Border crossing day! It has been almost three month since I´ve entered Mexico. Three month without the somewhat nerve wrecking situation that a border crossing usually entails.

However, I am feeling today is not one of those days. Even though I miss my alarm and get going an hour later than I have planned, I have a surprising peace of mind.

I was able to reach out to two women [one I met in Moab, Utah] who cycled across the border just a few weeks prior to me. They answered all my questions. Check!

The entry requirements were also just recently changed so I don´t need a Covid-test anymore. A proof of vaccination is sufficient to enter the country. Triple shot check!

90 kilometers of fast paved road to the border. Three and a half hours later, check!

Killing some more pesos for fresh fruit and juice at the border. Yummy check!

Stamp out on the Mexican side and taking a farewell picture with the border officers before the 4km uphill to the Guatemala border. Bureaucracy check!

I dropped in elevation so much that on the 4km uphill my thermometer climbs up to 48 degrees before it ultimately stops working. It is so hot that I stop twice for a fresh and cold fruit juice. Hydration heck!

Fully taking in the last Mexican smiles. Addiction fix check!

Border crossing into Guatemala is almost a non-event. If some locals wouldn`t have directed me to the immigration office I probably would just have entered without anything. Very relaxed. After less than a minute I have my 90 day visa stamp in the passport. Entry ticket check!

Entering into the bustling border town, La Mesilla, with street vendors all over the place. No clue what type of check!?

I was able to reach out to a warmshowers host yesterday, who is located just 10km after the border. I thought it is a good idea for the first day. After a long break from the network I am looking forward to stay with a local again. After a hot 10km ride, I arrive at the beautiful hotel of Jaimes family. First Guatemala amigo check!

After the hot ride I was feeling quite dizzy from the sun. So after a quick nap, we share a nice meal, good talks and a great introduction to country number 4, Guatemala! Psyched to be here!

I never really did write recaps of countries so far and Mexico will be no exception... But as I there is so much information missing here on the blog, I at least want to share one thing. If you are planning to travel long distance at some point and want to decide for one country only, consider Mexico. It has been an amazing country and wonderful 3 month. Aside from all the lovely people I met along the way and made the trip so special, Mexico easily is one of the most diverse countries you can travel [mainly judged on places I have seen]. From mountains, deserts and jungles to beautiful beaches, vulcanos, both traditional and modern cities, fantastic variety of foods, cultures, history, you name it... Mexico kind of has it all and lots of it.

And as I get asked a lot... Probably the most shuttering and sad statement I heard before entering Mexico was from a Canadian guy [who actually traveled to Mexico before]. He said "Making it safe through Mexico is basically like winning the lottery!" While I absolutely agree that I did won the lottery in so many ways of my life, the safety lottery in Mexico seems to have far better odds to win than most people think! I haven´t felt unsafe in this country a single minute and I traveled some pretty sketchy areas. Statements like the above just make me sad... Stuff can happen everywhere of course but I`d still say that the odds for HAVING an incident in Mexico is more comparable to an actual lottery than the opposite.

As I got more southern in Mexico the same thing happend... People starting to warn me about Guatemala, especially about the shenanigans going around the border I decided to cross... [All good so far, nothing to worry about!] While I would say local advice is always helpful, especially in the beginning when you did not have the chance to build your own confidence based on experience yet. However, I feel like you always have to take it with a grain of salt and if feasable try to gather as many opinions as possible. It turns out that a common mentality is that the next village, state, country is always perceived more dangerous by the locals than their own one.