I had
not planned to take such a long hiatus from the road recently,
and as a result, my permit for Baby Blue in Peru expired.
Not a big deal, so I thought. Pay a fine; perhaps couple
extra bucks at the border. I only wish it had been so
easy. There were specific instructions on the back of
the permit in case I had to leave the country without
my vehicle. (in plain Spanish!) Not following them was
grounds to have the vehicle confiscated! Oops.
Baby
Blue's "real" liscence plate |
I
spent two days and visited 5 different government
offices in Lima. Finally I got a 'notarized' letter
from a police station stating that the vehicle had
been in storage. Several stamps and signatures.
They are very big on stamps here. |
But this was not the definitive document. This document
was supposed to go the northern border town where the
permit was issued. Apparently no one in the Capital or
in a Southern border town would have any jurisdiction
over the passed due permit. A judgement or decision would
be made as to the outcome of the case and the fate of
Baby Blue in Tumbes and Tumbes alone. "This is crazy!
This can?t be!" I thought. Tumbes was two days north
and being on the road could risk confiscation. Mail could
take weeks and the outcome still uncertain.
I
decided to drive to the Southern border as planned
and trusted that someone there would be able to
help. I had my notarized letter that would work
for police along the way. I created a 'counterfeit'
Arizona license plate for the front of Baby Blue
that looked like a Peru plate. |
|
Baby Blue's "new" front plate |
I was forever being pulled over to have to explain that
in my state and country we are only issued plates for
the back. I was tired of explaining this and didn't want
to risk unnecessary inspection of my defunct document.
I was proud of the work and grateful for a taxi driver
with access to a computer with a printer.
A
real Peruvian lisence plate |
|
The only cop I encountered on the two-day drive
south requested only some cookies from my front
seat. I obliged and he happily waved me on. I was
cruising. I was all but across the border!
|
So I thought. At the border I was not allowed out of the
country. The next day the Central office of Aduana informed
me that the Tumbes office, now four days north would need
to be contacted for this infraction. Two days later, Baby
Blue has her own attorney and I'm going nowhere fast!!
I'll keep ya posted. |
