Cartagena, Colombia..

Hey Everybody (I hope this includes more than just my mom),

I know it´s been some time since the last travel post, but hopefully at least a few of you have been mildly entertained with my Dark Knight Rises rant, released at the same time as the film.

Nevertheless, as some of you may know, I´m back on the road, currently in Colombia and heading to Mexico in under a fortnight, and think its only appropriate that I keep you all in the loop of what exactly I am up to...(please excuse the typos -  my keyboard speaks spanish)

I arrived in Cartagena, Colombia this past Monday, and so far have really just been chilling out and taking it easy. Arriving armed wtih a fully marked up lonely planet in my pocket, I ditched all plans when I met two Brazilian guys at the hostel, both of whom could speak fluent English and Spanish, which was clutch, as I quickly became aware that knowing Spanish in this country is not just helpful, it´s practically essential. I wounded up chilling with these two dudes for two days, and besides being patient transleters, found them to be incredible company, full of all the laughter and madness you want out of vacation buddies. One of them, Daniel, is actually a Giants fan, which gave us plenty of sports trash to throw back and forth at each other, and certainly enabled the conversation to be more dynamic than the usual "where are you from and what do you do" nonsense. 

Cartagena is beautiful and so different than any place I´ve ever been. The main tourist area and where I´m staying is the old city, an ancient stomping ground marked by music-filled alleyways, decorated balconies, delicious, cheap street food on every corner, and horsedrawn carraiges that parade tourists (mostly Colombian tourists, in fact) through the town. Home to Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Cartagena feels like you are walking back in time to a scene from 100 years of solitutude, truly an otherly, worldly experience. And it just so happened that out of all the restaurants we could dine at, the Brazilians, my new, only, and critically helpful friends, decided they wanted to check out the Hard Rock Cafe. So after 24 years of living in the US and never having eaten at a Hard Rock Cafe, the streak finally ended, with my first Hard Rock Cafe experience being a veggie burger in the old city of Cartagena, Colombia. Authentic nothing!

The next day, after grabbing some freshly fried plantains in the town center, we took a taxi to a nearby beach , rented a tent, and for the next few hours of chilling in the sand, experienced the luxury of sales-people of every possible service and product passing us by on the beach and begging us to consider a purchase. The guys selling fish and drinks wasn"t a shocker, and even the women offering massages wasn´t such a surprise, but when all of a sudden there is a man in between me and the ocean view throwing a bootleg copy of the "newly released" Avengers in my face, that´s when I have to admit that this was a new experience for me. This pattern of an entire Wal-Mart selection of items being marketed and sold on the beach is one that has continued for the rest of the trip. Sometimes its hilarious (like when all of a sudden you are given the chance  to get the christmas discount on school supplies right in the sand), sometimes its annoying (like when you are trying to enjoy just staring at the ocean, and a guy is putting necklaces around your neck that would make 50 cent´s bling look like child´s play), but still, I have to admit, I did enjoy the massage. 

That evening, the Brazilians and me met up with some other Brazilian friends they made for drinks and dinner on top of the city wall overlooking Cartagena´s hotel skyline on one side and the open Carribean sea on the other. In the background played some psychidalyc yet soothing music that served as the ideal score for the ocean side sunset, and the delicious Civiche, which was topped with a nice spicy sauce and an easy 10 out of 10. 

