Day 136-157 (Wednesday September 29, 2010 to Wednesday October 20, 2010): San Jose Del Cabo, Mexico

Where to start with the document troubles?

After riding from San Jose del Cabo to La Paz while reminiscing about the last time I had ridden through the mountain passes, I arrived at the Ferry terminal. Confidently, I rode up to the ADUANA agent and gave them my registration without a doubt in my mind that within moments I would be on the other side loading the motorcycle. I could not have been more incorrect. Apparently, along with the registration I needed a pedimento (verification of importation) which I did not have and had no idea that I needed. They tell me to turn around and get the pedimento and also that my bike is not registered as a nacional bike but only as a frontera (border) bike. With so many discrepancies in my documentation I am lucky that they did not confiscate my motorcycle.

I return to San Jose del Cabo and spend another week attempting to locate the pedimento and eventually get a copy of the pedimento notarized. Believing that there were no more obstacles to overcome in order to travel to the mainland I return to the ferry terminal. This time they tell me that I need an FM3 Visa, and a utility bill proving my  residence in Baja California. Since I am already running short on time to return to Guatemala before my temporary importation permit in Guatemala expires I will have to pay the importation tax of about 2000 USD. Some might wonder why I did not write a police report about my burned motorcycle while I was in Guatemala. Well, the only place for a foreigner to write a report is in Guatemala City and I believed that I could return in time with my new motorcycle in order to write the report while passing through. Anyways, with this new 2000 USD cost and the Darien Gap crossing it was no longer economical viable for me to ride. In order to continue the trip I will resell the current motorcycle, fly back to Canada to purchase a new motorcycle, and ship it to Colombia.

Jim and Kiya watching the big-screen. (I apologize if the spelling is incorrect). Thank you Jim for letting this bum crash on your couch for over a month!