Riding through the Americas

Day 361 (04/06/15)
Yesterday I sent the shipping agents (Lyn Cargo) notification that I would bring Suzi in to their office tomorrow and sent them the requested details to commence the customs process. Suzi and the panniers have to be cleaned before I deliver her to the airport so I spend most of the day scubbing the accumulated road grime from her and the gear.

Then off to the shops to buy some food for my stay and think about what I will need to keep with me while I wait here in Bogota for Suzi to fly and what must be included with Suzi as cargo.
KMS NIL
FUEL NIL
FOOD $26.20
ACCOM $10.00
OTHER NIL

Day 362 (04/07/15)
I start early today because I need to be at the Lyn Cargo office by 08:30 and I am not sure how long it will take me with the city traffic. They have supplied me with GPS co-ordinates and I hope they are accurate. Mr Garmin takes me through the city centre on a road they are rebuilding. Its just after 07:00 and rather than deviate from the route I just drive down the unpaved road and wind my way through construction stuff to the otherside where its clear again.

The co-ords are accurate and I am outside the Lyn Cargo office building with 45 minutes in hand. I have a slow coffee and park Suzi in the rapidly filling bike zone in the secure parking area. I am still early but knock on the third floor office (302) just after 08:00. They are already working so we get on with copies of passport, bike tile and number plate and the Colombian customs entry document for Suzi.

At 09:15 the agencies “point man” (Libardo) and I are just outside the airport cargo zone syphoning the last few litres from Suzi and putting it into his motorcycle tank. There is still about 2 litres left but Libardo says that OK! The rest of the day is mostly waiting for officials to do what they have to. First we wait outside the customs shed for an hour or so. Then drive Suzi onto the scale for weighing with everything that goes with her. Final weight is 567 kg!!! :huh Can’t see how they get that but the price is pretty much what I was expecting/quoted so I don’t argue.

Then we walk over to the customs processing office where they tell us to come back at 14:00. Its only 11:45!! We sit around again and have something to eat and drink at a Subway Sandwich and return to wait at the customs office at 13:30. Paperwork there is completed by 14:15 and its back to the customs shed to await police inspection. Nothing happens until 15:45 when Libardo goes looking for the police inspector. He arrives with a young policeman who checks the panniers and has the top bags put through the x-ray machine. Then he asks me to start Suzi and signs her off. Its 16:40 when I hail a taxi to go back to the hostel, feeling nearly naked with only my little day pack.
KMS NIL
FUEL NIL
FOOD $8.80
ACCOM $10.00
OTHER $1138.12 ($1130.92 freight cost, $7.20 taxi fare)

Ouch! How much is Suzi worth at this point? I know, PRICELESS!

a happy and sad day to be separated from your Steed (mare) Peter.
And you and Suzi have made it "mostly" intact.
Thanks for taking this couch potatoe along,and being able to share some time with our family...
Best Regards Bruce and Susan,Mitchel,Hayley

Its been my pleasure. And thank you for a really good time, camping with you and the whole family in the vineyards of Osoyoos

Hows the shoulder by the way?

Thanks for asking,rehab is going well considering the damage that was there I guess.
Frustrating when some of the best flyfishing for Steelhead and Trout is right now..ugh,of course my flyfishing buddies help out by sending lots of pictures...ugh.
My surgeon rides a Tiger 800 so he feels my pain about not riding for so long.
I actually have been able to go for a couple short rides on the bike in the last couple weeks,sure feels good(last decent ride was Jan 7th day before surgery).
I need to be build up the mileage quickly(without ibuprofen) as I 'm going to go over to Vancouver Island to visit Mitchell and do some side trips further up Island.
Stay well Peter,enjoy your downtime you deserve it.

Day 363 (04/08/15)
Its an odd feeling not having Suzi waiting patiently close by for the next day of riding. I hear from Lyn Cargo that Suzi’s flight leaves in the early hours of Friday morning and she will be ready for collection in Miami by 09:00, Saturday. Now I need to finalise my flight!

Direct to Miami is twice the price of flying direct to Fort Lauderdale :huh so I book a flight arriving in Fort Lauderdale at 19:00 on Friday with Spirit airlines and book a hostel in Fort Lauderdale for the night. I will catch a bus down to Miami early Saturday morning.

I also need to change hostels here in Bogota as the one I booked for three nights is full tonight. I get one a few blocks away. It turns out to be a nice place and breakfast is included.
FOOD NIL
ACCOM $11.00
OTHER NIL
LOCATION N 04° 35.502' W 074° 04.203'

Day 364 (04/09/15)
My room is next to a rather busy road and quite noisy. Not the best sleep, but my mind was also thinking about stuff I must still do. I take a walk up to the Funicular and ride it up Cerro Monseratte. Huge views of the city and the adjacent mountain with a statue of Christ on it.

