YEAH!! Writing from Cartegena..
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Originally Posted by lilbloody
Well, my dear virtual friends..
I have some news I think you guys will find interesting.
Quite literally within 20 minutes of confirming my plans to fly my bike to Bogota I got word from the owner of Mamallena Hostel here in Panama City (who knows many of the sailboat captains and whose staff coordinates San Blas sailing trips) that the captain of the Wildcard - a 60-footer that used to take bikes fairly regularly - has agreed to take my bike on a voyage to Colombia scheduled for June 18.
I have not been able to figure out why so many boats have stopped carrying bikes.. so many mixed messages.. but hell.. I think this may be good news for all of us... if of course this works out! Fingers crossed I don't get sent back the way I came once I get to Cartagena..
I will of course keep you all posted. xx
Heather
http://facebook.com/thefrighteningandbeautiful
In Search of the Frightening and Beautiful
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So I made it to Cartegena via the Wildcard, sans glitch. No export/import problems, the food was great, the captain was professional and my bike was not dropped into the sea. I did get a DIJ inspection in Panama City which proved to be a godsend, as we were visited by the police after loading the bikes and I'm pretty sure they would have either forced us to unload or insisted on "fixit" cash if we hadn't had all the paperwork in order (DIJ/Panamanian import permit/Panamanian insurance/passport copy/title). Not sure how it works going from Colombia to Panama..
I highly **highly*** recommend this boat as an option. It's smaller than the Steel Rat but it's steel hulled and very stable - stable enough for 3 bikes (including an R1100) and the sea sickness wasn't a major issue (for most, anyway..).
To book, contact Mamallena Hostel in Panama:
info@mamallena.com
507-393-6611 / 507-6676-6163
They have a hostel in Cartegena as well.
Feel free to shoot me a message if you guys have any questions. Pics are on my FB page: https://www.facebook.com/TheFrighteningAndBeautiful
Cheers everybody,
Heather
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