We made it to the Guatemala/El Salvador border, located just outside Pedro de Alvarado. We managed to survive the great staged border event, which was perfectly orchestrated for our benefit by all the characters at the customs, police, and immigration offices. They figured us for what we were- (relatively) rich tourists- and quickly dedicated themselves to making our lives hell by wasting time, slowing internal processes, and delaying us so we'd have to ride after dark, which we were dead set against. They knew that if they could pull some sleight-of-hand and make our passports or vehicle titles disappear, we'd have been under their control.
One man, impersonating an official, followed us to our bikes, had us open our bags, and proceeded to enter our customs information on bogus forms, wasting about a half hour of our time. Back inside, the guy disappeared with our "necessary paperwork" and we had to do it all over again with the real official. After that we were separated, and while I sat alone with our jackets, helmets, and other gear waiting for Peter and Robert to return, another official came rushing all panicky, and told me my friends needed my help in a hurry. "Right now!" At first I was shocked, ready to rush to their aid, but when I stood and quickly started gathering the gear he said, "No, no, you must go right now!" Something in his voice gave him away. I calmly sat back down, eyeing him with my arms folded across my chest, and waited for my companions to return. He made a few more attempts to convince me, but by then he could see I knew his game. He wanted me to leave our gear unattended so he could steal it.
Odyssey To Ushuaia Andrés Carlstein pp72-3