Expert: Cesar - 10/18/2009

Question
QUESTION: Roadwarrier replied that sea freight was BS and he drove accross can you confirm this is spossible and would a 34ft Rv be able to drive this route

ANSWER: Dear Charles:

The Darien area has 125 miles of thick jungle. You can imagine something similar to the Amazon. There is an intention to build a road to connect the two countries, but that will take several years before it happens. A few have crossed with dirt motorcycles and in Jeeps, but I suppose they have to deal with all kind of obstables and they might have used tortuous rivers to go down in some areas. They went went thru swamps and downed trees. An RV is not well suited for crossing jungle like a motorcycle could. It could get stuck in many places and would not be able to cross many of the obstacles and will not fit in between some trees, cross or go down on rivers that have rocks, etc. If you do searches about the subject you will find comments from people who want to cross and want to know about it, comments about people who did it, what the obstacles are, etc. Here are some links:

http://gosouthamerica.about.com/od/dariengap/Darien_Gap.htm

http://gosouthamerica.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?zi=1/XJ/Ya&sdn=gosouthame

http://gosouthamerica.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?zi=1/XJ/Ya&sdn=gosouthame

Another problem is that there are crimininals/guerrilla there.

Your choice for now should me to cross by other means, maybe by ships or suitable boats, but an RV might be too big for some boats that normally cross vehicles.

Best wishes,

Cesar

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: any info on shipping alternatives for my 34ft RV to any port on the southern continent

ANSWER: Dear Mr. Charles:

I bet there are many ships that would be able to take your RV anywhere in the world. They can take it for example from the US all the way to many sea ports. Then you will need to find out how to get it from the sea port to the city inlad where you want it. You could contact local companies and ask them. The phone book should show you what is close to you and you could call them and ask them. They will tell you prices and what they can do for you. I am not in the shipping business and therefore I cannot recommend you a particular company or method. Since the RV is going across several countries you will need to figure it out with the local companies. For such long distances usually the sea is a good solution. I do not know or recall where you are located, but I suppose you are somewhere in the US. Driving an RV so many miles will be very expensive in gasoline and will wear the engine a lot. I heard that RVs are not well suited for  long distances because the transmission will break (is not long lasting since the load to handle is a lot, but I have also heard of people who have driven RVs very long distances, but they were new or not too old. Ships have no problem transporting the weight of an RV and much more than that. Towing an RV such long distances by land involve going to a lot of stops along the road including the border crossings and I do not know of a company who would do that. You could send the RV to a port in Colombia and then drive it yourself in Colombia or have somebody do it for you. I do not know names of shipping companies, only of bus companies, but both appear in the Internet.

Best wishes,

Cesar

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: should I try any particular shipping line, who is the regular visitor to your ports either to Columbia or to the east, which are your major ports for this sort of traffic

Answer
Dear Mr. Charles:

I do not know names, but I ran a search and I can give you some links:

http://colombia.shipping-international.com/

Here is a shipping company with offices in Panamá and agents in Colombia:
http://www.silkton.com/?gclid=CPmghceDxp0CFZla2god2BBWrg
http://www.silkton.com/contacto.html
http://www.silkton.com/agentes.html

http://www.airseaint.com/global_freight_forwarding.htm
http://www.airseaint.com/global_freight_forwarding.htm
http://www.airseaint.com/global_freight_forwarding.htm

http://www.jctrans.net/Company/list_Colombia_3.html

This is a referral company, not an actual shipper:
http://www.123movers.com/international_movers/s-international/default.html

http://www.uniinternational.com/

http://compare-international-movers.com/vervolg2.asp?inittype=removal
The problem with this one is that they probably move household items, but not very large vehicles such as an RV, but yo could contact them and see what they say.

The following links has contents that talk about importing cars to Colombia:
http://www.ehow.com/how_5314763_transport-car-usa-colombia.html

Best wishes,

Cesar
www.CesarUSA.com