Bogota from Cerro Monseratte


Christ statue


I walk through the city and check out some good graffiti. Also buy some water and a few groceries. On my return to the hostel the internet is out so I am still not able to sort out the boarding pass and the baggage with the airlines.

City graffiti




When the internet is restored I try again to check in online and fail again. Most frustrating! Go through my food bag and leave most of it in the “free food” box in tbe hostel kitchen. Saving some stuff for breakfast and sandwiches tomorrow. Hit the bed after a good long, hot shower at 22:30
FOOD $3.80
ACCOM $11.00
OTHER NIL

Great ride, great read, sad it is at its end - looking forward to stories around a braai!!

Still enjoying your great RR! What is the plan once you are back to the US? :huh

Day 365 (04/10/15)
Slept very well and made myself a large breakfast as Spirit Airlines charges steeply for everything ovet the basic ticket price. So probably won’t be eating once I am on the way. Make sandwiches for the trip and stash as much as I can into my day pack, the rest goes into a cloth shoulder bag that I bought for my “carry on” baggage. I try once more to check in online still no go. At 10:30 I head into Bogota city and grab a taxi to the airport.

At the airport the check in process has just commenced and low and behold they tell me that you CAN’T check in or pay baggage online in Colombia, for security reasons!!!!!. ￥§©@&%!:huh

All that wasted time on the computer could have been saved if they just put that on their website. Despite this I get charged $50 for my small daypack because I didn’t book it in on line.... Major rip off!! Can’t take my water on the plane so drink it and eat my sandwiches while waiting to go into the boarding area. Need to get rid of my Pesos .... Think I might buy a book to read on the plane! Then exchange my last pesos for US dollars just before boading.

The flight is smooth and uneventful, we land earlier than scheduled and have to wait 20 minutes or so in a parking zone. Immigration and customs complete I catch a taxi to the suburb of Hollywood where I book into my hostel and take a walk on the beach front.
Online I organise transport to pick me up outside the hostel and drop me of in Miami at the cargo section of the airport.
FOOD. NIL
ACCOM. $35.00
OTHER. $80.00 ($50 check in baggage, $10 book, $20 taxi fare)
LOCATION. Oops! Forgot to take it down!

What a question!!!

Hi Donnie will be spending a month in Florida “recovering”
Then fly to Boston , visit New York. And a quick trip to Maine then fly South for our winter

Day 366 (04/11/15)
I check out at 07:30 and go out to wait for my transport to Miami Airport to collect Suzi. The van is already outside waiting for me. Great! earlier the start the better. Jorge the owner/driver drops me right outside the Ground Alliance Cargo Offices about 45 minutes later. After collecting my documentation I walk across to the customs clearance building about a kilometer away. I am glad its still relatively early as the heat is building up already.:huh

Once back at the warehouse with my clearance stamp its simply a matter of unwrapping Suzi from the spidery cocoon of plastic wrapped around her, re-positioning her review mirrors and loading her up.

Cocooned Suzi


In about 30 minutes I am riding down the ramp heading for a gas station for some fuel. I spy a Dennys and pull over for a “lumberjack stash” breakfast, my first food since finishing my sandwiches in Bogota airport. Yum!!

By 10:40 I am heading North to Naples on Interstate 75. Its a flat relatively uninteresting ride to my brother inlaws place in Venice, riding sedately along at between 65 and 75 mph and remaining mindful about not bringing South American “standard motorcycling practice” back to the good old USA!

I pull into the driveway in Venice at 14:15 ..... my year long oddessey through the Americas is over.

Ahead lies a 8 week holiday break before I return to South Africa (via Boston, Maine and New York). In less than a month I will be joined by my beautiful and very patient girlfriend. Life is good! Praise the Lord!

Suzi back from her adventures (44737 miles travelled)


KMS. 328
FUEL. $27.00
FOOD. $15.80
ACCOM. NIL
OTHER. $111.20 ($50 Customs, $60 Transport to Miami, $1.20 tip)
LOCATION. (Aproximately). N 27° 02.700' W 082° 25.300'

Congratulations! It has been a wonderful odyessy Wotnext
JJ

Congratulations and thank you for taking us along and all the effort you put into this RR. Take a long rest and look after your leg.

Ahead lies a 8 week holiday break before I return to South Africa (via Boston, Maine and New York). In less than a month I will be joined by my beautiful and very patient girlfriend. Life is good! Praise the Lord!

CAN'T WAIT MY LOVE!!!!

Peter congrats and Cheers on completing your Suzi travels .Susan and I pulled the "cork" on the Tinhorn Creek from the wine tour of Osoyoos we did while you were here.
Cheers ,glad you are safe




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Glad you made it home safe. Thanks for all the hard work taking us along for the ride.
Andrew

Good job Peter, congratulations and thanks for taking us along.

Eric

Hi Peter, Well done! But remember it's not complete until you are back on home soil. Enjoy the rest of your time. K