Hassles at the Port of Derince

Sebile (a woman) at Yakin Dogu Deniz Acenteligi instructed me to bring the bike to the Port of Derince, which is about 45 minutes from Istanbul on the Marmara Sea. Though my schedule ship would not leave for about a week, I figured that the bike would be safer in the hands at the port rather than on the sidewalk in front of my hotel in Istanbul.

Sounds easy enough, but Yakin Dogu referred me to a customs agent who told me that I would not be able to bring the bike to port until the ship was ready for loading. This actually turned out to be false information. Further complications about clearing the bike for customs and the cost of doing this created a bit of bad energy at among the customs brokers. Plus, Turkish customs refused to stamp my carnet, though the customs officials at the border of Syria did stamp my carnet “incoming.” Theoretically, without an “exit stamp” the CAA could hold my deposit. But with a bill of lading from the landing at Port of Baltimore, I should be find and there would be no problem.

So after all the commotion I left my bike in the Turkish Customs holding warehouse. Removing all those items I’d need for the rest of my stay in Istanbul and Turkey, I secured the unnecessary items into the Jesse Bags and top box. All else was loaded into a large duffel bag and would allow me to check it through on my flight back to the States.

So it was a sad day that I left Doc at the port. Though the trip is done here in Asia and Europe, I do look forward finishing a leg by riding across the United States from Washington DC to New York and on to California.

It’s that time. Doc sits awaiting to be loaded onto a ship headed to the Port of Baltimore on the eastern seaboard of the United States in the State of Maryland.