After our time spent on the Oaxacan Coast, we were ready to discover our fate at the Guatemalan boarder. Our vehicle permit had expired and foreign vehicles have to exit Guatemala for a minimum of 90 days before being allowed re-entry. We hoped luck was on our side, due to the fact we took out a ‘temporary exit permit’ when we left Guatemala to visit Mexico again. Our permit was now expired and we hoped to just ‘ghost’ Koru across, with…
The time came to wave goodbye to Antigua and meander our way back towards Mexico. We opted to cross back into the wonderful country of Mexico to renew our visas and explore the states of Chiapas and Oaxaca, which were missed on our first trip through. Having talked to several Mexicans and Guatemalans, these states are definitely not to be missed. But first, we had plans to visit some more Guatemalan hot spots including Lake Atitlan and Chichicastenango.
The van life we’ve come to know and appreciate had led us to the charming town of Antigua, where we decided to stop and recharge our human batteries. After finding a spanish school for Matt and a volunteer opportunity for Sarah at the Earth Lodge, the transition to stasis was quite comforting and an exciting new development.
With Belize in the rear view mirror, and Guatemala glaring at us through the windshield on the fateful United States election day, we proceeded west, excited for new adventures and admittedly nervous about the historical election. We planned to visit the famous Mayan Ruins of Tikal during the ‘super’ full moon and were beyond excited to get our feet wet in a new country. The border crossing was relatively painless with just the normal disorganized cluster of cars and people. TV’s were on…