In ten days we load GANNET2 into a container to be shipped to South America. Read on if you want to find out how we have to prepare for this epic and unnecessarily complicated shipment!
The repairs have been completed thanks to the Ram dealer in Davíd whose chief mechanic said he was happy to try flashing the computer in our weird van though he doubted it would work. It took about ten minutes and all the brake parts were suddenly talking to each other again and all was well.
“No charge,” he said after he saw the look of relief on my face. To complete the physical replacement of the ABS module we needed a dealer with the proper computer code to tell the units to talk to each other, which I find weird but such is modern automotive computer technology. Autostar totally saved our bacon.
We took a test drive up to the town of Volcán, rising three thousand vertical feet in ten miles before coming back down; and all seemed well so we have spent a month and several thousand dollars but we are finally back on the road. More importantly we have now learned what we need to do the next time we break down. Stay calm, make a cup of tea and order parts. Lots of them. Sigh.
We are energized by being back in working order but that’s lucky as there is a lot to do. On Monday we go to Copa Airlines to organize our one hour flight to Colombia. The cheapest flights are on the Saturday after we load GANNET2 into the container so Layne has reserved us an apartment in Panana City for four days. We can’t get airline tickets online as we are buying a third seat for Rusty to ride in the cabin with us so we go to the office in person to arrange that.
On Friday, after a last few days of lounging in Boquete we go to town and see the vet to get Rusty’s papers to leave Panama and enter Colombia. He has his own passport to register his vaccinations. We started it in Mexico before we went to Belize.
Then we go back to the mechanic’s shop to meet Sergio the electronics engineer. He has been really helpful working on GANNET2 by improving the cooling system for our house electronics. The 110 volt inverter runs much cooler these days as does the induction cooktop after he opened up new vents for us. He installed our spare rearview camera after the original broke in the US and he has built a new shoe cabinet for us out of unused space. The van is much tidied up thanks to his work.
Friday morning the plan is to remove the rooftop air conditioner and put it inside the van so we will fit in the container. We have found several a/c installers in Colombia and the one we contacted said they would be happy to de-install it. This one is a new truck to so we will video the process hopefully helping the installers later. Also we will have knowledge we can use for future container journeys…
On Monday we have to be at the main police station in Panama City at 7am to get our papers to permit the export of GANNET2. Basically you stand in line and wait until they check the vehicle identification number. Then they issue the certificate…on Tuesday! And you thought the DMV at home is a bureaucratic pain?! Oh and you have to wear long pants in government offices. Even if it’s 100 degrees outdoors.
Let us not forget we need to extend our car insurance and renew GANNET2’s temporary import permit as our current papers run out the we ship! More long pants this time to visit customs to get our final extension.
That’s another weird thing about bureaucratic Panama, they give you 90 days, and our permit runs out March 12th, but your vehicle only gets thirty days. renewable twice at no charge. Why you can’t get 90 days straight is baffling.
So if you are exhausted just reading this long list of steps remember we need a dog friendly hotel in Cartagena the night we arrive and rental car for our first week in Colombia to explore the hot Caribbean coast before GANNET2 arrives. Plus we’ll need an apartment in Cartagena as we wait for customs to release our van which will then need the due conditioner reinstalled…Layne is expert at this thank god.
If you have skipped all these paragraphs of nonsense remember all this hacking about is required because the US cattle industry never allowed across to be built across 60 miles (sixty!!) of the Darien mountains. The thinking was such a barrier would prevent the accidental
import of foot and mouth disease to North America. As there have been no outbreaks in the US since 1954 I guess it has worked. But what a pain!
Personally I can’t wait to discover Colombia as we’ve never met a traveler with a bad word to say about the country, its people, its physical beauty or it’s food. I’m excited to see Andes and start acclimating to high altitudes. Simply put I can’t wait be a tourist again and stop being a mechanic’s helper.
It’s hard to believe we may be in Cartagena de las Indias in two weeks and in our van there in three. Let the traveling resume.
