Allwewantispeace
5/12/2015 22:19 EST
Hello everyone,
I've been reading this forum and doing some research with regards to moving to Uruguay this summer. This will be my first post.
Is it possible to drive there from the U.S.? There is a ferry from Key west Florida to cancun. We would drive my pickup truck and pull a small camper.
What difficulties might we encounter at various border crossings?
I'm going to take a wild guess that this will not be possible, but it solves a few of my initial problems: vehicle, shelter, seeds, water... I'd like to be self sufficient from day one. Your thoughts?
Thank you,
Peace.
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edykizaki
5/13/2015 05:08 EST
Hi! To my knowledge one cannot drive all the way. I have been told that there is a place between Central and South America where there is no road connection... one has to have the whole wagon train shipped across some water, and it's expensive. If anyone has more details on this I would like them as well.
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rouy
5/13/2015 08:27 EST
I don't know the answer, but I know there are some blogs about travel to South America,
In this link, there are many of them!
https://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/forums/americas-south-america/topics/help-me-find-the-best-south-america-travel-blogs-for-a-6-month-adventure?page=2
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Morell
5/13/2015 08:59 EST
I have heard others ask and they were told it is not safe or possible.
What would you do with your car? You are not allowed to import it here permanently.
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Morell
5/13/2015 09:11 EST
Here is someone who drove to Argentina, except the shipping across the Darien Gap.
http://austintoargentina.travellerspoint.com/20/
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carlitos
5/13/2015 09:48 EST
you will have basically 2 problems, one is the language I am assuming you don't speak Spanish. And the more successfully you can communicate the more problems you can avoid. the second problem is the darien gap you will need to cross your track and trailer. there are several options for that one is to cross from Colon to Cartagena, in the past there was a ferry, the service has been interrupted and I heard there was plans to resume the service, I don't have an update on that matter, however you can load your track and trailler into a container ship but that will cost you about 5k. Another option is to try to ship your track and trailer to any port south of the Darien. The Chilean ports are the best option I believe. I've meet several people that drove from the us to here. In february I met a couple from northern Europe they bought a camper in Colorado and paid 5k to cross. I strongly believe whatever option you take, coming with your truck and trailer and a very wise decision.
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jaakko
5/13/2015 09:49 EST
No - there are no roads at Darien Gap (between Panama and Columbia), and it would not be safe to start with.
Taking a vehicle permanently to another country is not usually a good idea - even with the same makes & models, the spare parts are not always available, since the cars may have been manufactured in a different country.
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sage1193
5/13/2015 10:25 EST
No, you cannot. There is a place south of Panama called "The Darien Gap". There are no roads and it is a place where the chance of something bad happening to a gringo rises tremendously.
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carlitos
5/13/2015 10:53 EST
some people here a total freckouts they should never leave their homes, I took my wife and went from here to canada by bicycle. you should experience stuff not only imagine how dangerous things can be. you have only one life and you will die only once.
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crazyfarmer
5/13/2015 11:44 EST
I met a uruguayan about a year ago who had lived in the US for about 20 years. When he came back, he did exactly this. He had a truck and a camper and managed to drive all the way back to Uruguay from the US. The gap was a problem he mentioned. He said he took a ferry that was ridiculously expensive and took something like a couple weeks to make happen. But he pulled it off.
I don't remember exactly how long it took him, but it was around 2 or 3 months. He also looked like he belonged where he was. And he could obviously speak fluent spanish. And he was armed. And as a returning Uruguayan, he could bring his vehicle with him.
So it's very possible assuming that ferry is still running. But I would recommend having a very reliable truck. And you might want to bring certain spare parts with you and a complete set of tools.
I might try this if I didn't have so many kids. Expect the adventure of a lifetime.
brian
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carlitos
5/13/2015 12:19 EST
Morell, left here on the 8th of August 2004, arrived at Quebec city on August 2007.
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carlitos
5/13/2015 12:20 EST
My friend Ivan left Los Angeles with his wife an his 6 months baby daughter, 80 days after they arrived sound and safe in Porto Alegre. They drove a Cadillac. it was back in 76.
