end though I got my Temporary Import Permit and my tourism card.

As I rode out I passed a final check by customs officers at #3, but they waved me through as they were already searching all the cars they could handle.

I was now back in Mexico

Chetamul

Since I was crossing a border I didn’t plan to ride many kilometers today. So I stayed in Chetamul for the night.

My Route for April 2, 2017

Crossing the Mexico Belize Border at Chetamul

Crossing the Mexico Belize border at Chetamul would be my first real border crossing. The others did not involve checking myself and motorcycle out of one country and then checking us into another. I had done the research and today would be the real deal. Here is what happened.

Mexico Border

As I approached the Mexico border there were trucks and cars in line. There were no signs, but having done my research, I knew that the place I wanted was at the far end of the border complex. I labelled it #1 on the photo.

So I went around the cars and trucks and headed further down. I saw the building I wanted and pulled up to the window. The customs officer took my passport and asked for 500 pesos as an exit fee. I was a bit suspicious and asked if I could pay at the bank. I knew I had to go to the bank anyways to check my motorcycle out of the country. He said yes.

I pulled into the parking lot labelled #2 and headed into the adjacent building. As I entered the door I saw Banjercito. The clerk at the bank was really helpful and spoke a little English. I gave her the Temporary Import Permit and a copy of the registration for my motorcycle, along with my passport and my tourist permit. After a lot of paperwork and signatures she came out to my motorcycle and took a picture on the VIN. Back inside she gave me the $400 US cash I had paid as a deposit for my motorcycle to enter the country way back in Tijuana and I was done. EASY! Now it was the Belize border.

Belize Border

As I left the Mexican border I knew the next stop was fumigation of my bike. My research had told me that it was just at the entrance to the Belize border labelled #1 in the photo below. But it wasn’t.

Soon after leaving the Mexico border there was a newer building with a tunnel like a car wash that a vehicle was going through. I put an arrow where the fumigation is now in relation to the border crossing. I pulled around the “car wash” and parked to the side. A man game out and sprayed my tires with a hose attached to a generator. For that I paid 50 pesos. I didn’t have any Belize dollars yet. Good thing they accepted pesos.

The plan was to enter the free zone after the Mexico border and before the Belize border to get some Belizean dollars from an ATM. After the fumigation I approached the free zone and saw that it was really run down and I had to pay to get into it. I decided not to go. I had pesos and US dollars so I hoped that would work.

As I entered the Belize border a guy flagged me into the parking lot I have labelled #1 and into the far building I have labelled #2 in the photo.

Once in the building the first step was to fill out a Belize entry card. Then wait in line at immigration for the officer to check my passport and card. That was easy. Behind the immigration booth I saw another booth with a sign that said “Motor Vehicles.” That must be the place to check in my motorcycle.

The great thing about Belize is that they speak English! That made this process much easier.

I gave the woman behind the counter my passport, entry permit and motorcycle registration. She completed a lot of paperwork with carbon copies. Old school! Then stamped my passport and entered my motorcycle information on it. She handed me my motorcycle import permit and asked me to meet her at the booth outside I have labelled #3

As I walked back to my motorcycle the man who had flagged me over approached me and said I needed to pay a 150 peso Belize tourist fee. Huuuuuummmmm. I paid it and he gave me a receipt. It must have been legit I guess.

I road over to the booth where the customs officer was waiting for me. She checked the VIN to make sure it was the one on my registration and then I was free to go. YAY! I was in Belize.

Motorcycle Insurance

Motorcycle insurance is mandatory in Belize. As I left the booth the insurance building is on the right. I labelled it #4.

The gentleman inside was nice and we talked about my trip. Obviously, he had dealt with motorcycle adventurers before. The insurance for 2 weeks was 46 Belize dollars. They took credit cards so that is how I paid.

I did it! I crossed my first border. An easy one I know, but good practice.

I’m in Mexico!

I’m in Mexico! Now the adventure really starts.

Crossing the Border at Tijuana

I was up early and took advantage of the free breakfast at San Ysidro Travelodge as I expected a long day.

The Tijuana Border was only minutes away from the hotel and I was there before 8 am. I was apprehensive. I knew this would be the easiest border I would encounter. But it was the first time I had to get a visa for me and also import my motorcycle.

