The Big Fix – 5/11/2013
May 21st, 2013 by rallyadmin
We’d cleaned up the car yesterday and reorganized the gear that we were leaving in the car. We’re not really too worried about the gear (the car is being shipped inside a 20 foot container) but there are somethings like the car’s spare parts that we don’t want to lose.
Shipping in a container lessens the possibility of theft but since we have to leave the key to the lock that’s on the metal chest that we have the valuable items in, our efforts may be for naught.
The only thing left to do until we head for the car dropoff is finish packing thye gear we’re taking on the plane. We sleep in, have breakfast, check out and when we can’t waste any more time, we head for Martha’s office.
Yesterday, we took a taxi. Today, we’re driving the Cherokee. It seemed so easy in the taxi but we get to the right general area and then circle to land. Finding a parking spot is still another challenge but we luck out and find one on a side street just a block from Martha’s office. Up to the office and, like yesterday, she’s not there yet. One of her staff offers us a seat and we wait for Martha to arrive.
When she does arrive, it’s immediately obvious that there’s a problem. No more smiley, charming Martha. Today’s Martha looks like she’s been crossed by someone and whomever that is will probably not seem sunset. That might not be a joke here in Medellin, the former murder capitol of Colombia.
Whomever was supposed to do the “extra work” so that we could drop off the car today has fallen down on the job. Martha gives us the bad news: dropping the car off today is not possible. It must be dropped off by John on Tuesday. She thought she had it worked out but it can’t happen.
Now it’s our turn to get ugly. This will not do. You said that the “extra work” would take care of this. John has to be in Fla tomorrow. We already have plane tickets based on what you, Martha, had told us. The exchange doesn’t need Google Translate.
We can’t tell if she’s more embarrassed because she committed to us or if she’s just homicidal because she’s been put in this position but someone else. In either case, she gets on the phone and starts screaming at the poor souls at the other end of the phone. The calls get so harsh that she leaves the office and continues the harangues in the outside hall. That does nothing to lower the impact.
This goes on for 15 – 20 minutes before she finally hangs up. She comes back into the office, grabs our file, tells us to wait and leaves in a serious huff. We have no idea what’s going on. Maybe we’re leaving tonight, maybe not.
A bit over an hour later, she returns and announces that she has found an inspector who will sign the documents necessary to load the car into the container without actually seeing the car. That means another round of “extra work” but it also looks like we’re going to leave the car today and we’re going to make our flights.
More paperwork. We settle up the bill but not after a dispute about the bill. Martha had given me a list of items that we had to pay for and showed us the backup documents. We agreed but today when she added everything up she was short one invoice. I asked her about it and then John asked her about it. But she said that her total included everything. Peels off the greenbacks (she doesn’t have any trouble converting Colombian pesos to US dollars; she just has trouble accepting Colombian pesos.)
Finally, were done. One of her staff goes out to the car and leads us to a secure parking garage. It doesn’t look too secure but they insist. We leave the car and the keys and walk back to the office. Everything’s done. We say our goodbyes. She wishes us well and says that everything will work out. We leave.
With no paperwork. No keys. No bill of lading. Hell, that’s what we did in Baltimore, Vladivostok and Sydney. But who’d want an old Jeep Cherokee with now nearly 200,000 miles (not kilometers) on it? Besides, it’s loaded with a lot of old man’s junk.
Off to the airport.
Obi-wan