January 26th, 2010

SHIP IT!!!

Yesterday we started the long and arduous process of shipping the car to Ecaudor. We had the option to ship the car to either Columbia or Ecuador and after evaluating all the options we chose Ecuador. (saftey, mileage, time left on the trip, Columbia/Ecuador border were all looked at) also, we found a pair of young Danish guys that were going to Ecaudor on the same boat so we could share a container and split the cost.

For those of you not proficient in tran-oceanic shipping, it goes something like this. You need to have all your original documents inline to be validated by national police. Original title, passport, drivers liscense, insurance, registration, immigration information, etc. Once you find a company that will facilitate your shipping either by driving your car on the ship, loading it on a flat bed and hoisting it on the ship, or our option of using a container ship, you start the paperwork process. Vehicle permits, inspections, customs, immigration, the actual inpsection and loading of the car at the port all takes time. If you did this in Houston, you might be able to do it in one day, not so in Panama.

Our process looks to take about two or three days of various offices, paperwork, and nonsense. For example, yesterday we located shipping offices to find the best price and shipping schedule. This took most of the day as we had to use taxis to navigate the not so well planned city, we had to wait to speak to representatives, etc. Today we had to get our vehicle inspected at the national police office. It makes perfect sense that they will only accpet applications from 10-11 a.m. even though once there, the actual process took only 5 minutes and the paperwork was done. For most of the rest of the day we were hung out to dry waiting for stamps and signatures. The climax for the day was an hour and a half wait for a stamp that could have been administered by anyone, even a child, an hour and a half earlier when our papers were hot off the press. At any rate, as we were instructed this portion of the journey took the whole day and now we are ready to see customs tommorrow.

We were assured that the customs office is quick and painless, but we've all heard that before. Once we get the papers at the customs office we will be ready to load the car on Thursday morning before flying to Quito, Ecaudor on Friday.

Besides the excitement of Panamanian government officials, not too much new except a couple of fantastic Louis Lamour books and some good food. We'll have to see how the next few days go, not too big of deal, usually if you are willing to wait a little longer everything works out. The rumor around town is that the customs boys over in Ecuador really like to run you through the ringer. Once your ship arrives it takes 3-4 days just to get your car out of the port, so that should be really awesome! Stay tuned!

What YOU should learn: the DMV is a godsend compared to Panama national police redtape!