Southern Exposure

Thursday, April 16

We woke up early today as we needed to be at the airport by 10 AM to meet our shipping agent. We had done most of the packing the night before so it was an easy time to pack the bikes for the last time in South America. We ate a quick breakfast and hit the road at 8:30 because we would need the time in the heavy morning traffic.

We were a little concerned about Inna’s chain breaking on the way to the airport. The repaired link was missing 1 of 4 o-rings, but it would probably hold for such a short trip. Fernando had given us a length of rope to take with us in case the chain failed. I didn’t relish the idea of towing a bike but in the end it was unnecessary and an easy ride out.

Apparently the Petrobras station at the international airport is the place to be because when we arrived, there were 4 other riders there waiting for their shipping agent. We had read or heard about 3 of the 4 riders before. There were the 2 V-Strom brothers from Seattle and Portland (small world), Neopodo who had done the crazy sail boat crossing from Panama to Colombia, and another gentleman from Arkansas who would also be flying through Houston. The latter two were riding KLRs.

We chatted a bit while we were all waiting, swapping stories and comparing experiences. It turns out we had seen them before at a police checkpoint when they were doing a speed run south to Ushuaia down Ruta 3. They had gone with Navicon and we were luckier when the All Cargo agent showed up first. He was a nice young man and he hopped on the back of my bike and navigated us through the security gates over to the cargo terminal.

We first went to a large cargo scale and parked both bikes on the scale. We piled on all of our riding gear with the bikes and were pleasantly surprised that our total weight was only 440 kg total for both bikes plus our gear, well below the 300 kg per bike we had guessed previously. This was cheering news as lower weight meant lower price.

We next moved the bikes over to the packing area. We were introduced to the packing manager who would be doing the magic of getting these two big bikes on one palette. He bragged of having shipped 2000 bikes in his career and that he could even get a third bike on the palette if he wanted to. The palette would be only 1 meter wide, 2.2 meters long, and 1.15 meters tall. When we saw it we couldn’t believe both bikes plus luggage would ever fit on it.

Breaking the bikes down was a fairly straightforward process. We disconnected the batteries and shut off the fuel lines. We put the blue bike on the palette first and took the front wheel off. It was about this time that the other four riders came in the room, so score on All Cargo for being timely. With the forks resting on the palette, I took off the mirrors and handlebars to make the bike as narrow and short as possible. The bike was tied down firmly and it was the red’s turn.

Inna’s bike went through the same process, and sure enough, both bikes fit comfortably on the palette. We were wondering a bit how all of the panniers would fit, but now it was time to do some waiting. Before we could pack the luggage onto the palette, they would need to be inspected by the customs agent from Continental Airlines.

We hung around for a bit and chatted with the other guys. Finally our shipping agent came to tell us that now would be a good time to take a lunch break as the staff was taking their lunch now. He escorted us over to the security checkpoint and made sure we could reenter. Our lunch would be in the Petrobras cafe eating sandwiches Inna had prepared at the house. We had a leisurely lunch, our last gas station meal.

When we returned and waited a bit longer, the customs agent arrived and inspected our luggage. Their was an argument between the customs agent and our shipping agent about what was permissible as luggage. Since it was a shipment of motorcycles, everything going with them needed to be motorcycle related, needed for riding. This allowed us to put all of our clothing and helmets with the bikes, but some of the other things we had put in the luggage were more questionable. Our shipping agent was sympathetic and it was easy enough in the end to simply declare everything was essential riding gear and the customs agent was mollified. The luggage was squeezed into every nook and cranny and strapped in.

With that hurdle crossed, our shipping agent informed us that the bank transfer had come through and that all was needed was the final paperwork. This was more waiting for us, and when they finally brought the paperwork over, I noticed they had used my middle name as the last name on all of the documentation. This meant starting over and an hour and a half wait for all of the documentation to be redone. We were first in and last out as the other riders finished up and left as we waited around. It finally came through and we were all set. The entire palette was shrink wrapped in plastic. We waived goodbye to our faithful steeds, the South America ride now truly being over.

We took a shuttle back to downtown, where we caught a ride home with Fernando and Adela’s daughter Pepa. It had taken the entire day, but the bikes were shipped and it was one big thing we no longer had to worry about. We had a celebratory dinner with Fernando and Adela. It was a weight lifted off my shoulders to have the bikes taken care of, but it was a sad time as well as it made the end of the journey more tangible.