Last week in Mexico I met an American rider Doug and have since been receiving email updates of his progress issued by his wife.
The following is taken from her latest email (sent today) and doesn't make for good reading.
I know there are plenty of other riders ahead of me on the road so I'm wondering if everyone has experienced similar or whether this is something that's just kicked off?

I'm heading that way myself (and have friends behind me) so would like to hear of others recaent experiences.

From Doug's wife:

"Doug rode west and south through El Salvador on his own to avoid most of Honduras. He learned from fellow riders on an online blog, that there are some activities at the borders that are what they called "shakedowns."

"Doug got to the border to enter Honduras, and was charged $140. in custom and other "fees". On his way to the border, he went through 8 police checkpoints---showing bike papers, passport, etc. So he made it to the southern border going into Nicauraga. Still in Honduras, he was stopped near the border at a checkpoint, for speeding. He asked how could he be speeding, when he was stopping".

"The policeman said he could be Doug's lawyer. Doug saw others just flying past and asked why they weren't stopped. He was told that they're from here. So more money was required".

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ShortWayRound - OTR RTW since 2006

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I went through Honduras a couple months back and had the same type of experience. Cargo building is probably where the extra charges at the border were levied. Part of the trip for the less experienced like me. There are other threads with similar experiences here.
Bill

I went through Honduras twice in April/May, 2010 during my Victoria, BC, Canada to Panama return trip.

On the way down I crossed from El Salvador at El Amatillo in the afternoon. Stayed overnight in the first town, Nacaome, and crossed into Nicaragua the next morning at Guasaule.

On the way back up I crossed from Nicaragua at Las Manos just north of Ocotal, Nicaragua. From there I went via Tegucigalpa, Comayagua, Lago de Yojoa, Santa Barbara and Copan Ruinas and crossed into Guatemala just west of Copan Ruinas.

Aside from one relatively small incident I had no problems. I did not hire helpers and ended up paying the standard posted $35US for the bike. The Honduras crossing is a pain in the arse but it's all about having some patience and learning some Spanish. I was not pulled over one single time on the "notorious" short stretch on the way to Nicaragua in spite of going through several police check points. Nor was I ever pulled over through the interior on the way back north. The crossing heading back was faster and easier than on the way down.

The one problem I had was precipitated by me accidentally driving past a police check point in the "no man's land" between El Salvador and Honduras. The ticked off Honduran cop kept saying "TICKET!, TICKET!" but never showed any signs of actually writing one. I doubt he even had a ticket book on him. I didn't bite and never offered a bribe, which he was most likely waiting for. Knowing that he had my laminated copied licence and a colour photocopy of my registration made that a bit easier. After about 15 or 20 minutes and a little sit down protest on my part, I was let go with a little "OK, you win" wink.


...Michelle
www.scrabblebiker.com

This is just normal for Honduras do not let it bother you!!
I crossed twice last year like scrabble biker only in reverse of her route.
Went through 5 check points and never stopped once, At El Amatillo i hired a helper and agreed on $5.00 before hand, the crossing took 1 hour. I liked the interaction with the helper and treated him with respect and he treated me fine. Unlike other moto travellers who get all wound up about the helpers I feel they are real people, you just have to pick the one you like, and you need to speak a little Spanish.
The sit down protest is also my way of dealing with bogus tickets and has worked 90% of the time in all of Latin America. I do not understand spending $140.00 at a border crossing that should only be $35.00 dont let it happen.
Feliz Viaje!

+1

The corrupt bureaucracy problem is especially bad in Honduras, and an order of magnitude worse on the short stretch of Panamerican between El Salvador and Nicaragua.

Dealing with the border crossing is different than dealing with the cops pulling you over:

At the border, a little Spanish goes a long ways as does knowing what to expect. When the "helper" tries to scam you, give them some This Is Not Acceptable attitude - friendly but firm.

When getting pulled over, you can freely speak no spanish whatsoever. When they start harassing you, laugh and joke and just say ok give me a ticket. Be prepared to sit it out. In less than 10 minutes you'll be on your way. If you appear scared or actually consider paying the mortida it *will* take longer.

It's a shame that law enforcement in these countries is a joke, but if you actually treat it like a joke you'll get through just fine. Corrupt cops smell fear and use it to their advantage, but it's not personal. Just don't make it worth their time.

BTW the other hotspot for corrupt cops is the long stretch of the Panamerican through Panama.

Jeff

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SF to Panama and back
How I Nearly Killed My Friends In Baja

We crossed over with 2 bikes mid November and we did the El Salvador/Honduras/Nicaragua borders in a day. I didn't use helpers and knew that the fee was $35 and that's what I paid. Also went thru' about 8 checkpoints on the short stretch out; however was pulled over 3 times and asked for paperwork twice. Each time, I would get off the bike, take helmet and gloves off and always be patient, smile and didn't speak any Spanish to them. They got the hint that I was going to wait them out and let us go.
Patience is the name of the game with them.
Daryll

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Central America, South America & Africa on DR650's - BLOG

Ok my crash course in Spanish is crashing. So I will focus on certain areas, directions, and border crossings. Any help on what I should be able to understand or converse about at the borders. Sounds stupid I know...but any help would be great.

thanks k

Well if you want to avoid helpers a simple 'no, gracias' should work fine! 'Me puede dar una factura por favor' would be a good one, anything you buy should have a receipt, if it doesn't then they are probably charging you for something you don't need.

