25
May 2018 – The truckers continue to block off the airport with
their trucks and the employees can’t get to their places of work.
The employees of the Terminal de Cargas – Importacao / Exportacao
and Mundial Import and Export Solutions also can’t make it in
today. People wanted to get to work but stopped trying because they
were afraid of confrontations with angry truck drivers. So, no pallet
will be built and no customs inspection today.
26
May 2018 – The truckers strike continues in full force. One must
remember everything in Brazil is moved by trucks and when they stop
rolling the country feels the pain. Terminal de Cargas does not work
again. I’m still setting and waiting. There have been some
instances of violence breaking out and not in good way. So, the
President of Brazil called out the Army to keep the peace. They
mainly keep open the airports, hospitals and other emergency
services. The effects of the trucker strike are / were being felt. I
still haven’t heard any word on the shipment of my motorcycle. I’m
guessing my motorcycle hasn’t been crated up yet. I went to bed
concerned.
27
May 2018 – Still no word from Mundial Import and Export Solutions.
My paranoia is kicking into high gear. I will wait out today, and
tomorrow I will pay a visit to Mundial Import and Export Solutions. I
will attempt to get some answers to the status on my motorcycle
shipment. I spoke to the receptionist at the front desk today about
the trucker strike. She said she is concerned that the hotel will run
out of food for its guests. I guess that is a valid concern. The only
food I eat is the morning breakfast. They have a good buffet and I
overeat every morning. Because of my motorcycle shipping issues I
decided to extended my stay at the hotel for another 3 days.
28
May 2018 – I got up early and decided I would walk down to Mundial
Import and Export Sol-utions Office. I wanted to find out what the
status is on shipping my motorcycle. I was supposed to ship it on 25
May 2018 which didn’t happen. I am concerned about what my future
shipping date will be. I wrote a note to myself in English and
Portuguese that I wanted to ask Vinicius Mendes. 1.) What is the
security on my motorcycle? 2.) Has the motorcycle been put on a
pallet yet? 3.) When can Customs / Aduana inspect my motorcycle?
4.) What is the tentative shipping date? 5.) Am I paying an extra
storage fee during the trucker’s strike? These were all valid
concerns.
When
I arrived at the office of Mundial Import and Export Solutions I
spoke with the receptionist and she notified someone that I was
there. I wanted to speak with Vinicius Mendes but I’m unsure where
the telephone call went. Eventually, Yazmin the English-speaking
woman arrived and I presented her my list of concerns. I also told
her the longer it takes to ship my motorcycle the more hotel bills I
have to pay. She got right on the phone and spoke with someone. She
informed the someone of my situation and was told to inform me that
Vinicius Mendes will be in touch with me this afternoon. I was also
told; don’t worry we are working on your shipment. I thanked Yazmin
for her help and left wondering if I was just given the good ole
brush off. Anyway, I went outside and decided I do some exploring
around the mall / plaza area downtown. You know, just looking at it
and all the different stores. Most everyone was walking to work or
somewhere. Quite a bit different from the U.S.A.
I
eventually had my fill and walked back to the hotel. I took the usual
route back but stopped and bought a bag of popcorn. It was unusual
popcorn. Somehow they flavored it with bacon. You could see the bacon
chunks in the popcorn popper and I had them in my bag. The popcorn
had a definitive bacon flavor. It was ok but honestly, I prefer
buttered popcorn.
About
2:00 p.m. my cell started getting noisy. Someone was texting me.
Eight pictures arrived from Vinicius. A pleasant surprise to say the
least. It showed my motorcycle all crated up and ready to ship. Oh,
that just made my day. He also told me we have to wait for a date and
a time to get on the Federal Revenue Schedule or Custom Inspectors
Schedule. He said he would have to get back to me on that. There is
also some kind of a money strike/negotiation process going on with
the Customs Officials. It was said they come in and leave when they
feel like it. The full staff never comes in together. It’s kind of
a silent rebellion to get more money. They deliberately hold up
shipments of goods to leverage their positions. So that was the major
issue in dealing with the shipment of my motorcycle.
I
just finished communicating with Vinicius when James Sr. texted me
the same pictures telling me of the good news. It truly was good
news. I felt like my motorcycle had already shipped. I sent the
pictures of my motorcycle crated up to Mary and to my brother, who is
my contact in the United States. I told them how great it was to
finally be making some progress on this shipping issue. I went to bed
happy.
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