Getting to bed late at 11 pm we were kept up all night by the outdoor concert in town that was still going strong when we set out for the ferry terminal at 4 30 am. At the dock you must stop at the gate and show your ticket. They have staff to direct you from here and wave you along to the second gate where you are directed to park to the left in front of the line of cars.
From here you head back and to the right to the building with the big “check in” sign. Go up the stairs and to the Burquebus check in. They will look at your ticket and give you boarding passes for you and the bikes. The next step is to go all the way to the other end of the hall to a desk on the left. Ask here for the Aduana. An official will come out and take your TVIP from Uruguay. Then head back the way you came and follow the signs to Migration. Here you get your Uruguay exit stamp and Argentinean entry stamp at the same desk. Then you must go upstairs to the passenger waiting area. Ask an official to direct you across the walkway, down the stairs, and left and back out to the parking lot. They load the bikes first and they will strap them down.
Head upstairs and get a reclining seat and then use your ticket to get a juice and media Luna!
We slept most of the way there. It is a nice view as you arrive into downtown BA. It was incredible how they dock the ship stern first and then bow thrusted it sideways in-between two other ships docked there.
You exit off and follow the line of vehicles to the right. Here they are checking Argentinean vehicles for customs. You will be waved ahead to a small area to park. The aduana office is on your right as you go there. Walk back to the office and give the officer your passport and title. They will prepare the Argentinean TVIP.
From here we were headed to Tigre to meet with our friends Pia and Ramiro. We planned to go 120 km north from there to his families’ farm for an asado. The map is approximate since the dirt road from the highway to the river is not on Google maps.
The last 20 km is a sand/dirt road, which luckily for us was dry since Ramiro says when it rains just the top layer gets wet and very slick. We camped out overnight by the river after quite a few beers and a lot of meat.
Leaving on Sunday late morning Daniels noticed a problem just after we left the dirt road and we pulled over to check out his rear tire that was totally flat. The Heideneu is so stiff that even at 120 km per hour it ran pretty well. That said we pulled out the pump and put in some air. We did this or used a gas station about every 20 km to limp back to Bella Vista where we could change out the tire in Pia’s dad’s shady backyard and not in the blazing 32 degrees on the side of the road. There was no puncture or tire damage, but a small hole in the tube from wear. Then it was time to use their power washer to try to get off the red mud of Brazil that dries like concrete. Sara had to scrub the suits with a brush to get it out too.
Today we headed 35 km away to Dakar Motos to arrange the last details of the shipping. Sandra and Javier are awesome. The arrival there to us was even more sweet than getting to the sign at the end of the road in Ushuaia. It was such a long time coming and such a big goal to mark the end of our tour of the Americas. Here Sandra will organize all your paperwork for the shipping and give you detailed instructions for the procedures.
When we arrive to the cargo terminal there were 3 others with bikes bound for the USA and the UK. The procedure went so smoothly it was awesome. First the Dakar agent meets you at the importation gate where there is parking in the shade and he gives you the documents you need for the bike.
You then drive over to exportation and check in at the booth with your papers and passport. After this you follow the series of officials and are directed to the far loading bay to put the bike on the scale. This is not for calculation the cost, but for airline information. You are then directed to the next secure bay where there were palates set up for each bike. The official then inform you of how to prepare the bike. We had to remove the mirrors and wind screen and let some air out of the tires. They did not look in the panniers, but we were told to remove all non-motorcycle specific items, like camping gear. This is a new rule because people were showing up with bikes piled with stuff and the shipping cost is by volume not weight. Initially the rule was nothing but the bike and empty panniers, but the airlines have now agreed that parts, tools, and riding gear are part of the bike. We also left our rain gear, heated jackets, and tarp. That said, if they looked in the pannier and refuse to allow anything you must be prepared to part with it. We did not send our tent and camping gear.
Once the bikes are verified by customs they are wrapped in cellophane and marked for shipping. In the end they prepared all 5 bikes in about 2 hours.
We all shared a cab back down town to the Plaza de Mayo where we met up with our friends Pia and Ramiro.
Day three of the procedure is to go downtown to the Navicon office to pay the shipping fee and get your waybill. From our friends place in Bella Vista this was a 50-minute train ride, a 20-minute subway ride, and a 20-minute walk for us, but luckily our appointment was at 1030. When you arrive at the Navicon office Giselle will meet you on the first floor and give you the shipping bill. The fee must be paid in cash at the bank next door and you should pay in Pesos bought on the blue market (12.9:1) since you will be charged the official rate (8.7:1) if you pay in USD. You then take the deposit receipt back to the 7 Th floor and receive your waybill. If you have not been able to exchange your USD for Pesos yet there will be several cambio guys hanging out on the corner near buy. We had changed our dollars for this huge stack of 100 Peso notes. The final cost was 2800$ US or 31,098 Pesos all in for the agent fees, airfreight, and taxes landed in Madrid from Buenos Aires.
Taking the subway over to the bakery we met Pia for lunch of HUGE meat sandwiches. Dan was so excited to meet the GOOGLE girl!
On our last day in Argentina we went to Tigre for breakfast at a trendy spot and then hung out at Pia and Ramiro’s house on the delta. For dinner we headed back to Martin’s in Bella Vista for a goodbye Parilla.
