We tried to catch the earliest bus out of San Marcos, which we were told was at 5 am. They said to make it down to the gas station, where the buses generally depart, with plenty of time to spare. So, we make it down there at about ten to five.
Needless to say, that wasn't enough time. The man with a giant gun told us that the bus left at 4:40am and the next one would leave at 6:30 am.
We thought we would just wait until the bus left at 6am, but there was a very pushy taxi driver who said that he would take us to the bus stop on the main road where we could catch a bus easily.
There were a bunch of other people who got into his cab, an old station wagon, so we decided to follow the crowd and hoped that we might save some time, though it'd more expensive.
The guy charged us 20 lempiras each and we waited for us bus.
Then we watched the sun rise.
Then I watched some chickens in a tree.
Then it got late and light enough for the chickens to come out of the tree. So, I actually learned something that morning. The answer is: they just jump out.
Needless to say we did not save time or money that morning.
The Sultana bus came and picked us up right around 6:30am, nearly an hour and a half after the cabbie dropped us off. The hour bus ride cost us 40 lempiras each, but it was a comfortable ride and perfect for a quick sleep.
In Ocotepeque, we caught a school bus that was headed to Agua Caliente. We literally found our bus and then it took off, which is pretty lucky in the world of bus travel. This quick 30 minute trip cost 20 lempiras each.
Agua Caliente is the last town in Honduras before the border. Your business here is to get your money changed and have your passports checked. Leaving Honduras, you don't have to pay anything (at least not in our experience). Though, you must have your little paper that you received when you entered the country. For us, that meant our little yellow piece of paper we got from the airlines.
After we got our stamps, we walked a couple meters, past a metal barrier and into a sea of cabs offering to take us to the border. We took a van that cost us 15 lempiras.
The cab dropped us off right before the border and we walked into the immigration office once more to get another stamp from the Guatemala side. This again was very simple and fast for us. We did not have to pay anything to enter Guatemala.
Time it took us to get to the border: 3 hours
How much it cost us to get to the border: 95 lempiras each
Time needed to get to the border: approximately 2 hours
Money needed to get to the border: 88 lempiras
We could have waited for the bus to leave San Marcos, which would have cost 50 lempiras, and it would have taken us all the way to Ocotepeque. Or there is a small van that will take you to the main road/highway for 13 lempiras each, and then you can catch a bus from there. Either way is cheaper than taking a car taxi.
*****
We were really unsure with the borders how everything worked. We knew that the immigration offices were there, but we were under the impression that we were able to pass freely between the 4-Central American countries since we had come into Honduras legally. This would have meant that we wouldn't have even needed our passports to get into Guatemala. Apparently this is not the case, at least at the boarder crossing in Agua Caliente.
I read a little article right before we left that said something about how the borders are checking passports to make sure people aren't overstaying their visas, or don't have warrants out for their arrest.
So, even if won't be leaving one of the 4-Central American countries, I definitely suggest taking your passport, or you run the risk of having to return home to retrieve it.
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