The journey lasted between 10 and 12 hours. Since it was overnight, there was no way to enjoy the scenery. After a while, we fell asleep, just like most of the other passengers.

I woke up when I heard voices. The bus had stopped somewhere in the middle of Mexico, and I saw out of the corner of my eye some men walking through the aisle with their faces covered. I was confused and scared. They claimed to be immigration officers, but now that I think about it, they weren’t wearing any badges or official uniforms, just military clothing.

They asked for Simo’s passport, along with those of the other foreign passengers, and told them to get off the bus. They were neither polite nor professional. It was night, and the whole situation felt like a bad movie.

Simo told me to stay seated. During the ten minutes he was off the bus, a thousand horrible thoughts ran through my head. When he came back, he told me they had made him open his suitcase and backpack. They were looking for cash. 

They didn’t take any electronic devices, but when they didn’t find anything else, they threatened to withhold his passport unless he paid. He had to pay 100 dollars with his card. One of the supposed officers had a portable card reader.

They warned him not to say anything or report it, and not to talk about it upon arrival in San Cristóbal. We spent the rest of the trip in silence, still in shock, but also grateful that it had only ended with a scare and some money lost.