With the coronavirus spreading around the world very quickly we knew we needed to get out of Guatemala even though we felt very safe there. We had been in Guatemala sinch March 12th and after only two days in Guatemala, the government shut down all flights in and out of the country. The day after we arrived, the first case of the coronavirus was recorded. By today, 18 cases were recorded.
The reason we felt relatively safe was that while places like Canada have seen huge spikes in the number of cases, the Guatemalan government has been very proactive early in instituting restrictions that other countries such as the United States and Canada, have only implemented as the number of cases has escalated to the thousands.
As of this evening, the Guatemalan government announced a 4 pm to 4 am curfew. They also told us everyone would have to stay indoors and off the streets. Police were everywhere telling people to go home.
As safe as we felt however, we also recognized that we were not going to be able to leave Guatemala anytime soon. Our flights home had been cancelled even after rebooking an alternate option. It seemed that no flights were going into or out of Guatemala. Also more and more countries were placing restrictions on travellers. As of March 16th, Belize closed its border to Guatemala and the threat looms for Mexico to do the same. The USA, Mexico and Canada had already agreed to close their land borders to non-essential travel so time is of the essence.
As a travel professional for over 25 years I came up with a plan for our family and group of 16 people to get home. It involved says of planning and scheduling with airlines, the Canadian consulate, transportation providers and the Guatemalan tourism office. So many moving parts needed to be coordinated together.
We woke up at 3:30 am so that our shuttle could leave at 4:15 am. We were able to get special permits for two 12 passenger vans to drive the 5 hours to the Mexico border which was critical. No busses or large vans are allowed on the roads in an effort to quash the virus. Our drivers needed to leave early so that they could return home before the 4 pm start of the curfew.
The drive toward the town of Tapachula, Mexico was very pleasant. For the most part, the road was fairly smooth with some sections of the highway having been widened. It was a scenic countryside drive with small towns periodically scattered along the highway. Even in these small towns, you could see people wearing masks and taking the necessary precautions to protect themselves when out in public. Fortunately, we had the necessary paperwork to be on the roads. There were two road checks along the way with armed military police and healthcare workers checking our temperatures.
We arrived at the border around 9 am. The process was straight forward. We had to refill out the Guatemalan immigration forms upon exiting Guatemala first. This gave us an exit stamp in our passport. I’m glad someone told us to do this as I would have just thought to go to the Mexican side of the border to request entry there like I do when I cross the Canada / USA border. We had to fill out one form per person and it was a quick process.
We then went to the Mexican side of the border. There was a piece of caution tape strung from the left to the right of the road that we each lifted to walk under before lining up to have our Mexican paperwork processed. This line up took forever. There was only one or two border agents processing entry visas and at least 50 people in front of us. It took two hours before we reached the front of the line and were able to fill out the visa papers to have them stamped. It was rather a hot stuffy lineup alongside the road that had no cars going in either direction.
As one member of the group passed through customs they were asked, “When will you fly out of Mexico?” to which they responded, “Tomorrow”. The customs officer then told them in Spanish, “Good because the flights will be grounded in a week.” We don’t know if this is another rumour but it made us glad that we were on our way home.
Members of our group were held up another hour while the customs officer verified some of their documents so we were all ecstatic when they finally exited the last two steps of the drug-sniffing dog and agriculture inspection. No vehicles were found at the exit to customs. Only small tuk-tuks are found here and they took us on a 3-minute ride to a small taxi stand. If we had known that the taxies were just over the hill and in the village to the left of the road, we could have rolled our suitcases there ourselves.
The drive to our hotel in Tapachula took about 45 minutes. It was much further than I had thought. The Holiday Inn Express, however, was the best choice. Not only is breakfast included, but it is attached by a covered walkway to a shopping mall with a food court and Walmart store… that is if you dare to exit the hotel and be around other people.
For the day that we are in Mexico before starting the second and third day of our journey home, we want to limit our contact with others to practice social distancing and keep ourselves healthy for travelling. Mexico has just over 300 confirmed cases of the coronavirus but they have not yet taken it as seriously as Guatemala and other countries. I went to get food at the mall yesterday for our group and while the food servers were wearing masks, I didn’t see others walking around in the mall wearing masks or practicing social distancing. Tomorrow, however, they are going to practice a “National Day of Social Distancing”.
We are excited to be on our way home. Tomorrow our flight will take us in the evening from Tapachula to Mexico City. We will then wait from 8 pm until 5 am before our March 24th flight from Mexico City to San Francisco to Seattle to Vancouver… that is for now. It is a long trip home that has taken lots of planning but we feel confident in the itinerary and have received support and confirmations from the Canadian consulate and government that it is a route that will work… for now. Let’s just hope there are no more last-minute governmental or airline changes like the many we have seen in the past few weeks.