Although I have never been to the Honduras here in South America they give receipts with absolutely everything.

Much good solid advice here already. Just know what is required and stand your ground.
All central American borders run by the same set of steps which you should follow for a relatively smooth crossing without helpers . The Four Steps are 1MIGRACION - tourist card issue and passport stamps and inspection 2 TRANSITO inspection of your bike papers and issuing of a TVIP ,stamped into passport.
3 SEPA aka OIRSA or Fumigacion where they spray some malathion solution on your bike to kill bugs, not at every crossing. 4 ADUANA- final check of all your papers and passport stamps and then you are free to go if all is stamped and signed in the right spots.
Follow these steps in this order and you need no helpers.Pay only the fee that the official asks for and demand and keep a receipt for each payment.Retain all papers and receipts in the same folder or envelope so that you can retrieve them easily at the next border crossing when leaving the country.
, As you finish one step just ask the official to point you to the wicket where the following step is done.

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http://advrider.com/index.php?thread....207964/page-5 then scroll down to post #93

I just came through Honduras last week. ABSOLUTELY no problems what so ever. Whenever I was stopped by Police (which was only a few times) they either saluted me or shook my hand. All they wanted was to see that I had the correct papers. NO hint of bribery at all.

WHY? Well I crossed from Guatemala at Copan and left Honduras at El Pariso. In other words NOT ON THE PAN AMERICANA.

It seems that lots of people have trouble with Honduras and do there best to avoid it and thus take the shortest route. BUT this leads to problems as this is exactly where the trouble is. Take your time to explore Honduras. Go to Copan and you will find Honduras to be much like any other central America place. The corrupt police/ border guards are ONLY on the pan americana.

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We passed through Honduras 2 days ago, and actually met Doug at the Nicaragua border.

He related his woes to us. It was 100% different from our experience.

We crossed from El Salvador at El Amatillo, *without helpers* who bombarded us but we managed to finally get rid of them when we let them know we understood what they were saying about us (and the Admin woman was also amused when let them know in Spanish that "she had her own mouth" ).

We only paid the equiv of 35USD per bike to enter and the whole process took what is our average of 1.5 hours.

Once in Honduras we headed to San Marcos De Colon, and were only stopped by the police twice.

The 1st stop they asked Jean for her license so she gave them her import document instead, and I copied her. This satisfied them and they waved us on.

he 2nd stop, in the mountains after Choluteca was to make sure we gave a donation to the local school children, that seemed fair enough.

We passed many other police points, no hassle.

Exiting the country at El Espino was just as painless.

We liked Honduras and the people, especially those in San Marcos.

Maybe someone needs to ask the police why they choose some people and no others.

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Well, NONE of them were on the Pan America 2 days ago :-)

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Many thanks to all for your input/opinions/stories - much appreciated.

I've realised all along that the Honduras crossing were likely to be the most hassle (a reminder of Turkey-Syria earlier in my trip) but Doug's experience seemed excessive and led me to wonder if they (Honduran police/border officials) were having a purge or whether it was Doug's circumstances - 1. American 2. In a hurry (Mexico to Costa Rica in 6 days) 3. Speaks not a word of Spanish.

2 & 3 have certainly been mentioned by many of you.

I'm glad to hear there is no purge as I'm particulary looking forward to Honduras/El Salvador/Nicaragua.

Cheers

Adam - Spending Christmas on the beach 25km south of Playa del Carmen; if anyone's passing!

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ShortWayRound - OTR RTW since 2006

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I passed through Honduras on the short stretch about a week ago. I got taken for an extra $35.00 for "File Digitization". I got a receipt and everything. My bad for not knowing in advance what the fees should have been. Had no trouble with the cops in Honduras, we were waved through all check points. I did have the worst cup of coffee in my entire life there though!

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Mike: Mexico and Central America 2010
http://questionasanswers.blogspot.com/

While I did meet some very nice people in Honduras, they were the exceptions. Contrary to *every other country* in Central America, overall I found the people to be bureaucratic, officious, and petty. It's like the entire country is run by the DMV.

Honduras is generally expensive and the food sucks. I realize this is a mean thing to say about a country and its people, but I had a lot of time to compare it against its neighbors. And it's not like I had a bad time - although dealing with customs trying to fly in a new rear sprocket is a horrorshow that makes El Amatillo look orderly, despite my functional Spanish. But compared to the warmth and generally accommodating atitudes of Nicaraguans, Guatematecos, Salvadoreños, Ticos, Panamanians... I don't understand why anyone would choose to spend time and money there.

Especially motorcyclists. Honduras is almost overtly hostile to motorcycles. Try parking in a totally vacant lot - some bureaucratic asshat will run up to you and tell you that you need to go park in the back, or at the bottom level in some barely lit corner of the garage. My expensive motorcycle with half of what I own in the world hanging off it? Not a chance. In CIVILIZED countries, special motorcycle parking is right up in front.

Jeff

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SF to Panama and back
How I Nearly Killed My Friends In Baja