From Panama City, Panama to Quito, Ecuador - November, 2003

From Chris and Spice

Panavia was the cheapest we could find after a number of calls and came highly recommended by Ricardo Rocco in Quito. The flight had to go through Bogota for a 24 hour layover which we weren't crazy about but it was
unavoidable. The only prep we had to do was roll the bikes into the warehouse. They asked how much gas we had in the tank and we said about a gallon and they said no problem. They asked that we just leave them on the floor and they would take care of the crating but we decided to strap them down to the pallet ourselves.

On arrival in Quito they were no longer on the pallet and they had both been over. One bike had slightly bent bars and a small dent in the tank and the other scratches on the panniers. Getting them out of Customs in Quito would have been a major hassle without the broker even though the VIN and tag numbers were not exact. I would recommend the shipper but do a little more homework on the crating process and come with
your own packing supplies. After all was said and done we figured the hassle was worth the money we saved.
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Contact: Panavia Cargo. In the phonebook and at the cargo terminal. Afella Portiva was our point of contact in Panama and spoke some English.

Cost: $875 for 2 fully loaded KLR650s $36 in Quito for Paperwork, $40 for the broker and $28 for storage at Customs.