The third day, after a sad goodbye and a genuine open invition to come visit them in San Paulo anytime ( and I quote "all you would need to do is pay for the plane ticket - once you arrive in San Paula, we will hook you up!"), the Brazilians departed, and I was left to navigate the Spànish language on my own. I signed up for this tour of this Volcano that you hike up and instead of lava is filled with mud, which is supposed to be good for your skin ( a lie I´m used to hearing from the Dead Sea). Anyways, the volcano was really just a giant mount of mud, and the big pool of mud at the top, while relaxing in some ways, had a wierd texture and feeling to it that I still unsure how to describe. A tourist trap like no other, throngs of people line up at the top of the Volcano, and when it´s their turn, they get thrown into the mud pool and into the hands of a Colombian man, who massages you practically against your will and makes you pay later in the same vein. The mud pool itself is overwhelmingly crowded, with people bumping against each other in all sorts of uncomfortable ways. After you escape th mud which really feels like quick sand, you head down to a lake to rinse off, and just when you think you are free to chill out on your own, a Colombian woman grabs your arm, brings you into the lake, and starts pouring buckets of water on your head and scrubbing your hair like you are a 4 year old in the bath tub. The only thing missing was the rubber ducky. I broke free before the forced bath went on for too long, and after sufficiently scrubbing the mud out on my own (i´m almost 25, thank you very much), I headed back to the bus, ready to get out of there! The bus drove us to a beatiful near by beach, which thankfully lacked any tourists besides us, allowing us to truly chill, eat the classic fish and rice, and not have be forced to look through "newly released" dvds of films that came out in the 90s. 

Today, I headed out on a boat to check out the Islas de Rosario and Playa Blanca. Islas de Rosario are a beautiful string of Islands, about an hour speed boat ride away from Cartagena, which are covered with uniquely designed mansions and set in crystal clear carribean blue water. We were dropped off on one of the Islands and given the option to pay for and go into an onsite aquarium, but given that I did go to school in Atlanta near the biggest aquarium tank in the world, I knew that nothing would meet my high expectations and opted to simply explore around the island instead (which was a great choice, because that´s where I got that nice picture I just uploaded to facebook). After getting picked up, we headed to Playa Blanca, named for its white sand, but distinguished even more so for the mesmerizing water. Playa Blanca was the definition of relaxing. After the usual lunch of fish, rice and plantains (which by the way, never gets boring as long as you squeeze enough lime juice on your plate), I rented a tent for shade with a couple that was half Colombian and half South African. They were a nice mix of backgrounds that gave us plenty to chat about, in the slowest, chillest way, as we sat in the sand, stared out into the sea, and sipped on drinks from coconuts.

The boat ride back was anything but relaxing. Going against some giant swells, our driver fearlessly put the boat into high gear, sending the boat flying over the waves and crashing back down into the water. The folks on the boat took it all with good humor, laughing, shrieking, and freaking out only in the best of ways, and if you just heard the audio soundtrack, you would swear you were listening to a group of 80 people on a terrifying roller coaster (when in fact, we were only 20 people, and if you have been paying attention up to this point, you would know we weren´t on a roller coaster). The most entertaining of them all had to be the woman sitting next to me, an old Colombian grandma, that despite her 80 plus years on this planet, couldn´t help but grin and crack up in my face the entire ride back, as I held onto my seat, terrified for my life. 

This evening, I did the usual routine, of a walk along the city wall and a stop at my favorite civiche place (that"s right, its only been 4 days and I already have routines and favorite food stops...maybe that´s a sign that it"s time to leave...)and strolled on back to the hostel, where I write this blog post from. Tomorrow, after a morning coffee and stroll, I head to the airport, and am off to Medellin!

Until next time...

The Dark Knight Rises...and so does this blog!

So on impulse, I decided to write a blog entry about The Dark Knight Rises. After I finished the entry, seeing that I don't have an up and running blog, I realized I needed to create one. More to come, don't know about what yet or when, but stay tuned. For now, check out the entry below. Thoughts or comments? I'd love to hear them!


Warning: Batman Spoiler Below! If you have not seen the Dark Knight Rises, read on at your own risk…

I just returned from watching The Dark Knight Rises for the second time in under a week, and it’s safe to say that this film is a genuine masterpiece. Whereas many final films in trilogies fail to meet expectations, the Dark Knight Rises delivered on all accounts, succeeding to entertain, intrigue and captivate my imagination for the full 2:45, both times around. During the second time around I brought a notebook into the theater and took vigorous notes throughout the film (I know, I’m a complete nerd, but with such a rich script, how could I NOT take notes?!?), and decided to create this blog as a venue to share my thoughts on a film steeped in depth.


