September 29, 2007

The Central America-4 Border Control Agreement didn’t speed things up for us at the El Amatillo crossing between Honduras and El Salvador.

Entered into by Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua in June 2006, the CA-4 pact allows Canadians and Americans who enter into any of the four countries, to travel to the three other countries without obtaining additional visas or tourist entry permits.

But there was no fast-tracking to be had when we reached this border (or any other border in Central America, for that matter), given the need to process the van through customs.

The day had started well, as it took us only an hour to power up the Pan American Highway from San Lorenzo, Honduras, where we had spent the night, to El Amatillo.

The snafu centered on the customs office being closed when we arrived because, we were told, the person who manned it was tied up in a meeting.

After waiting patiently for 45 minutes - even retaining the services of a border guide didn’t loosen the log-jam - we decided to leave, sans the stamp.

The El Salvador officials waiting for us at the other side of the bridge that separates the two countries weren’t sympathetic to our plight, and sent us back to Honduras to get the stamp.

By the time we got back, the customs office had been opened and we quickly got the paperwork completed, this time without the services of a guide.

Back across the bridge we drove and with our CA-4 stamp we could by-pass the first set of buildings (immigration) and proceed down the highway several hundred metres to the pull-out for the fumigation.

After having our tires sprayed, we continued blindly down the highway for a kilometre or two until we came to a guarded gate across the highway.

From there, we were directed down a side street, and told to look for a large parking lot.

At the back of the parking lot was an elevated loading dock for trucks, with an unmarked door in one corner. In response to our soft knock, a military guard opened the door a crack and thrust a form into our hands.

With the completed form in hand, I was allowed in the office, a windowless affair that felt more like a war bunker. Twenty minutes later, the van had been processed, no charge.

Twenty minutes later, done with the formalities, we returned to the gate across the highway, gave the guard two copies of the van’s paperwork, kept the original, and proceeded on our way.

In total, it had taken us two and half hours to cross the border, but had cost our wallets had taken only a $3 hit.

Key Facts & Figures:

El Salvador Border

-fumigation: $3