GOODBYE, AMERICA! 👋 Shipping My Motorcycle from Panama to Colombia - EP.387

How's my hair? Right, it's time. This will be my last episode from North America and Panama. I know, I'm sad, but there's a whole new chapter ahead of us. I'm heading to Overland Embassy, which is a shipping company. Guy's gonna put Chile in storage for a couple of months and then they're going to ship her on a plane to Colombia. Meanwhile, I'm flying out to Europe for a little break, just to have some rest, catch up with family and friends and go to a few events. So in this episode, I'm just going to show you what's involved in preparing your bike for shipment, how much it costs and what is the procedure. So I think it's going to be a very valuable information for anyone who's doing this trip these days. Here we go, Chile. Let's do it. Our last ride. We have made it, guys. Are you decent? Hello. Hello, hello, hello. It's all happening. It's all happening. Right. Welcome. Thank you. Alejandro, Darwin. So this is where it's all happening. This is the heart of Overland Embassy. Your company is, how long do you have this company? Since early 2021. So about four years now. Four years. And you did it because you travel yourself. Correct. Yeah. We did a trip from Panama to Alaska. We spent a year and a half on the road. And after we came back from that trip, we had this space. This is part of the family business. And it was empty. It was of no use. And we started by letting people sleeping here. And then we started offering services like repairs and storage. And, you know, at some point, somebody asked for help for customs purposes. And then we got into shipping and then just organically grew. Yeah. Well, well done. You guys have a very good reputation. So I'm very pleased we got connected because I know Chile will be looked after. Thank you. So these are the rules in Panama at the moment. On Australian passport, I'm allowed to be in a country for three months. Right. So is my bike. But my bike actually can stay longer. Correct. In the storage. Correct. As long as the the TIP is suspended by a customs bond, the vehicle can stay in the country for up to a year. Up to a year. Yeah. And if you do know people who left their bikes for longer than a year. Yeah. If you need to leave them for longer than a year, we need to keep the customs updated on the situation of the bike. Otherwise, they put it like in an abandoned state and it's a whole, a whole lot of process. It's problematic, but it can be done. Formally, one year. You can leave your bike in one year, which is so convenient because a lot of people, this is like they've done North America or South America and they can pause the trip for one year and return to the bike and continue. So that's very, very handy because not every country in Latin America offers this. Correct. Panama is known for that. So it's possible. Okay. Oh my God. You high five. High five. This is your holiday house. Alejandro. Yes. What are the options now these days to ship your bike from Panama to Colombia or vice versa? Okay. There are two official options, which is air freight or shared container. Before it was possible to ship the sailboat and do the trip through San Blas or the Darién Gap, but that's unfortunately not available anymore due to paperwork issues on the Colombian side. For example, this year in 2025, we have two boats that sunk with motorcycles on them. People use the speedboats and it's simply unfortunate that people can risk their trip, their motorcycles, their gear just for the sake of adventure. There are things that are worth doing and some things are maybe not worth the risk. I would have anxiety if I had to put Chile on the boat like that. Sorry. Yeah. And what are the formal options at the moment? The formal options is air freight or shared container. Our main offer or our current offer for motorcycles is the air freight. It is the fastest, most convenient and with most items included. So for air freight currently, it's 1100 Panama to Bogota and 1250 Bogota to Panama. On the Panama to Colombia offer, we include not only the shipping of the bike and the customs clearance in the Panama side. We also include one night hotel in Bogota, one month of insurance in Bogota and private transport that picks you up when you arrive in Colombia. We take you to the hotel, then the next morning we pick you up in the hotel, bring you to customs and a private agent that does all the process for you. So it's a full, real, crazy all-inclusive. Yeah. Awesome. And how much is, uh, what is the cost now to ship your bike on a plane? On a plane it's 1100. 