Fun At The Port

Having decided to continue our family adventure into Central America, we had the not so minor logistical task ahead of arranging shipping for our house-on-wheels. As previously mentioned, while Colombia and Panama share a physical border, there is no road connection due to the dense jungle separating the countries. As such, shipping would be our only option.

The Overlander community is pretty active in this part of the world. People travelling in their own vehicles will share information, contacts, stories and advice with each other, helping make the journey a little smoother. So to begin with, we reached out to learn about the different shipping agents, sailing dates, services, security and pricing.

Vehicle security was one element that we had read a lot about in our prior research. Both at the ports in Colombia and Panama, and during the actual sailing in between, vehicles had frequently been broken into with everything from electronics, clothes, food and even crockery being taken.

First impressions of Overlander feedback were mixed to say the least;

• There was a company that most people had used that managed to ship their vehicle from Colombia to Panama
• Sailing dates were limited to roughly once per month
• Security had not really been an issue in recent months (although most people had added their own vehicle security prior to shipping)
• The company in questions customer service was at best described as barely adequate
• The price to ship a vehicle of our measurements would be c.$5,000.

So after a deep inhale, we reached out the company in question looking for available dates and pricing. After several weeks of unresponsive communications, we eventually got an indicative date and pricing quote.

• The date offered was a month after our required shipping date (as we were flying back to Europe for a family visit), with apparently no other available sailings in between
• The price quoted to us was $8,000.

Cue more deep inhales, a few expletives and general bewilderment. This was not exactly what we had been hoping for when we decided to continue our trip northwards…

Ideas flew around the camper van. Could we sell our vehicle and buy one in Central America instead? Would travelling with backpacks be feasible for our family? Or should we simply pay what they were asking for and rearrange our flights back to Europe for Christmas?

After some brief research, we ruled out the buy and sell option as we reckoned this would end up costing us even more (both monetary and emotionally). We also discarded the idea of packing and repacking four rucksacks every other day (this time from a monetary and sanity perspective)! Lastly, having accessed our own finances, plus the cost of changing our flights, we decided that we try to find another company capable of shipping for us.

Laura then reached out to some other mutual acquaintances and found a couple who had recently shipped their vehicle with a different shipping agent. This company were much less known but the feedback we got in all regards seemed to be quite positive. So she contacted them with an equal combination of hope and apprehension. Amazingly, that very same day, she received a message back and the conversation continued thereafter.

Nasly and the team at Summit Cargo were 100% professional, reliable, honest and helpful throughout the whole process. We were made to feel valued, not like we were just another walking $ sign. For this we were extremely grateful.

In terms of logistics;

• They offered us a shipping date that suited our date requirements
• The all-in cost would be less than $4,000 (certainly not good value when compared to a regular ferry cost, but one we could just about stomach to facilitate the continuation of our adventure).

Before shipping, there were a few important tasks still remaining for us to complete;

• Bring the camper van to get added internal security installed
• Remove all valuables for the shipping
• Get the vehicle thoroughly washed (the vehicle would not be allowed sail if it was dirty)
• Empty any remaining gas from our gas cylinders (also a shipping requirement)
• Bring the vehicle to the port for registration
• Be present at the port for vehicle inspection by the Colombian police.

Several hectic and very sweaty days in Cartagena followed as we ticked items off our to do list.

Our first task was an afternoon visit to Freddy the carpenter. He helped block the driver’s cabin from the living part of the vehicle, also blocking off Diego’s bunkbed where we could safely store additional items of value. Not the prettiest solution but a really effective and economical one.

We then packed up our own bags that would fly with us to Panama. Easier said that done as temperatures inside the van rose above 40 degrees, without a breath of wind in sight…

Washing the vehicle and emptying the gas proved significantly less taxing, leaving just the port activities to round off our list.

Located some 30km from Cartagena, arriving to the Port of Manzanillo should have been straightforward. Yet following some very heavy rains the previous couple of days, plus the dreaded high tide, I was tasked with navigating the newly formed road waterways to get Grandullona there.

Setting off before 6am, the van very slowly waded through water much higher than I have even driven through before. The reliable machine that she is, we made it safely to the port for our registration. There, following some hairy moments as our vehicle documentation was forensically examined, we were registered for our sailing three days later.

Last job would thus be the police inspection, one day prior to sailing. For obvious reasons, Colombia takes the exportation of vehicles very seriously. For us and our van, this would mean a police team of three, two officers and one German Shepherd, examining every nook and cranny of Grandullona.

Having waited nearly two hours for the police to arrive, it was a relief to greet them and show them around our home. I must say that the experience was thoroughly professional, cordial and thorough. The whole inspection was even videotaped, inline with police requirements.

And with that I was driven away by our shipping agents, leaving our vehicle behind at the port. The next time we would see her would be a week later in the port of Colon in Panama. We crossed our fingers and hoped that she would arrive none the worse for her travels…

Click here to read the “A Day In The Life…” blog post