I woke early, packed my bags and left for the shipping companies office. 

Once there at 8a.m. I was told they didn’t open until 8.30a.m. So I went to a local coffee shop, grabbed a cuppacino & a banana muffin and went to the waterfront to wait. 

8.30a.m.  Good morning sir, can we help you?!

Yes! I’d like to pick up my bike please! 

I handed over all the relevant paper work, then was told I needed to go to the post office and get a money postal order for the bike release fee (which had already been paid in the UK, but of course, that’s not accepted over here!) , great! 

Down the lift, across the road, over the square into the post office, “sorry sir, your card says credit and it has to say debit in order for the sale to go through” 

Okay I say…..out of the post office, across the square to the ATM, back across the square, into the post office, handover the cash, get given a posts money order, back across the square, back over the road, into the building, up the elevator to the 13th floor, hand over the money postal order, the kind lady stamps my bit of paper, then tells me I have to go to customs just up the road to get the bike released from customs!! 

So, back down the elevator, out the building, over the road, across the square, walk further up the road, it’s getting hot now. Arrive at the customs office 10 minutes later, hand over paper work…..sorry sir, I can’t release your bike as it is not in the system yet……..what?

So now I’m here waiting at customs for the Shipping company to complete things there end in order for it show up on the Canadian customs system. Until then, I’m stuck here.