Rolls Alaska to Argentina & back: 14 still Guayaquil, Ecuador

Sunday, March 6 to March 6, 2011

Our enforced stay in Guayaquil is giving us an opportunity to study the local residents. On the average they move slowly, whether they are customs agents, super market cashiers, or even just walking from one point to another. They are also reserved. Few clerks say anything when a purchase is made, or greet you when you walk in, and greeting a stranger causes a surprised reaction. The Sheraton and their superbly trained staff were an exception, as were other hotels we stayed in.

There a goodly number of well endowed women who seem happy to display their assets. Most people are very religious. It was disappointing when we bought groceries for the apartment in the Kennedy Hotel as sales of alcohol are prohibited on Sunday - no beer When I mentioned this at the Sheraton when checking out the receptionist gave me two coupons for beer in their bar, which opens until 4 PM on Sundays - no wine or drinks in restaurants Sunday evenings.

An article in the paper said that the numbers of girls under 14 having babies has increased 74% since 2008, and now account for almost a quarter of the births in the country. It also said 30 people died violently over the four day holiday, 19 of those in Guayaquil.

The suite we have at the Kennedy Apart hotel is great - a large bedroom with en suite, kitchen, living room, good wireless internet, maid service and full breakfast, all for $70 per night. It has enabled us to use internet at the same time and get some work done.

We called the customs broker first thing Wednesday morning, and had to have Geovanny drive us into town to give her a document that was needed. Late in the afternoon Marilynn contacted her to find she had been successful in getting an appointment with customs first thing Thursday morning. It was an exciting night, expecting we might get the car in the morning

Thursday, March 10, 2011

Geovanny picked us up at 8:15 AM and we were in the customs broker's office before 9. There we were assigned a person who rode with us for the half hour drive to the customs office at the main port. After some delay we were assigned another person, who took us to a different port several miles away where we were fingerprinted before being permitted in. We then waited in a room with a bank window and several other windows while our escort disappeared for an hour or so. When he returned it was with news that we had to drive to another customs area where we were to get a code that would allow us into the area where the container with the car was located.

The customs employee at the entrance to the other area could say only one word - "carta" (Spanish for letter). Eventually our escort figured out that to get the code it was necessary to have the customs people where the car is issue a letter authorizing us to get a code. Our escort phoned his boss who said to bribe the people to let us in!

So it was back to the place we waited before to wait for another couple of hours, but this time when the agent came back it was to say were weren't on the list for that day, so would have to start all over again tomorrow. I went ballistic, so we eventually were shown to the office of the "client service" manager. Now there is a misnomer if \I ever saw one - service??? At any rate, she explained that there were a set number of containers permitted to leave the port each day, and we were not on the list. When we contacted the customs broker we were told we were on the list, otherwise she would not have sent us to the port! However, there was nothing more to be done except retreat and try again tomorrow. We were pretty upset, as we must find another hotel. The Kennedy is booked over the weekend. We had optimistically arranged parking at the Kennedy so we could leave Guayaquil first thing in the morning!

Friday, March 11, 2011

When Geovanny arrived we loaded our goods and chattels into his taxi, then headed for the main port where we started out yesterday to pick up our same escort. We were promised the car by noon, which was good as all ports are scheduled to close at 2 PM. Coastal towns have been ordered evacuated due to the expected tsunami from Japan. After some delay while he got his instructions we once again headed for the same place as yesterday, where once again we waited. A sense of urgency simply does not exist here!

Eventually our man reappeared with a letter, which we then drove to Mr. Carta of yesterday to get a code to permit me to get in to inspect the car. Naturally, this process was not quick, but eventually we had a code and drove back to our waiting place again. After renting a hard hat & reflective vest our escort and I headed into the dock area where a full hand print was taken. Marilynn was not permitted in as she was not wearing long pants.

We found our way to the correct container and waited a long while in the burning sun for the customs inspector to appear. Once he arrived, confirmed container numbers and codes on the lock, it was opened and there was the car, undamaged. The contents were inspected, vehicle numbers compared with shipping documents and a general inspection carried out. The container was then closed and locked. We walked from the container yard back to where Marilynn and Geovanny were waiting.