Let’s begin by talking about Bane, a villain empowered by a sense of righteousness and genuine purpose just as much as his brute strength. Bain (whose name I believe comes from the fact that his mask keeps his pAIN at Bay) is a man on a mission of religious importance, killing everyone that lies in his path because he believes it is a “necessary evil” essential for a greater good. From the moment Bain introduces himself and says: “It doesn’t matter who we are, what matters is our plan,” it’s clear that Bain is a man that puts the vision above himself. As Alfred says, Bain possesses the “Power of Belief,” a passion and conviction that spreads to his subordinates, like the man who was more than willing to crash and die with the plane simply by Bain reassuring and inspiring him, “Brother, the fire is spreading.” Throughout the film it is clear – Bain’s people are committed, to the point of giving up their own lives, and it all starts at the top, with Bain’s commitment to his vision of true justice. Throughout the film, Bain makes comments suggestive of his sensitive side, like during the National Anthem when Bain casually remarks: “What a lovely, lovely voice”, before blowing the entire field up, or when he says “Thank you” to the guy holding his helmet in the stock exchange after shooting the place up. Perhaps Bain is simply being facetious, but the point still remains- Bain is not in it for money, fame, or vain – he does what he does because he believes.


 On the other side of the coin, the theme of vanity permeates throughout the film, juxtaposing the altruism generally displayed by the lead hero and villain. Each time an egotistical sentiment is expressed, it is met with disastrous result – utter failure, and often death. Shortly after Officer Foley brags, “I’m going to take down the Batman,” Batman escapes. Immediately following Daggett the businessman’s whiney egocentric rant of demands to Bain, his head is literally smooshed (don’t question me, smooshed is definitely a real word). Even the great villains of the film are vulnerable to the pitfalls of the ego. Bain as well as Talia’s fatal mistakes are when they leave Batman alive for their personal satisfaction – Bain when he lets Batman wither in prison so Batman will suffer through witnessing the destruction of Gotham and Talia when she lets Batman live so he can experience the heat of the 12 million souls he failed. If either character overcame their desire for personal vengeance, Batman would have died, the bad guys would have lived, and Gotham would have been destroyed. Ultimately, more than Batman or any other hero, the Achilles heals of Bain and Talia are their own egos.


  Fear. It’s one of the strongest emotions known to mankind, and explored with incredible nuance in the Batman trilogy. In the first half of the film, Batman’s greatest weakness is his lack of fear, something which everyone seems to realize except Batman. Alfred says, “I’m not worried about you failing, I’m afraid you want to.” The blind guy in jail say says, “You don’t fear death, you welcome it.” Even Bain is quick to pick up on Batman’s lack of fear, “Victory has defeated you,” alluding to not only Batman’s sluggishness after putting away the joker but also his victory over fear, a battle he has waged since a childhood plagued by formative fear-inducing experiences like falling down the well and the loss of his parents. In Batman Begins, Batman defeated the scarecrow and his fear-inducing tactics, but he missed the point that rather than defeating fear, he should use it to his advantage. Batman finally integrates this insight in prison, which is also where he started his journey as Batman, when one of the prisoners points out to him, “You don’t fear death, you welcome it. Fear of death is powerful.” To reconnect with the powerful fear of death, Bruce climbs out of the prison without a rope, and in doing so, he learns that it is more powerful to channel his fear than defeat it.


