I did not have a good sleep last night but somehow I really, really enjoyed the location, the terrace with the palm leaf roof which felt like a hut and the feeling, the warm wind in my face and the complete silence. I had to get up though just after sunrise because the 70 year old couple needed the terrace to build up their breakfast stand. I walked to the entrance of the city, positioned myself, thumbs up but nothing.

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A bicycle driver was so nice to advise me that all the traffic to Turbo was using the bypass around the city and that I was at the wrong spot. I took his advice and walked for 2 kilometers to the bypass. He was obviously right and I had the first lift of the day. We did not talk when I entered the car and we did not talk for the next hour. I was in an off road with the young driver, the owner and next to me an even younger boy constantly playing with the remote of the stereo. Due to his skills we managed to listen to 40 to 50 Hip Hop songs in this hour. We did not talk because the music was loud, very loud and the bass was heavy, very heavy.

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When I left the car in Necocli the music stopped, the young driver was curious and wanted to know my nationality; German; the music went on again and the car drove off. I would make it to Turbo today; I had already half the way in just 1 hour.

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I had to wait for another hour before I jumped on the back of a pick-up and drove for about 15 kilometers to El Totumo. I waited at the only street bumper and a social government worker for misplaced citizens during the Colombian conflict asked me to join.

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She had been transferred from Necocli to Aportadó and was following the moving truck to her new house. She enjoyed my company, the stories of my life, my project Rio 2016  and I enjoyed her driving. I respected her recommendation to skip Turbo and a second later I had decided to let her take me to Aportadó. Only here and now I had the chance to recharge the battery of the camera at the flower stand in front of the cemetery and only now I had the chance to have an orange juice and a Colombian potato. Turbo might have been a rough port city not worth visiting; Apartadó was a meaningless drive through city. I did not see myself stay here for the night, it was still early and I had the chance to get even further today. I wanted to take that chance.

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I had a drink and waited in the shade of a small tree. Only every 5 minutes a car or bus left the city; the chances seemed not very high but my angels kept working and had selected a family; father, son and daughter from Medellin. They had actually passed me already but then had turned around, had come back and had stopped right in front of me. Yes, I would go further; how much further I did not know and did not have time to think about. A very interesting, profound, intellectual conversation started and I enjoyed their questions, about me, about my project Rio 2016 and about my life and I enjoyed their answers, about their lives, about Colombia and about Medellin. They were on their way back from a private social work initiative in Necocli.

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Simon was driving the car through the absolutely panoramic tropical rainforest mountains and continuously expressed his affection, his passion, his love for his city Medellin. To understand the Colombia of today, the new spirit of the new generation, the new dynamic of this country I had the best teachers I could get in this family. I understood, no, I felt this new exciting generation that was fighting for this once in a lifetime opportunity to change the country to a peaceful, respectful and social nation, because that was what they represented, what they lived.

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Thank you for the lift but thank you a 1000 times more for who you are; an amazing family, amazing human beings. Colombia needs people like you; you are the new Colombia. I asked to get off to see the old Colombia, the historical Santa Fe de Antioquia.

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For a small understanding of the days travel, I have included a Google Earth map. The red pins mark the locations I have stopped and taken pictures. At the bottom of the page you will find a link for all the pictures I have taken. The link will open in a Google+ Album.

Please click on map to enlarge!!!

See map and distances / Siehe Karte und Entfernungen / Ver mapa e distâncias / Ver mapa y distancias

0 km      Arboletes

75 km    Necocli

135 km  Turbo

170 km  Apartadó

200 km  Chigorodó

270 km  Mutatá

340 km  Uramita

420 km  Santa Fe de Antioquia

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