Oaxaca
 
Upon our arrival the owners recognize us and we settle on a pitch at the entrance, the campsite being full.
 
Every other place is closed to respect the distancing in Mexico.
 
A camper leaving the next day, we change places. The campsite is always as pleasant and well maintained.
 
We meet "Stéphanie et Serge" two French people on the road and we immediately get on well with them.
 
We stay there for 9 days
 
We only go to the city twice to rediscover this wonderful city and for lunch in a high-end restaurant.
 
It rains almost every day, some ofthem with heavy rainfall. The road leading to the village is not tarred, we wade in the mud which stops us the desire to walk.
 
During this halt, Christophe takes advantage of the help of Serge (mechanic) to maintain and repair the camper which suffers a lot.
 
We exchange information with our French friends and spend our last evening together over a dinner aperitif.
On the way to Oaxaca
 
Noisy night and before leaving we do some shopping in another hypermarket.
 
Next step: Oaxaca
 
We reach the campsite after three days of driving ... On the way we buy a local SIM card for internet.
 
We spend two nights in gas station car parks, one of which is a prostitution cruising place... truckers stop all night!!! There are three girls!!
 
On the third night we camp at "Blue Rock" by the Pacific Ocean ... a place infested with insects of all kinds.
 
We pass through pretty and very diverse payasages which highlight our monotonous days.
 
The weather is not great, it rains very often  ... where is the sun!!! ... in France
Entry to Mexico
 
We continue our program :  back to Mexico.
 
Since 21 March 2021 the border between Mexico and Guatemala is closed at the request of the United States following the numerous smuggling of illegal immigrants. According to the US government, in March, 172,000 people were arrested, including 19,000 minors
 
On the websites, we discover that many foreigners cross borders without problems.
 
WE WILL TRY AND TAKE A DECISION
 
From Panajachel we have two choices: take the mountain road or the coast road.
 
We know a part of the mountainous road that we took during our first trip to Chichicastenango and we do remember how difficult it was ... The local buses ride like crazy and the road is extremely steep and sinuous.
 
So we take the road along the coast. It’s as difficult as the other road. The traffic is intense and we find ourselves in a traffic jam ... result : 2 hours without moving forward ... it becomes a habit ..
 
A tip: never rely on your GPS. Usualy, the time does not match and for our case the calculation is established for a car and not for a camper.
 
Following Irene's  advice, we cross the border at Cacahoatan, a small border, more "cool" than the one on the main axis (Several witnesses tell the story of a very difficult and very long or complicated passage)
 
This border crossing extends us by 80 km but on a world tour, it is nothing!!
 
Exit from Guatemala in 15 minutes
 
We find it hard to park ourselves, but we managewith several manoeuvres ... Bravo Christophe who does not lose his composure.
 
As usual, we are solicited by debarkers or currency changers ... Knowing the procedure we go directly to the visa window and then to the vehicle import window ...
 
Now the Mexican border ... we reassure ourselves by telling ourselves that if Guatemala allows us to leave it is because Mexico allows us to enter ... the hour of truth has arrived.
 
We are met by an officer who immediately asks us to pay a new tax imposed by the government only for foreigners... Welcome!!
 
Then we park the camper on a small parking lot before heading to the visa office.
 
We complete our visa application, pay 558 Mex and hand it over to the counter. Two or three questions (reason of our trip, address in Mexico) and issuance of a new 180-day visa
 
No step for the vehicle; our TIP of 2019 being valid 10 years ... Short visit of the vehicle and we are on the roads of Mexico.
 
Entry to Mexico 45 minutes!!!
 
We stop at Tapachula which will be our evening stopover.
 
It is late but we immediately head to the "QUALITAS" insurance company to insure our  road companion, not mandatory but essential for us ... this is only a civil liability!!!
 
Then direction "SORIANA" hypermarket (not great) and night on a parking lot "PEMEX " not very glamorous all that!!!
ROAD BOOK 099
MAVROS ODYSSEE