John, it's an honor to get a reply from you. I appreciate the depth of your experience and willingness to share.
You're right that it would be cheaper and probably more sensible to ship the bike home from Belem than from Manaus. My thinking (or lack thereof) on this was informed by various riders I've read and talked to who counseled me not to get separated from my bike when shipping it. This is probably something easier to do in theory than in practice. I suppose I could ship from Belem and not get on the Amazon ferry til I saw the plane take off or the ship sail with my own eyes. Do you have any experience or info on shipping from Belem, either by air or sea?
I'll consider your suggestion on running north from Manaus into Venezuela and turning left into Colombia. I'm trying to get home by Christmas 2013, which is why I was looking at the Manaus/Belem options.
Cheers,
Jim
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