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One of The Craziest Things I Experienced on My Trip to Colombia
They take public transportation to a whole new level.
The speed that is considered acceptable in Colombia for a bus is wild. If buses drove like that in the States, everyone would surely have something to complain about. I’m all for a nice zip around some country roads, but not in a 20+ passenger bus.
I recently went and visited a friend in Bogota, Colombia. We took the bus to a town a few hours away, Villavicencio, Colombia.
After the slow go of working our way through the city, we hit the open road. Passing 18-wheelers in turns and accelerating 60–70mph was a common practice. While gripping my seat, I looked over to see my friend asleep as half the bus was. I guess this was the norm. I could get used to it if I traveled more, but for your first experience, it was a bit unsettling, to say the least. It’s something I’ve seen in movies but never experienced firsthand.
When the rain started, I thought that might slow him down, but nope, he went just as fast, if not faster. And tailgating is a must when driving in Colombia!
The speed had me curious, so I researched bus crashes in Colombia. Surprisingly they aren’t that common, and I have no idea how they aren’t! I’m not sure the bus had a seat belt come to think of it. I was in such shock I didn’t even get a chance to look.
In the end, we made it safely to our destination, but it was a bus ride I’ll never forget.