Marek The road from Tikal to Palenque in Mexico is comfortable and not too long. Entering in the morning, in the late afternoon we are there. In the past, when there was no new passage yet, the journey consisted of three stages. A bus, a boat trip (the crossing was on the river bank), and then a bus again. Now it’s easy. Wait, wait, it wasn’t easy at all.
At the border, when we were waiting for the car to be cleared, two customs officers approached me. Powerful guys, in bulletproof vests and with huge pistols at their belts.
“Open your luggage,” says one of them. It is difficult to find sympathy in the expression on his face
“what is it?” He found two boxes of cigars. Cohiba, probably a fake, but very tasty
“Cigars, I bought them in Mexico”
“Do you have any proof of purchase?”
“I don’t have anything, I bought it at the bazaar in Merida…”
“It’s against the regulations, smuggling, let’s go” – the larger of the pair of customs officers grabs my arm.
Oh shit. Not good, I think. Smuggling of tobacco products. How will it end? In Poland, they would probably put me in prison.
The other customs officer says something quietly.
Then he asks “Where are you from?”,
“Yo soy Polacco!” I answer in a trembling voice”
“Aaaa, Polacco, Lewandowski, ha, ha, have a nice trip my friend”, the customs officers turn back, light a cigarette (I could have offered them a cigar) and disappear around the corner of the nearest building.
We are in Palenque, the hottest place in Mexico. It is 11 p.m. and the thermometers still show 35 degrees celcius. In addition, humid air. This is the place where the sum of annual rainfall is the highest in all of Mexico. We won’t stay here long.