is this a hold up?

Moving on from Cartagena the next day in the afternoon having had a quick snoop around the gold museum (i couldnt stay long as i found myself formulating heist plans in the Aymara jewelery exhibition) things appeared to be starting to live up to their perilous reputation...

...Just past Barranquilla on the road to Santa Marta in the pitch black we slowed to a half. The minibus in front of us appeared to be being ambushed, a nervous quiet descened on our bus as tourists and colombians alike thought intently about where best to hide their valuables and whether the boot was locked. The minibus managed to break loose from it's assailents and made an escape down the autopista. The mob closed in; we were next and there was no way through as a seemingly unendless supply of people swarmed onto the road. Traffic began to back up on both side of the blockage. Machetes started banging against the sides, I closed my curtains to baying faces whilst praying to each and every deity that might have been otherwise unengaged. I turned to the young local family next to me to ask if they knew what was happening but they were nothing if unperturbed. In fact they seemed positively amused by my deathly pallor, 'they're just protesting,' the father said barely containing a grin. Sorry my mistake, my concept of protests involved placards and daylight disruption to official buildings not nighttime machete outings ('they can't afford drums.'). The police arrived and did nothing. I heard three more sirens creating a chorus and together they thought they might be capable of moving the now raucous but heavily intoxicated residents (it transpired that our human blockade was an entire community trying to attract police attention in protest at their electricity being cut off) off the road. They achieved this feat after a final episode of Iona frightening when I pulled back the curtain to see men carrying machine guns sporting balaclavas whom i then realised were the police - phew. As we left I heard the sharp crack of gunfire but looking back I could see he was shooting skyward to disperse the crowd. Stories of real holdups seemed even more innocuous as people were sent back on their way possessions and persons intact having been treated to a FARC lecture on Colombian history or, best in my opinion, informed how safe Colombia now was.