Bye Bye ´Baru


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Published: March 31st 2008
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Proud New Owner #1Proud New Owner #1Proud New Owner #1

She has a new home
Like many of the stories written in this blog, what happened today is not recommended for the everyday traveler. We will get there though, hold on. To catch everyone up me and Barton, along with Luke and Ryan, two treeplanters from Canada left Utila and drove to the HOnduran capitol of Tegucigalpa. There we found that bruins game at a british pub and watched a sold performance. The next morning all four of us rose early and headed for the Nicaraguan border. Here is where it gets good. When we got to the border we parked our car and were immeditaely ambushed by Hondurans who wanted to buy the car. I was hesistant to the legality of such a blackmarket parkinglot deal so I went ahead and got my exit stamp from Honduras. Meanwhile a man made me an offer I couldnt refuse, a full 1000 US in cash on the spot for the Subaru. NO import taxes, tarrifs, duties, or buraracray. At first we attempted to go into the customs office and make the deal legitimate but there were problems. The title to the car is in my Dads name so the officials would not sign off on the sale.
New Owner #2 (and lawyer)New Owner #2 (and lawyer)New Owner #2 (and lawyer)

He made it all happen
The solution to that problem was to drive back into Honduras (where I was no longer technically in according to my passport) find a lawyer who would sign off on the deal, and then sneak back across the border into Nicaragua (where I had already been stamped in). At the time this plan seemed much more legal than it probably was. So I hopped into my car with the two potential buyers in the backseat and we ripped off toward the border town, El PAraiso I think it was. We went to some guys house, I guess he was a lawyer and he wrote up a contract in long hand. My buyers then told me we were going to go make the contract official. What this really meant was that we went to an internet cafe and they typed up the contract, we all signed it and this guy hands me ten 100 dollar bills. We then hop back into the car, almost T-Bone another motorist and make it back to the border where we pull off on the side of the road, hand the man the car key and leisurly walk/jog back out of Honduras and back into Nicaragua,
Sad End to a Glorious EraSad End to a Glorious EraSad End to a Glorious Era

Its all I have left of her...
where we were supposed to have been all along. To those of you who are considering taking a car down to central america and selling it, this is your most lucrative possibilty, it is not however recommended. Bascially we are documented as leaving Honduras, with our car, entering Nicaragua without our car, and somehow we got 1000 bucks in the process. And this story is 100 percent true, tommorow I will try to upload the last few pictures of the good old subaru wagon...


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The TeamThe Team
The Team

Me and my lawyer...
CelebrationCelebration
Celebration

Canadian Tree Planters celebrate the sale at the Nicaraguan border


31st March 2008

'baru
nice...now what? fishing boat.i would go south...keep on truckin
1st April 2008

Sketchy!! But sounds like it worked in your favor!
Hey! That's wild. We're driving through C.A. but have gotten stranded in Texas waiting for our trucks title to catch up with us. How were the border crossings? Did you spend a lot of money on toll roads through Mexico? Be safe. La Familia Collin
1st April 2008

Checking on your progress daily
For what it's worth, I am another of the people reading your blog with great interest. As if you needed encouragement!
3rd April 2008

borders
Going into this trip the one thing I was most concerned about what the days we had to cross borders. I had heard horror stories about spending six hours waiting for paperwork to clear. As it turns out it has taken less than 30 minutes to cross each border. It took as longer when we sold teh car obviously but I have already told that story. Remember to have the following at each border. Original title, registration, passport, birth certificate never hurts. Almost every border asks for copies of all these things. We stopped at kinkos in El Paso and made like 20 copies of each document. Very helpful... If the car title is not in your name you need some type of permission note from the title holder. Other than that its not so tough... The tollroads are pricey in Mexico, specifcally around Mexico city, but the roads are great, huge four lane raods and you can fly. You still save money by not taking expensive busrides. If you can pick up fellow travellers on the way you can all split the toll and it wont be as bad... good luck

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