How we nearly lost our motorcycle to the Bolivian government. After all our efforts to make sure the motorcycles can leave Bolivia after the long Covid lockdown, Bolivia customs decided otherwise.
We have remained on the road during the entire two-year pandemic, and so far we have managed to navigate rather successfully the world of COVID travel.
In all time we have done it by being extremely diligent, aware and proactive in our travel plans, especially knowing that motorcycles are in a country notorious for confiscating vehicles. Also by keeping up to date on what is happening and figuring out ways to adapt to changes in the countries we are in and the ones we will be heading to.
With every effort to make sure our motorcycles will be able to exit Bolivia when the borders with neighbouring countries open we found ourselves in danger of losing their motorcycles at the Bolivia border. Nothing could have prepared us for what happened on that day. And it was a long day.
Just before the border closed for the day the Bolivia aduana official decided to make our lives hell by just deciding that motorcycles are illegal in Bolivia. We had to negotiate and plead with him and his superiors to understand their own unreasonable ill-conceived rules were the problem, not us. In more than a decade of overlanding and crossing borders we got so close to losing our motorcycles to an uncaring government and institution.
This story not only illustrates the unpredictability of travelling during unprecedented times but also speaks to a type of perseverance – a traveller perseverance – a type of resolve that some travelers learn through their experience on the road when they run into seemingly insurmountable roadblocks and manage to find ways to get through.
Listen to the episode on ARR website
General tips for border crossing:
- Make sure to have all your paperwork in hand with enough copies of all your documents. Nothing gets a border official more irritated than a person frantically scratching through a backpack for papers wasting their time and the rest of the people in line.
It also adds more unnecessary stress to yourself. - Never get to a border post minutes before they close thinking they will quickly stamp you through because they want to go home. You will probably sleep in no-man’s as border officials generally have all the time in the world and they only do what is needed till the bell hits go-home time.
- In countries like Africa set out an entire day for a border crossing. If you do it in an hour or three you scored. If not, and it takes many hours you did not plan to be at a certain place and sitting with the stress of having to clear a border in a certain time.
- Always stay calm when things start to go pear-shaped. Try and keep rational, do not get insulting or make officials feel you are some special person deserving special attention and your tantrums will make them help you.
- Keep talking in a calm voice, and keep asking what solution can be found for whatever issue. Stay friendly and accommodating to what they say even if the asshole border person is clearly unreasonable or indifferent.
- When you know your vehicle or your own time has expired in a country do not try and go resolve that at a border post. Border officials are there to stamp people and cars in and out. Not solve problems and they will either get you in deeper trouble or not solve your problem. Resolve immigration or vehicle issues at a major centre where there are officials that can deal with them. And get proof f everything!
- Do not bribe people, or attempt to bribe people. It can quickly swing against you when you actually try and bribe a decent person and they charge you with bribing an official. Or it can go into you paying more than you ever thought you will pay. Bribing people is in most cases the wrong answer to a problem.
- When entering a country, make sure your paperwork is perfect with spelling names, numbers, VIN numbers, plate numbers and all other relevant information.
Leaving a country and a VIN number has been captured incorrectly the official can easily turn a simple spelling mistake into a horror time.
