Wandering with Tedder and Tamara

So we took the bike to the shipping office we decided to use- after a mad scramble to find our customs paperwork for Ecuador. I thought I'd lost it. Thankfully, there was one place I didn't look, and Tamara was smart enough to find it. The guy at the office, spouse of the woman whom we'd been talking to, was there and filled us in on things. He wants the gas tank nearly drained, battery disconnected, and, after a long confusing conversation, we realized they wanted to air down the tires. No problem- we couldn't tell what he wanted done.

He also wanted the bike washed. Imagine that! So we are supposed to bring the bike back tomorrow afternoon, washed and ready for them. No problem with that, either- we went and got it washed in a really weird way. The guy sprayed some sort of oily soap onto it, then washed the entire bike with a filthy rag that was coming apart. Basically it just smeared dirt everywhere. Next, he used a pressure washer to blow all of the dirt off. If the bike was in better shape I wouldn't have liked that (because of scratches), but it's pretty banged up anyhow.

We'll take the bike back tomorrow, which may be the last time we see it until it arrives in Los Angeles- and until I arrive in LA, for that matter.