 Throughout the film there are strong parallels between many characters, especially Batman and Bane. Both Batman and Bane have bases in locations that are dark, underground, and heavy on flowing water. Since both of them do their work outside the boundaries of the law, it only makes sense for them to work in the dark. Still, the physical characteristics of their bases are remarkably similar. Bane and Batman also both release prisoners; Bane through a violent explosion in Gotham and Batman by dropping the rope down the well after he climbed out. Batman, Bane, Robin, Tate, and Catwoman all are driven by anger and loss, and all channel it as an energy and motivation to the ends they pursue. All these characters also all have masks, (including Tate, who poses as a woman interested in saving Gotham when she really intends to destroy it), suggestive of the multiple, and complex layers of these characters. Finally, both Batman and Catwoman are looking for a clean slate, which is why they are such a good match for each other in the end.


 Two funny moments: when Talia is about to blow up the bomb, and Batman, with his throat strangled, can barely speak, and blurts out in a very muffled way “please.” It just sounded like he was talking with his mouth full. Also, in the jail, when the guys were chanting some crazy stuff at the bottom. Just pay attention to the old guy with the huge white beard. He looks insane, and I honestly wouldn’t want him out of that prison – he belongs there.


 Saddest moment of the movie: Alfred telling Batman about the truth of Rachel choosing Dent, but even worst, of his plans to leave. Bruce Wayne has literally lost everyone he ever cared about in his life, and to have Alfred, the one last person who he has any close connection to, leave on his own volition, must have been a real stab in the heart. On top of that, to hear the truth about Rachel at the same exact time– I can’t imagine what Bruce was going through.


 I loved the old guy in jail who took care of Batman – I liked to call him Jail Alfred. He literally did the same exact stuff as Alfred did for Batman, just in jail. He took care of Batman, gave him sound advice, and always made a goofy joke here and there, like when he said to Batman as he was making a bag for his trip: “Supplies for your journey, that’s wonderful.” A sweet man indeed.


 It was great when Batman first came back and the cops chased him instead of Bane. Upon being surrounded by cops, Batman looks around, and you can just tell by the look on his face that he’s thinking: “Seriously guys, I’m on your side, do we really have to play this game again. You have no chance at actually catching me, you know…” Great expression behind that mask, Christian Bale!”


 One awesome connection to the first film – when Tate and Bruce were lying together in Bruce’s cold dark house, Tate was doing an exceptionally good job at making the fire, and Bruce commented, “you’re good at making fires.” This immediately reminded me of the time in Batman Begins when Bruce and Ra’s Al Ghul were on the frozen lake and Al Ghul was making a really nice fire, keeping Brue warm. The family tradition of warming Bruce continues with Tate.


 A few questions that I would love some answers to…

1. What was the deal with Bain’s parachute vest, which he insisted on wearing all the time? I could understand why he would wear that in the first scene when he was on the plane, but afterwards, seriously, what’s the point? He never got off the ground again, so why carry a parachute on his back all the time?

2. I don’t understand why Ra’s Al Ghul rejected Bane. Was he really that ugly that Ra’s Al Ghul couldn’t stand him? Al Ghul, while certainly evil, was one of those evil guys that did what he did because he believed it was right, and I can’t really see him justifying the decision to excommunicating someone form the league of shadows just because of his looks..

3. At the end of the film, when did Batman escape from The Bat? Of course, he must have used the eject button and left The Bat on autopilot, but at no point do we see him ejected…I’m guessing that he must have ejected during the explosion in the building, but we never see him get ejected so it’s hard to be sure.

4. Finally, Bane, in his first attack with Batman, says, “You adopted the dark, I was born in it.” But it was Tate, and not Bane that was born in the prison…or was Bane also born in the prison? Kind of misleading….


All in all, great, incredible, excellent movie. I’d see it again- this time, perhaps, I’d leave the notebook behind and pick up a bag of popcorn instead. I’m ready to take a few years off, digest it, and in the summer of 2014, be back for a whole new trilogy where Robin takes charge ( who was incredibly developed in this film by the way). Until then, I’ll just have to rewatch the whole Batman series over and over again, and when that gets boring, there’s always Newsies…