As approached the border there was little traffic. I had done some research beforehand on how to cross the border. I kept to the far right and entered the lane that says you have something to declare. This takes you to a compound partially fenced in. You can see it in the bottom left of the following photo.

I was the only vehicle in the parking lot. The building in front of me was blue and I could see immigration written on it. I walked through the big glass doors. To my left were counters that I thought could be where I get my tourist permit. But they directed me further ahead to the next doors and turn left.

Tourist Permit

As I turned left there was a small office with two people in it. They confirmed this is where I get me tourist permit. I told them I wanted one for 180 days. The one officer took my passport and copied the details onto a card.

I was then told I would need to go to the Banjercito bank across the hall to pay for the permit. Off I went.

At Banjercito I paid $27.89 USD for my Tourist Permit. I asked if I could get my Temporary Vehicle Import Permit here as well. She said yes, but first I would need to get my Tourist Permit stamped at the office I just came from. So back I went.

After showing proof of payment from Banjercito I got my Tourist Permit stamped. Now it was back to Banjercito to get my Temporary Vehicle Import Permit.

Temporary Vehicle Import Permit

The clerk at Banjercito didn’t speak much English. But then again, I spoke basically no Spanish 🙁 But we struggled through. I needed to produce my vehicle registration and passport. And pay a $400 USD deposit that I would get back when I exited Mexico. And $79.87 for the permit itself. It took a while, but I finally got the documents I needed to travel Mexico for the next 6 months!

Crossing the Border

I left the building and I wasn’t sure where to go. The only lines I saw were the nothing to declare lanes. People were just driving right through into Mexico. I was expecting to talk to a customs agent first. Huuummmm this is different than what I was use to. Well … here goes. I rode through the nothing to declare lanes. Some people were being flagged over. Of course I was one of them.

Being flagged over turned out great. The agent who came to me was gorgeous ha ha ha. She must have been new as she was timid and friendly. She just asked me to open my paniers and that was it. We had a nice conversation and I could go.

I was in Tijuana!!

Tujuana

Being in a different country – FINALLY – was awesome. Immediately there were different sights and smells and language. I love it. It reminded me right away of the international work I had down and all those good memories. I let out a “YAHOOOOOO.”

I just followed my GPS through the maze to get to the free road out of Tijuana and head south.

Free vs. Toll Roads

I wanted to take the free road vs. the toll road, not only to ave money but to experience the villages. I set my GPS to avoid tolls. The road was awesome as it hugged the coastline. At one point I ignored my GPS when I saw Hwy 1 Scenic Road. I couldn’t resist. I en ded up on the toll road and had to pay a dollar. They had sucked me in ha ha ha. I got off of the toll road as soon as I could.

El Rosario

I wanted to get away from the border area where crime is most prevalent. So I was headed to the Hotel Baja Cactus in El Rasario.

The trip there reminded me of Uganda …the road through towns with speed bumps … dirt roadway and parking on either side … decrepit stores of every kind lining the dirt roads … and people everywhere. It was awesome.

Hotel Baja Cactus

I finally arrived at the Baja Cactus Hotel. It was recommended by bloggers I followed. The place was amazing for only 480 pesos.

I immediately went shopping for some beer and nachos and celebrated entering Mexico.

San Jose

Jaco

Neily

Panama Border at Paso Canoas

My Route on September 21, 2017

My Route on September 22, 2017

My Location on September 23, 2017

My Route on September 24, 2017

My Route on September 25, 2017 into Panama

Leaving Nicaragua

Entering Costa Rica

My Route for August 8, 2017

Comitán de Domínguez

Checking out of Mexico

Crossing the Border in Guatemala at La Mesilla

Riding into Guatemala

Huehuetenango

My Route from San Cristabol to Comitan on May 15, 2017

My Route from Comitan to Huehuetenango on May 16, 2017

Ride to the Border

Belize Border

Mexico Border

Chetamul

My Route for April 2, 2017

Mexico Border

Belize Border

Motorcycle Insurance

Crossing the Border at Tijuana

Tourist Permit

Temporary Vehicle Import Permit

Crossing the Border

Tujuana

Free vs. Toll Roads

El Rosario

Hotel Baja Cactus

My Route for September 30, 2016