1100. US dollars. All of that is included. All of that is included. Awesomeness. And then the storage, if you leave your bike with you in the storage, how much do you charge per month? For a short term, let's say under three months, the cost is 150 US dollars per bike in an enclosed secure indoor storage facility we have in Panama city. Um, if you need or want to stay or keep the bike longer with us, it's adjusted to $125 per month with the same conditions enclosed, secure CCTV and indoor, which is the most important part in a very tropical country like Panama. Yeah. You know what I really love about your office that you have the collection of these stickers, hey? Yeah, absolutely. And that's not everything. That's not all, right? No. I mean, we have several doors. We change it every year. Um, so the old doors, we move them to another location like we have here. So this is 2025. That's where my stickers go. Okay. So this is 2021. 23. Oh, look who's here. Lavi and Oli. I know these guys. I met them. I met them in Arizona. Right. And then here, which year is that? This is 24. 24. All of these people were your customers. That's crazy. And then this one is which one? 21 and 22. The crazy part is that not so many people travel with stickers. Like it's not everybody knows about this, uh, unwritten rule that you need to bring stickers everywhere. Um, so this represents a lot of people. We we've been receiving over 2000 travelers in the last four years that go through this office. And we also get besides the stickers, we ask them to put a pin on the map. So if you see that map is where customers are from, uh, or some of them. They're from all over the shop. And some of them, after they finish their journeys, uh, they send their plates to us as a souvenir, let's say, or as a present. So all these plates are traveling plates, if we can call it that way. Yeah. I'm so surprised they have spare plates. People travel with spare plates, but that's the thing, right? Yeah. More people. I don't know. I always only have one. Uh, we also wanted to give you a small present from the Overland Embassy team. A little tote bag. Look at that. We see many travelers are with all the stuff in their hands and trying to pack things and put documents in little bags. Exactly. This is we're going to the customs now. So this is going to be my shopping. This is my custom, custom bag Yeah, actually. Let's go. Super. Thank you. Love it. Off we go to the custom office. Oh, wrong side. Sorry. I'm so glad we don't have to ride around. Yeah. And they don't need to inspect the bike there, right? No. They just trust you. No, because at the end, before the bike flights, it goes through the inspection. That's why we need to have access to the pioneers and so on. I see. So that's when the bike is inspected. For now, it just stays in storage. Customs will do a verification, picture verification of what we have. And then once, once we go for shipping, you will, you will get all certified. All clear. Before you had people sleeping, like literally. At the beginning of the business, people will sleep inside of the warehouse and then they started sleeping outside. And at some point we had over 20 campers on this street, like in front of my neighbor's businesses. You know, it was, it got crazy. It got crazy at some point. Got out of control. Got out of control. So we decided to take a risk of getting this lot here to develop a small campground. It's like a little oasis for overlanders in Panama City. Really? It's just here? It's right here. Oh my god, it's like literally like 10, 10, 10, 10 steps from the embassy. It's kind of hidden away. Yeah. So it's not marked. It's not, not big sign, nothing. It's not on Google Maps, right? It's only for... It's on Google Maps. It's open to all travelers. So it doesn't matter if people are shipping or not with us. It's open to everybody. That's so nice of you. And yeah, take a look. Yes, let's do it. Welcome. Oh, wow. That's, that's a very large area. Yeah. So here we can fit from motorcycle travelers that need to sleep on a tent to expedition trucks or big vans like this. What was the maximum? We had a six by six man truck here that it was almost 10 meters long. So that was fun. But yeah, we, it's, it's always mixed. So we have people from all over the world camping here year round. And yeah, it's, it's a, it's like a, like an overland oasis. Yeah, absolutely. And here you have a kitchen. So we have a shared kitchen, a shared area. People can sleep here with hammocks if they need to, if it's too rainy and so on. Two sets of showers, toilets, shared fridge. It's a simple space, but made with love, let's say. Very modern, I must say. No, you've done so well. Yeah. So shared kitchen here. Down here we put sand under this grass. So it's soft ground for people that are sleeping with tents or if you have kids and they want to play around, do yoga, you name it. