The Shipping Process, Part 1 of 3: Patience in Panama

For almost anyone driving from North to South America (or vice versa), the hardest part of the trip is getting your vehicle around the Darien Gap.  If you haven’t heard already, there is a 70-mile stretch from Panama to Colombia that you can’t cross with your vehicle.  There is no road, just jungle and supposed guerrilla activity. 

 

We had done our research before even starting our trip, and concluded that because of Cubby’s size it would be impossible for us to load both Pichula and Cubby into a container, as most people do with their vehicles, and ship them to Colombia that way (the cheapest option).  RoRo (Roll on-Roll off) and Lo-Lo (Lift on-lift off) seemed to be our only remaining options.  We left it at that, and didn’t think much about shipping as we began our trip, until arriving in Panama we knew that the time had come: time to contact an agent and figure out all the details.  After we crossed into Panama, we contacted Tea, a shipping agent recommended by other overlanders (and seemingly the only one in Panama).  We contacted her the week before we wanted to ship, to make sure we had all our ducks in a row.  Oh, the naivety!  I will try to leave out the incredibly dull details, but here is the summary of our whole shipping experience (quite long, so this is a 3-part series of posts!):

The week before we had planned to ship: We contacted Tea, and she insisted that despite what we had researched before our trip, Pichula and Cubby would fit into a container and we should ship that way.  Always eager to save money, we agreed.  She told us to arrive in Panama City to start paperwork as early the next week as possible, at the very latest on Wednesday, but preferably Monday or Tuesday.

Day 1: Sunday. 
 

We arrive in Panama City in the afternoon, hoping to start paperwork on Monday (early, as Tea advised) in case any problems should arise.  Bobby, Ana, and their daughter Analisa take us around Panama City, showing us the sights.

the "Bridge of the Americas" across the Panama Canal

Are we back in the US?

Day 2: Monday. 

We wait around in the mall (only place we found internet) waiting to receive Tea’s email with instructions for how to proceed.  Finally receive an email from her late in the afternoon, saying she will email us tomorrow with the promised instructions.

We go out to the “Casco Viejo” section of Panama City with Bobby, Ana, and Analisa that evening.

 

Day 3: Tuesday. 

Again waiting around in the mall using the internet, around midday we receive her email saying that we could not do anything until Wednesday (despite what she told us earlier about arriving early).  Saw a movie.

Day 4: Wednesday.  

Go to customs in Panama City at 9am. Wait around in the parking lot for the “engine to cool” for an hour.  A little past 10:00, the inspector comes out, gives a cursory glance at the car and trailer, and tells us to come back after 2 :00to pick up the customs forms needed for shipping.  We took advantage of having some free time to visit the Miraflores Locks section of the Panama Canal, visited the museum and watched some ships and boats pass through – a pretty ingenious system of raising and lowering the water.

We return to customs around 2:30pm and picked up the paperwork.  Have some beers with Bobby, Ana, and Analisa for our last night in Panama City and say goodbye to them – they were excellent hosts and it was great getting to know them.  We are so grateful for their help and their company in Panama!

Day 5: Thursday.

Drive to Colon, the shipping port.  Check out the “zona libre” and find that it is a complete ripoff – everything is more expensive than normal there.  Remove the air conditioner from the roof of Cubby and cover the large hole that it left with plastic. Do some laundry.  Tip for future travellers: Colon has awesomely cheap laundromats.

 

Day 6: Friday.

Meet Boris (another agent, from a company called “Enlace Caribe”) at 9am in Colon.  Learn that Tea works out of Buenos Aires, Argentina and hires Enlace Caribe to handle shipping in Colon.  Boris immediately tells us he doesn’t think the trailer will fit inside the shipping container.  But since Tea had told us it would fit, with a couple centimeters on each side to spare, Boris brings us and the two other couples also shipping vehicles in containers, along with the dozens of document copies we had to make, to Colon customs where we wait for about 1 hour while they process more “paperwork”.  Upon receiving correct paperwork from the Colon office, we drove to the port to load the containers. 

Removing outside pieces from Cubby to make it smaller

After several attempts, we realize that Boris is indeed right, the inside width of the container is exactly the width of Cubby.  It does not fit.  We determine that Tea must have been using the outside dimensions of the container when she told us that it would fit.

We return to Colon and desperately start sending emails and trying to find a different shipping agent.  Everyone refers us back to Tea.  She has the monopoly, apparently.  Enlace Caribe tells us that they will try to find us an alternative for shipping (RoRo or LoLo, as we had previously thought).

Day 7: Saturday.

We hang around Colon all morning trying to get in touch with Tea or anyone from Enlace Caribe.  No response from anyone.  Around noon we realize that they probably aren’t working because it’s the weekend, and we decide to get the heck out of Colon (not the prettiest city ever) and head for a nearby beach, Playa La Angosta.

Ahh, way better than Colon.

Day 8: Sunday.

Still at Playa La Angosta, trying to forget about our shipping toubles!  The beach got pretty packed with people partying – and with 50 cent beers, who can blame them?

We named this one "Mangey" - wow, did he stink.

Day 9: Monday.

We packed up and went back to Colon.  We heard from Tea and Enlace Caribe that our best option would be LoLo – and we had to deliver the car and camper on Tuesday.

Used the rest of the day to visit Fuerte San Lorenzo, an old Spanish fort about 30 minutes from Colon.  Had a car accident on the way there – got hit by none other than a tourist from the U.S.  No horrible damage to either vehicle, so after some heated words by both drivers, we went on our merry way to the fort.
 

Fuerte San Lorenzo

Day 10: Tuesday.

Got up early and moved everything out of the car, to be locked in the camper (you have to turn in keys to the car to do LoLo, so you don’t want anything left inside that could “disappear”).  Took the spare tire off the back of Cubby, and the roof rack off Pichula to make them smaller (the price for LoLo is based on total volume).  Met Boris and returned to the Colon customs office to have them redo the paperwork.  Went to the port to drop off the car and camper.  Waited for an hour and a half for them to be ready to measure both vehicles.  When they finally were ready, they told me I couldn’t come, so I waited with our bags outside the office while Ricardo went with them to measure.  I waited for 2 more hours until they finally showed up, measuring complete.  Paid the agent (who we had never met before) cash (as was required) for the shipping and crossed our fingers that we would see Pichula and Cubby again in Cartagena.

Goodbye, Pichula and Cubby!

So after 10 long days of waiting and paperwork, sometimes doubting that this would actually work, we had managed to secure Pichula and Cubby a passage to Cartagena, Colombia.  Passengers are not allowed on the shipping vessels, though, so now all we had to do was get ourselves from Colon, Panama, to Cartagena, Colombia…easier said than done!  We’ll tell you all about it in our next post (The Shipping Process, Part 2 of 3: What an Adventure)!