3. Shipping the Bike
Day 82
I woke up early today even I didn’t need to. No bags to pack, just brush my molars, have a shower and off I go. Oh man, is it ever muggy outside. I have the AC in my room set to “snow” level and my helmet’s visor is completely covered with condensation when out of my room.
Riding in shorts and a T-shirt and no bags today. I feel totally naked and the bike feels very narrow and light. I guess I will need it in today’s traffic. It is Monday after some holidays here and I have 0800 appointment at the shipping company. It is only 9 km from here so it should be no problem. So I thought. Right away I am in a HEAVY traffic. Picture #99 (road between Squamish and Vancouver) at the end of a long weekend. But without being organized. Everybody is super aggressive otherwise they wouldn’t have a chance to even join the traffic. Luckily today my bike is “skinny” so I am squeezing between cars like a local pizza delivery guy. You better pay attention, though! I have 2 NAV units on my bike. But both are almost useless in big cities like this. The main problem is that there are tons of one way streets here but my nav doesn’t recognize lots of them. The nav sent me straight against the traffic at least a dozen times today. I am sure I have upset many people with my shenanigans today. Oh well, take a number … The trip today was suppose be only 14’. It took me 45+’ … And lots of nerves … Anyway, I arrived for my meeting few minutes late and I hate being late. It is an European thing … But, the guy I was meeting was late as well due to the extra traffic. All good.
The company I am dealing with here is called Overland Embassy and is specializing in shipping vehicles across the Darien Gap. Just to refresh everybody’s geography, Darien Gap is a piece of land about 100 km wide between Panama and Colombia. Pure inpenetrable jungle. No roads exist there. Even though there were successful attempts to cross it both on a motorcycle and in a car. But, you either mostly carry your bike or winch your truck for weeks. Not interested. Not to mention there is a huge network of paths used to smuggle drugs and people. I don’t want to get tangled with either group. So, if you don’t feel like going through the swamps, you have basically only three options. One is put your vehicle in a container and send it on a ship. The second one is pax a car ferry between the countries. Both options are long and heavy on paperwork. The third option is to ship your vehicle on a cargo flight. It might seems expensive but when you factor time, food and hotels in the first two options, air freight is actually the cheapest one. And I am not even talking about dealing with the paperwork.
We started on our paperwork which was pretty easy. The company does everything for me. I am done in 15’. Unbelievable. They do the airway bile and all associated paperwork and the customs. They will go with me to the airport on Thursday to drop off my bike and do all the fun stuff at the airport. The good news is, I have somebody to do it for me. No language barriers, no looking for what to do and where to go. Crossing borders and international shipping can (=is) very intimidating. Also, I can leave all my bags on the bike. Even my riding jacket, pants, boots and helmet. I’ll keep only a small backpack with me that I will fly with to Bogota. The company has 2 flights a week between Panama and Colombia, one on Wednesday and one on Saturday. I could have put my bike on Wed flight but I want to do some sightseeing while in Panama City. So the timeline is, I’ll drop my bike off at the airport on Thur. I fly commercially to Bogota on Friday. $166 with Copa Airlines. Window seat for extra $7. 1:30’ flight on 737-800 😉 My bike flies to Bogota on Saturday and I will pick it up on Monday. The people from shipping company will pick me up at the hotel in Bogota and together we’ll tackle Colombia customs and pick up my bike. Again, it is awesome to have somebody who knows the system and the language to do it for me. That takes all the worries off my shoulders. The price to ship the bike is $USD 1050. The fee for the “Customs Help” on both side is extra $80. I think that will be one of the best $80 spent. The whole team from the shipping company is super helpful and friendly. They even organized printing my custom stickers for my trip to give away to kids and as peace offerings to cops next time they stop me for speeding next time … They should be ready on Thur.
I already booked my hotel in Bogota as well. It appears that Colombia is MUCH cheaper then the rest of Central America. I booked 5 nights in a 3 star hotel by the airport in Bogota for $133. Total, not per night! I’ve found entire Central America too expensive for what you get here. Anyway, it is all set so now it is time to play.
Ride back to my hostel was much easier as I was using my sense of direction (better then Google maps 🤭) It took only 15’ to get here. I grabbed my camera and off I go to the city. The first stop is Starbucks right around the corner. I know, but I couldn’t help it. I needed my coffee fix. Then I was looking for spare battery for my Nikon. No joy here. Not in Panama. Online only. That sucks, but I will survive. I head to the waterfront. There is a beautiful seawall path alongside entire Panama waterfront. There are so many high-rise buildings here. Some very nice, some unique design. Taking pictures of them all. It would be nice to have one of those ocean facing condos on 36 floor … You can see the ships at anchor in the distance waiting for their turn to go through the Canal. There are lots of them sitting there. It is hot and muggy. I see that the rain is not too far. And sure enough, here it comes. Light at first but then opens up. I hide under a tree and wait until storm passes. It doesn’t take long but by then I am pretty wet. It is time to head home and kill something for dinner. I don’t feel too creative so I stopped at Subway. I know, not too original but I don’t care. I just need something in my belly. And off to my crib to write the blog, talk to half of the world that is awake and do some research for tomorrow. On the agenda is a visit to Miraflores Locks at Panama Canal and to take more city pictures. Maybe even a visit to the Old Town. It’ll also all depend on the current weather.
It was a very successful day, I feel good 👍