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We set off on Sunday morning on what really was a mini-adventure. Despite trying for ages and looking at a variety of options, flight times and prices had forced our arm, and together with us wanting to avoid doing a particular stretch of road from the border with Ecuador up to Cali in the dark (bandits have regularly hijaked busses along this route!) we had made our bleary-eyed decision to just get up and go for it.
Although we were definately shooting a little bit in the dark in terms of hoping we would be able to get connections, we headed out, dragging the still ill Riggers with us!
An orderly but Sunday afternoon paced border crossing was negotiated, but only after we had questioned our choice of getting an unmarked taxi with a shifty looking chracter who actually turned out to be ok despite telling us we had to tell the police he was our 'amigo' and not acting as a taxi if they stopped us!!
Getting to Ipiales station we were literally just hoping for the best in where and when we could get to headed north within Colombia. My heart sank a little at first as the early signs were not good, but we were saved from a 5 hour wait in the border town and got bundled onto a 12 hour bus to Cali with the assurance that despite arriving there at 2am there would be a connection for us at 3am to Medellin.
The bus was pretty traumatic (although there was some amazing scenery en route), with silly narrow and strangely cushioned seats meaning no sleep, and it even tried to drive off from a pit stop without Heather and Claire! We landed in muggy Cali in the small hours of Monday morning and I for one was narky as hell, not helped by the cash machine plating silly beggers with me, no Internet to check the outside chance of heading straight to the airport for a cheap flight, and being told that the bus on to Medellin was in fact not for another 7 hours!!
Thankfully we found a departure for 330am and I gleefully grabbed 2 coffees and a snack, though not really being able to work out whether I should be having a really late tea or a really early breakfast!!!
After surreally being asked in the terminal by a friendly family if they could have a picture taken with us holding their 1 month old baby, we were waiting to load our bags when it became pretty clear there was not going to be enough seats for everyone on the bus. Thankfully I was able to get the very last seat, right at the back. Initially I thought this would be fine but pretty soon realised that
1) the unit sat next to me afforded me little leg room
2) the second driver rested by laying behind the back row meaning I couldn't put my chair back and could hear him snore
3) being raised up slightly at the very back every little bump was exaggerated to the extent that I would actually hit my head on the roof
4) I was right above the engine meaning extra noise and heat and
5) the 'extra' people on board decided they were going to lie down in the walkway at the back by my feet!!
The only good thing about where I was sat was that it meant I avoided getting hauled off the bus during the small hours and having my bag inspected by the cops!
It was a pretty grim 9 hours all in all, and coming hot on the heels of the last bus I was grateful when we finally arrived in Medellin, now about 2/3rds of our way to our final destination of the Colombian carribbean coast, even if we were pretty sticky and dirty!!
We had decided that none of us could really face getting straight on another overnight bus and so we had a night in Medellin, the former cocaine smuggling capital of the world and where the crazy Colombian family we had met in Lima had come from and suggested we stopped!
As luck would have it, we got to the hostel just in time for the United game and I was able to watch it in the downstairs bar, which cheered me up no end and by the time I had had a shave and shower I felt like a new man! I soon hit the proverbial wall again though and savoured every minute of a good nights sleep that not even the noise from the bar below could spoil!
We tried to put our day in Medellin on Tuesday to good use and got the metro out to the centre and pottered around, bumping into none other than the frindly family we had met in Cali bus terminal - cue yet more photos!!
We definately did the right thing staying over in Medellin and so far the Colombian people have possibly been the friendliest we have encountered yet. It's also seemed surprisingly safe, contrary to many preconceptions, due to the fact that there a police presence at almost evey corner and along all major roads in attempts to stamp out guerrilla warfare and drugs!! And best of all for us, it just keeps getting hotter and hotter.......!!!
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