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EdNewYorkCity
5/13/2015 12:22 EST
I remember a few years back a uruguayan family drove all the way from Canada to Punta del Diablo in a VW van. They wrote a blog about the trip that provably is down now since I couldn’t find it. I suppose they took the ferry at the Darien Gap, I don’t remember the details.
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carlitos
5/13/2015 13:02 EST
Morell, this was the trip that changed everything. It is not possible to discribe and even if I could, people would have a hard time to understand. Why we left the safety of our homes and jobs, leaving everything behind to ride our bicycles looking for a lot of things but also looking for a place to live and after all this we came back to the origin.
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focus
5/13/2015 13:35 EST
Carlitos, you are truly an inspirational human being. I love your attitude.
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Allwewantispeace
5/13/2015 23:36 EST
Hello, hello to all,
Thank you morell for this helpful link which spells it out pretty clearly: http://austintoargentina.travellerspoint.com/20/
I was excited about the possibility of making this journey with my brother. We've been through a lot of adventures together, and this may have taken the prize.
Based on what I learned at wikipedia, the Darien gap appears to by physically un-passable. Imagine that! It's about 100 miles all together and has taken adventurers as long as 700 days to cross! It seems one must put the vehicle into a 40' container and ship it around the gap. RORO service is easier and less expensive, but requires the vehicles to be bare bones empty, so that is not an option.
Unfortunately for me, Carlitos, you get to hold your title as the only one on this forum with that incredible experience under his belt. For me, the risk to reward ratio is too far unbalanced. I think moving to Uruguay will be enough of an adventure on its own and I should just focus on that for now.
In the 90's we built a small home on the coast of Maine. We sailed up there in a 36' John Alden. cutter which provided a place to live while we built our small home. We would paddle our dingy back and forth each day. Maybe that memory is what inspired this idea.
I appreciate everyone's input on this, but it seems the difficulties outweigh the advantages. Ultimately, I think I'd like to end up living in the country outside of Rivera. Maybe I should rent an apartment there while property hunting. Should I buy a truck in Uruguay? That will be the subject for my next information request...
Again, thanks to you all. Peace.
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carlitos
5/14/2015 07:12 EST
you can buy a truck here but it is going to be ridiculously expensive. look for options and prices in www.mercadolibre.com.uy or say which truck you want and we will tell how much it might cost here. I thought about bringing a sail boat to here. while in the US east coast I saw bargains, good boats for very little money, and here there are at least 5 ports where it would be very pleasant to live aboard. The main port in montevideo used to charge about 500 us per month. I also don't believe you need to strip everything from your vehicle to put in the container as many others have shipped their vehicles completely loaded. I have a friend that is right now planning to come in a motorcycle. I think the best way to travel Mexico and Central America is a small group of vehicles and having at one Spanish speaker with the group. Did you try other options to bring your vehicle let's say from Cali to Chile? Another thing if you plan to apply for residency legally you wont be allowed to keep your vehicle. Why Rivera if don't mind me asking?
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kimbo47
5/14/2015 14:50 EST
Wow Carlitos ,
that is an unbelievable undertaking. You can write a book only on that trip. You may want to consider but at least a blog. I would certainly buy the book but in any case I would love o hear more about this feat since I'm also a bike fanatic. Maybe in my visit we can talk about this and other things over a beer or lunch.
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carlitos
5/14/2015 15:20 EST
No Sir, no books and no blogs, just our pictures and memories that we share sometimes. Once I started to plan a car trip to visit the people we stayed with, but then one project after another and we are here and 10 years have gone under the bridge.
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Pancho
5/18/2015 08:29 EST
First of all there is noroad connection between Panamá and Colombia.. Anyway I don't know how save it could be foran American to travel along the roads of northern South America with a truck & Camper.
Moving to Uruguay also driving down will have another problem. You will enter the country as a tourist but the moment you file the residency application you will not be a tourist any more and leaves your truck and camper in an ilegal situation.
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