Now we had to driver to where Mr. Carta controlled the entrance, but this time my escort and I passed as we had the right codes. At the office of the customs inspector who saw the car we waited while he took 45 minutes to type the document to say the car had cleared customs. He then invited himself to lunch with us, as it was noon and all official functions end until 1 PM. My stomach was not in shape for food, but the inspector did know a good Chinese Restaurant. All I was aware of were the minutes ticking away.

During lunch our escort's cell phone rang - it was the woman from the customs broker office saying we needed a document from the shipper to allow the container with the car to be moved. The shipping office emailed me the night before to say we would need this document, however in the morning when we asked the woman at the customs broker office she insisted we did not need any other document, that we had everything.

Now there was a major panic. We had to go back to the main port to get some documents approved to remove the car, and to do that we had to have the document from the shipper. I gave the customs agent $5 to get a cab back to his office, our escort took another cab to the main port to make arrangements, and Geovanny did a great job driving at high speed in and out of traffic to the shipper's office. I dashed into the office, signed a letter that was ready for me and took it to another office to receive the authorization letter. There were others in front of me, and staff moved at a snail's pace. Eventually I got to the front of the line and they couldn't find the letter. After involving about half the employees and management it was located so I dashed out of the building and Geovanny did a high speed run to the main port.

Once there the big boss of the customs agency met me and walked me through office after office, where more documents were prepared, I was photographed and fingerprinted again, codes to get in and out of the gates issued, vest and hard hat were rented and finally we entered the main port. Walking is not permitted, so we had to wait 20 minutes for a shuttle bus to take us to the office where I waited for some time while the customs agent arranged more documents Once these papers were in hand (added to the inch and a half stack I was already carrying) we were driven back to the main gate. Here a truck driver was hired to collect our container, our original guide was given further instructions and Geovanny drove us back to where the container was located. It was now past 2 PM, but so far the port had not closed.

Once again we waited for a long time while our escort presented documents throughout the complex. When he got back we were presented a bill for almost $300 in port charges, which had to be paid in cash at the bank in the waiting area. Even though the currency of Ecuador is the US dollar, the bank would not accept $100 bills!!! The security guard, who by now we knew quite well, intervened and offered to have the money deposited into his account then he'd pay with a cheque. Eventually the bill was paid and our guide disappeared with the receipt to get the final clearance documents. It now appeared that the port would not close.

When we drove to another entrance to find our trucker, he said 115 trucks were in line ahead of him to pick up containers. It was expected his number would get in about 3 AM. I vetoed the idea of coming back in the morning as there would be just as much of a line then, so told the driver to wait, and when he was about 5 trucks from getting in to call us at our hotel and we'd come running;

Geovanny drove us to the downtown Ramada Inn were we had arranged a room on line for $65. Several whiskeys later we went back to the room to rest and wait. We suggested to Geovanny that we could take another taxi when the call came, but he said no way. He'd lived this process with us from the beginning and was going to see it through - he would be ready to roll at any time.

Just before midnight Geovanny phoned the hotel. Our customs agent had called him to say the trucker had bribed his way into the port and had the container loaded but they wouldn't let him out without another customs officer's signature. We would need to be fast as the port was about to close.

Marilynn & I were standing in front of the hotel when Geoganny pulled up. We piled in for another high speed run through the city to the port, where we had to sit and wait for a customs agent who we would pay to come with us to clear the container. Once he arrived we drove to the gate where the container sat on the truck. The customs agent signed the paperwork to let the truck leave and we paid him on the way back to the place we picked him up. When we returned we followed the truck & container to a private container depot where it could be unloaded.

Finally the truck backed up to the loading dock, the packing removed from around the wheels and the car backed out onto the platform. She seems as anxious as us to get out of the box, as she fired up with the first turn of the key! We now forked over $56 cash to unload the car and $160 to the trucker before following Geovanny back to the hotel. They had kept a parking spot for us on the street in front of their guard. It was after 2 AM, but the nightmare was over. In the morning we'll get out of Ecuador and into Peru.