17/03/2011

A lot of distance was covered today, leaving Sapzorro on a speed boat carrying 30 or so people literally hopping into open ocean to a town called Turbo. The boat journey itself was a rollercoaster where pretty much everyone was drenched from all the sea water slashing up and soaking them, thankfully for me I was sitting in just the right spot were I only got splashed a few times, meanwhile Valle and Henric were drenched head to toe and obviously not very happy about the 2 and a half hour experience.
Arriving in the town ironically named Turbo not only because you honestly want to get the f*ck out of the dusty, dirty and dangerous town but also the way you arrive and leave the place… I say this because I thought the boat ride was crazy enough but the 8 hour journey on the bus to Medellin was driven but a complete lunatic. The minibus did not have any seatbelts and there was no chance for catching any shut eye because the road was unforgiving, relentless and treacherous – at times the road was non-existent, muddy, situated at the top of shear cliff drops and the loco (Spanish for Crazy) driver even ran over a dog; all these issues equate to ‘close to pissing yourself terrified.
One good thing about this journey was the scenic views but really that didn’t make up for the driver throwing us around the back seat of the minivan.
The boat journey and the bus trip came to about $60 which was damn expensive considering I thought things were going to be cheap here – yes the drugs are but things like food, accommodation and transportation are not so much.
Arriving in Medellin we hopped on the underground and made our way to a hostel called Pitstop, a frat house vibed Irish hostel and as a bonus unexpectedly we arrived on St. Patricks Day, I don’t need to tell you it was a messy night but it certianly was and I bumped into a Canadian couple I met in Laos last year – again a crazy small world.