It had taken 9 hours to cover the 110 miles between the two towns so we were in need of a fillip. Roadworks take on a new meaning here. There's no such thing as a contra-flow; everything just grinds to a halt and doesn't start moving again for a very long time. After 5 minutes folk start getting out of their vehicles, shoulders are shrugged and heads scratched, then, after an hour or so the more impatient types start to look at their watches.
What surprises us is that no-one loses their temper or gets angsty. Imagine a journey from Bristol to London taking almost 10 hours. The natives wouldn't be happy.
Our tribulations are quickly forgotten the next day when we head out to see what this dazzling city has to offer.
20 years ago Medellin was probably the most violent built-up area the world; warring guerrilla factions, power crazed drug cartels and a hugely corrupt military meant upwards of 3000 people were being murdered here every year.
Few areas of the city were safe but if there was one part of town you really didn't want to wander into it was Communa 13. This dirt poor neighbourhood on the northern slopes of the city was nothing short of a battleground. While the likes of Escobar and his henchmen were exploiting the weak and the vulnerable large numbers of extreme left-wing freedom fighters were inflicting even more misery on the locals. Commandeering properties of those unlucky enough to live with a strategic view of the main roads leading into the barrio. They were literally turfing people out onto the street.
The hapless government's answer to all this was to send in shit-loads of troops to shoot anything that moves. It was carnage, and the innocent were the ones paying the price.
So where do we go on our first full day in the city? Communa 13 of course. We take a tour led by a couple of charismatic locals Daniel and Christian who spent their formative years in the district and paint a vivid and horrific picture of what went on. Christian is actually a graffiti artist so he should be good at painting.
What has happened here is miraculous. Once the cartels were finally defeated, the guerrillas banished and some semblance of a decent government installed a stricken community came together and slowly started to rebuild their lives.
The main driving force in this renaissance has undoubtedly been the resolve of the human spirit, a determination to make good and make things better. So everywhere you look in Communa 13 nowadays you see colour and dance.
Colour in the form of fabulous murals and street art...
...and dance in the form of talented hip-hop dance troupes. Age obviously no barrier to membership.
My favourite crew are the Black & White C13 who are clearly massive Newcastle United fans.
It's fabulous. The energy, civic pride and - at the risk of sounding overly sentimental - love that you feel as you wander the narrow streets really is something to behold. It's gone from being one of Medellin's most dangerous manors to one of the funkiest.
At the end of the tour Christian gives a graffiti lesson to our little gang of white middle class tourists. Here's 'bad boy' Phil perfecting his tag.
Then Wend asks the main man if he'll customise a t-shirt for her.
Top bloke.
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