Getting the Van out of its box

Our Hapag Lloyd representative, Fidel, was very helpful and spent lots of time with us. Although we have discovered that no one person seems to know what the entire process is, maybe that’s what the ‘Agents’ are all about. We decided to try and save the $150+ on agent fees and go it alone. Fidel originally told us Tortuga would be unloaded on Thursday, and after a relaxing morning of humitas and coffee we checked our email. Fidel wrote to say the container would be opened at 12, today, Wednesday. It was now 10 and we were not ready for this, as the previous day was a wash as we didn’t have the proper stamps (again more stamps) on our Bill of Laden when we went to customs. Today, however, we were armed with stamps and photocopies and money. We took a cab to the private port of Inarpi which is about 15 minutes by cab from the main port, and customs. They managed to rustle up some safety vests and hard hats for us and were led back to the bodega, a customs warehouse for loose goods. The hour wait passed quickly watching the dock workers zipping around in forklifts and container lifts. We noticed Tortuga’s container, stacked on 2 others, right outside the bodega. When they finally picked it up and placed it on the ground we were amazed at how gently it was handled. Opening the box was uneventful and it felt wonderful to drive the van again, I’ve had enough of cheap hotel and eating out 3x a day. This was short lived though as I had to drive it into the bodega and begin the customs procedure. Here’s a short synopsis for those interested:

After they unloaded the van a snotty guy, Romi, inspected the van and filled out a Traja. He insisted that I did not need a copy of this for customs but we did, which involved a cab back to Inarpi and waiting an hour for Romi to finally produce it.
With Carnet de Passage (FAI), Passport, Title, Traja, Bill of Laden (with the stamp we got from Transoceania in Guayaquil), list of car contents, and we had a letter from Transoceanica explaining that we are tourists and this is a used car in transit, go to the subgerencia office in the port’s customs office, not the main customs office that’s on the way to the port.

While Romi was inspecting the car a customer service lady at Inarpi said that it would take at least 5 days to get the van out, it was a terribly lengthy process, this is a bureaucratic country and we could not expect to see the van before Monday. This torpedoed our hearts, as we were hoping to have the van out in a day or two. She smiled at us sympathetically and offered us the number of a customs agent who could help us. Funny, he was listed in her phone under ‘Papi’. When we showed up 6 hours later with all of our paperwork completed, she looked pretty sheepish…

We got to the subgerencia as soon as they got back from lunch at 1400. The austere disposition of the guards was countered by jovial atmosphere inside. They said that the Carnet *is* needed when I specifically asked. The ‘tramete’, or paper work needed to get the van out, requires 3 stamps and 3 signatures. The last one being the boss, who, as bosses always are, was in a meeting. We took a stroll around the port enjoying the iguanas and brilliant yellow birds and went back as instructed in 30 minutes. Success. What happened next was a whirlwind tour of the bowels of the customs building. There was photocopying, lawyers’ signatures, we were introduced as our host’s long time friend at one point to get our papers processed ahead of a LARGE stack of others and then, finally, we were spat out again into the bright Ecaudorian sunshine with what we presumed to be everything we needed.

We returned to the Inarpi port and our hero, Javier Delgado, was astonished that we did that so quickly. He wouldn’t believe us that we did it by ourselves. Even Kim was saying that my childhood in the developing world has honed my skills of pushing, with a smile, at just the right time to get that last stamp.

So, why is Javier the hero? Well, he knew exactly what needed to be done, and he was hell-bent on getting the car out that same day. He pushed our papers through the right windows, asked for the right stamps, convinced the bank guy that the bank wasn’t actually closed yet (phew!) and then, remember Romi, well he would not release the car. No reason given. So Javier managed to go over his head and get the final bodega signature.

We really wanted to do something for Javier, we even bought him a bottle of booze, but then felt a bit funny about going back to Inarpi to give a customs officer a gift. Hopefully you’re reading this Javier and know how much we appreciated all your help.

The final moments were the best. I was in the van and drove up to the gate. Kim was on the outside and I was feeling a lot like I was getting out of the joint. Another customs guy walked up to me and asked if I drove the van in, I said no, it came in on a boat and he simply said, ‘well, you can’t leave then’ and walked off. Harrumph. Luckily 4 or 5 semis started piling up behind me so a sense of urgency happened (this is a rare thing and I basked in its presence). I produced a photocopy of some stamps and before I knew it we were driving in Ecuador.

The whole process cost: $100 to Transoceanica for printing the B/L and handling fees (not sure why this was charged and felt like we double paid). $70 bodega and inspection fees. $30 cab fees (misinformation made for a lot of cab rides)

The whole process, once we knew when the container was being opened took about 6 hours. Everyone, except Rommy, was incredibly friendly and helpful. If you don’t speak decent Spanish, I would recommend a customs agent.