warning for transport from Colombia

Last spring I made a great journey in the tire tracks of Che Guevara together with my friend Paul. From Buenos Aires we traveled 13,000 kilometers through South America on a Yamaha XT1200Z and a Truimph Tiger 800XC. See our site: Dos Compañeros | go Che
This post is meant to warn travelers taht like us decide to ship their bikes from Colombia [Cartagena] back to Europe. When in Colombia I came in contact with Sander Gielen from Santa Marta. He is a Dutchman that is already for years engaged in the export of (classic) cars to Europe and the U.S. He offered to transport my XT back to Europe in one of his containers at an attractive price, including all customs formalities. I accepted his offer, partly on the advice of other Dutch travelers who had good experiences with Sander. The transport of my bike unfortunately turned into a drama. It took 6 months (!) before she was back and the costs in the end got totally out of hand. Finally I had to pay twice the price of transport arranged through a normal carrier. Not to mention all the stress and time lost to get the bike back.
So you if you travel through South America and get the tip to get in touch with Sander Gielen in Santa Marta Colombia, be warned.
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