The not-quite-bulletproof cardboard, bubble wrap and packing tape shells encasing our plastic boats are showing the scars of more than one tussle with a forklift. The boxes containing our precious gear are imprinted with the dusty footprints of too many boots. While we haven't had the chance to fully check our gear yet, it all looks to have made it here in one piece.
Clearly Lain and I needed a lesson in patience, or some serious reason to relax. I can't claim that our time in Surabaya has been overly exciting, and our buoyantly positive attitudes were really starting to wane as the Customs Department kept moving the goalposts for their archaic procedures. "One more day", "Probably Friday", "Just one more signature" - we have heard them all. It has never been a specific enough time, or a long enough window between procedures for us to escape Surabaya and perhaps explore some of the surrounding areas of Java.
Today we were finally reunited with our boats, albeit briefly. We had to be present while the Customs Department performed a thorough check of our gear to make sure we weren't attempting to smuggle any boogie board bags into the country. The process was laughable, and a reminder of the farcical nature of the red tape trail were are riding along.
With our hi-viz vests and hard hats we slipped through the security gate to the dock yard, despite not wearing covered shoes (a mandatory requirement). Our kayaks were piled in a lonely corner of a massive warehouse and we were left to sit with them on our own for about an hour. When finally the entourage of Customs officials, security guards and various other minions arrived the focus of their investigation became making sure that they were able to snap a photo for Facebook with these crazy Aussies and their wild looking boats (minus our mandatory hard hats of course). The officials barely even passed a glancing eye over our well-travelled and tightly packed gear.
The paparazzi session ended with a tick in the box, another signature and one more, "Probably tomorrow". We are not sure if we will actually get our gear tomorrow as it is Friday, and nothing seems to happen here on Fridays. However we'll place our fingers in their customary crossed position in the hope that this time they will actually come through with the goods.
If nothing else, somewhere on Facebook there will be some proof that our kayaks are actually in the country.
Photo: The hive of activity as customs officials buzz around these suspicious looking packages.
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