anna: DHL Logistics in Remote Areas

Thorny thickets and the aquamarine sea, off Isla Coronados.

HOW TO SEND A PACKAGE FROM A SMALL MEXICAN TOWN, IN A REMOTE AREA, IN THE NORTHERN SEA OF CORTEZ:

Step 1. Remove and disassemble the 40 lb. item we intend to ship, in preparation for packaging.

Step 2. Hand carry 40 lb. item to the "mailing service" tienda in Santa Rosalia.

Step 3. Request (in awkward Spanish) that they box and send package via DHL to the US.

Step 4. Get blank stare.

Step 5. Requested a box for packing and got redirected to the grocery store two blocks away for a carton.

Step 6. Bring box back to the mail service, ask for bubble wrap, get blank stare.

Step 7. Get a demonstration on how to crumple old newspaper to put inside a cardboard box.

Step 8. Hand carry 40 lb. item back to boat and pack securely with newspaper, extra cardboard, plastic bags, and duct tape.

Step 9. Bring box up to marina office and ask where the closest DHL office is located.

Step 10. Get blank stare. The closest one is in Guaymas (84 nautical miles across the Sea of Cortes).

Step 11. Get redirected to local Mexican freight service (Baja Pack).

Step 12. Hand carry 40 lb. item to Baja Pack office, only to be told they don't ship to the US.

Step 13. Get redirected to another Mexican freight service, Estafeta.

Step 14. Hand carry 40 lb. item to Estafeta, only to be told we need a stamp from Mexican customs (Aduana) before shipping.

Step 15. Hand carry 40 lb. item to Aduana for customs stamp; Aduana opens neat packing job with razor for inspection.

Step 16. Get redirected, by Aduana, back to Estafeta for "intent to ship invoice" before official stamp can be received.

Step 17. Hand carry 40 lb. item back to Estafeta, only to be told they don't insure without original 8-year-old receipt.

Step 18. Bring item back to marina office and told that maybe our box can go out with next, 'remote area', DHL shipment.

Step 19. Make an appointment with DHL for a remote area pick-up and told driver will come next day.

Step 20. Next day comes and goes, no driver; call DHL again after no show.

Step 21. DHL says our package was picked up, even as we were looking at it, sitting on the floor in the marina office.

Step 22. Made new appointment. This scene was repeated 4 times, still no show. DHL still claiming they took package.

Step 23. Spoke to DHL supervisor to expedite pick-up. Supervisor promised to call next day to confirm pick-up time.

Step 24. Supervisor never called. Driver never showed up. Marina office manager shrugs and says, "DHL, in Mexico, sucks." We are inclined to agree.

Step 25. Hand carry 40 lb. item back to boat.

Sailing 84 nautical miles to Guaymas, to hand-deliver our package to the DHL office appears to be the logical choice. Either that, or wait until we sail back to La Paz, in a couple months, and ship the package from the DHL office there.

We'll let the wind and waves decide the fate of our package. With westerly wind and seas we'll head for Guaymas, else, the package can wait until we return to La Paz.

Greetings, from a small town in a remote area in the northern Sea of Cortez.

p.s. A few hours before we were ready to depart Santa Rosalia the DHL pickup driver showed up at the marina office, 4 days late, on a Saturday. This is interesting because DHL said that they never pickup on a Saturday in remote areas. We handed off the package to him and got the official DHL receipt. He then must drive 8 hours back to La Paz and wait until the DHL office in La Paz opens for business, on Monday morning. It's anybody's guess if the package will ever find its way to its final destination, Minneapolis, MN.

Photo-log: central to northern Sea of Cortez, Baja-side.

Click on photos to enlarge image.