words by Adam Egre
Photos by Joe Madrigal
Day 1 – Medellin:
Key breaks off in lock. Locals try to help us open the door. Still doesn’t work. Fernando’s flight is postponed. I entered his name backward on the ticket. It’s pissing rain. More storms predicted for the rest of the week. We eat chicken and buy cigarettes. We’re not skating. We’re fucked.
Day 5 – Medellin:
Gondola to the favelas in the hills. We get off at the top and bomb. Lots of gems. Don’t see any locals here. Fernando chats amicably with group of Colombian women. Reach bottom of the hill at dusk. Find a skatepark. Local con-man sells us fake weed.
Day 11 – Bogota:
Productive days and unhinged nights. We dodge rain in between. Rain wins. VX is tweaking. Logan films Zack’s switch 360 on Hi-8. VX is in a bag of rice. Cops corner us for smoking weed in the park. Check our IDs and let us go. I fly home the next day.
Day 377 – Medellin:
Back in Colombia. Same apartment as last year. Landlord doesn’t like us this time. Everyone has been here a few days already. Everyone is hungover. Foot is still healing. Pushing is painful. We meet Chino and Mauricio. We chat in broken Spanish with local kids. We drink beers at the metal half pipe.
Day 379 – Barranquilla:
Never been here. Guidebook says there’s nothing. Colombian skaters say there’s gold. AJ is waiting for us at the airport. Catch 3 taxis downtown. 100% of drivers let us smoke in taxi when asked politely. Sea breeze is warm & inviting. Walls of handpainted murals line the streets.
Day 382 – Santa Marta:
Bring the gang to ‘La Brisa Loca’. Play pool on a cockeyed table. Airbnb host wants to kick us out. Reports of a dozen skaters smoking on the balcony. I smooth things over. Stray dogs chase the police of the beach and hump. Wake up early and catch the bus to Tayrona.
Day 383 – Tayrona:
Entry into park is relatively smooth. Everyone rents hammocks. Only one bottle of (REDACTED) is confiscated. Brian brought enough (REDACTED) for an army. Hike through the jungle. Neverending beaches. Paradise. Meet a dog named ‘Fish’. Fish follows us. Fish brings good fortune. CJ carries Fish over a canyon when the going gets rough.
Day 383 pt. 2 – Tayrona:
It starts to get dark. We’re still an hour out from camp. We don’t have flashlights. There is a torrential monsoon. We are lost in the jungle. We stumble back in the soaking dark. An inviting thatch roof bar and sassy bartender await us. A sense of camaraderie overwhelms the crew. We ridicule French tourists who are afraid to brave the rain.
Day 384 – Back to Barranquilla.
Drunk man pisses in the aisle of the bus. Busdriver appears unphased. We try to skate. Everyone is grumpy and tired from the jungle. Cops shake us down and make the mood worse. Eat dinner at the shitty hotdog place again. Jared misses his flight but seems content to stay. We smoke a joint in the park with Daniel. He spots an iguana hiding in the tree. We split a taxi to the airport.