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh, that is so fantastic. So these guys are still here. They just went to town or? Yeah, these are waiting for shipping. Oh, this is so interesting because you cannot take all of that. So you can't take, you can't ship your bike on a plane with, with gas bottles and stuff like that. Yes. And your engine oil needs to be left behind as well. So I guess people are just leaving this and then anyone who comes in can just grab it and take it, right? We have a lot of free stuff for travelers. So you just need to stop by and see what, what you can take or what you need. And it's all yours. Brilliant. And now we're heading to the custom office. Correct. I bet you're friends with them already, hey? You know them all? Yeah, you'll see, you'll see. I bet you do. But it's a, this is the best thing ever. And this is part of your service, right? Yeah, correct. Then you don't have to ride your motorcycle around the city in that heat. This is just... Yeah. And you go in the, we try to have always cool vehicles for our customers. So today you got the Defender, right? Yeah. Very cool. I love it. This is your Overland car, hey? Yeah, I used to live in this car. Really? This is the one we took to Alaska. So cool. Panama City is so beautiful. Really? Yeah, and it's a pretty new city. Like it's been developed in the last 20 years. Really? Properly. So all of what we just drove through is one of the best neighborhoods. And before it was the dumpster of the city. And then it got compacted and they developed this amazing neighborhood. Wow. So yeah, that's the customs building, the one on the left. So Chile will be flying out of here, right? Correct. This is the terminal for the cargo cargo planes. We're gonna stop to do the customs clearance. Here we will need your passport only, okay? Sure. I'll take my bag with all of it. I love it. Professional. Right, so no filming here. We'll see you in a sec. And we're back. Well, well, well, I got in trouble. Yes. Yes. So what happened? So the issue is that when you enter Panama at the border, you got three months visa. But the permit for the motorcycle, they gave it for one month renewable, which means that technically you had to renew your permit a month and a half ago. Yeah. But why did they do that? Because normally sometimes they can give you for three months, right? Sometimes they give it for three months, but it depends on the customs officer. It's not something that is rare to happen. It happens very often. So important for all travelers coming into Panama, verify or ask that they give you the three months right away. And if not make sure that you read when is your expiration or renewal date. So you don't get into trouble when leaving the country. Exactly. So make sure you do that because clearly I didn't. I just assumed I have it for three months. And I tell you, I was crossing Panama. I was stopped by the authorities. They were checking this paper, which was expired and it didn't say anything. So I was really, really lucky I didn't get in trouble. I was so lucky. So thank you so much for your help. I'm the bike is ready for export and yeah, you're free. You're technically free of the bike for now. This was so easy. It's like just, just stressless. I can't believe this. Like, but okay. I'd have to tell you why, because they all love Alejandro there. I think he's their favorite. All the ladies greeted him. Is that what they say to you? Yeah. So this is the story. I think he just, it's who, you know, it's who, you know, I think, you know, but is it, is it possible for me to do it myself? I don't think so. You have to have an agent. Technically you could do it yourself. You're not forced to have an agent. However, in situations like this, it's always good to have somebody by your side because then there are technicalities that depending on the customs officer, it can be easier or can become worse. So it's a matter of interpretation in most, most cases. Yes. And every case seems to have different problems. Yeah. Different approach also. Exactly. So, yes. Thank you very much for that. We done. We're going back to the warehouse now. I'm going to remove all the items from Chile that cannot be on a plane and I will disconnect her battery. I will say goodbye to her and that's it. She will be having a break for a couple of months. Yeah. I'll babysit her. Yeah. Thank you. Thank you. So no spare fuel, no oil and no pepper spray. My precious. We've been through a lot together. It's like brand new because it's never been used. And last task for today, I have to disconnect her battery so we can actually start her in Colombia. Although I think we're going to need a new battery anyway. We'll see how we go. Don't lose this crew. Don't lose this crew. Don't lose this crew. Let's tape you all together so we know who goes where. Come on, everyone in. This is where you're supposed to stay. Okay, these ones are done. Now, the red guys. Team red. Stay. Bye, Chile. Have a good break. I'm gonna see you soon, okay? I'm so sad. At least you got a friend. I think I put it in. And now one for Polonia Suwałki. Done. Lovely. And last but not least, where should we go? We go all the way to the top. How's that? Wait. Somewhere there. That's the perfect spot. I like this sticker. This is my quote for sure. Hey, guys. Thank you so much for watching. If you enjoyed this, please do all the magic that helps the channel grow. Subscribe, leave a comment, and hit that notification bell so you don't miss on the next episode.