Partied Out in Argentina

I never thought I'd say this, but it gets more evident the older I become. Plus, the people of Buenos Aires, whom call themselves Porteños, are hard to keep up with.

This city never sleeps.

It's customary to go out to dinner at around 11pm, sometimes later. Afterward, one goes to a bar or lounge to have a drink or two. Finally, you go out to the clubs. You'd better not arrive until at least 3am or you will be lonely and wondering if everyone has gone home already. No, it's just early! You dance all night until 6-7am.

Sleep 'til 12pm. Eat breakfast/lunch, take a "siesta" around 7-8pm for a few hours. Rinse, repeat.

This was Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday night. Apparently, this is *the* lifestyle of Buenos Aires. I don't know how they do it, but I can at least say that I've been there and done that. It simply boggles me though, that at 3am the party is just starting. Back in the States, people are forced to go home because they can't normally drink past 3am.

The more I leave the USA, the more I desire to not want to return. There are so many things to like and love about the USA, but there's a whole world out there!!! And Buenos Aires! =)

This city is amazing. I strongly believe that it will be very difficult to find a better city. I'm convinced there's no other city like Buenos Aires. For the first few days here, I kept trying to compare it to other cities, but then I realized you just can't. Lastly, you easily forget that you're in Latin America. Yes, everyone speaks Spanish here, but even the spoken Spanish here is in a league of it's own.

Buenos Aires, no gritaré para vos. La verdad es, sos nunca dejarás mi corazón. (I won't cry for you. The truth is, you will never leave my heart)

In Buenos Aires

I arrived safe and sound in Argentina late Monday night. It was such a long day between getting up early, flights getting delayed, and getting the apartment in Buenos Aires.

Yesterday, we browsed around the city, did a little shopping, and ate some really awesome steaks! The currency is 3-1 here. The Argentine Peso will buy you the same as what a US Dollar would. Three of us had a steak dinner last night with excellent wine and dessert. It only cost $150 ARS, which is $50 USD - with tip, it was only about $18 US per person! That's freaking insane.

I love this city and I instantly fell in love. To me, it reminds of Vancouver mixed with lots of European and San Francisco charm. I know I tend to jump the gun, but I really could see myself moving here. I just have to be sure I make a salary in US Dollars, British Pounds, or Euros and I'm all set!

One thing that annoys me though: I can't understand the Spanish that is spoken here! In Colombia, I understood it rather fine. Here, the Spanish sounds like Italian with some flares of Portuguese. Oddly, Brian understands them quite fine, and in Colombia, I had to do all the listening and talking while Brian didn't understand them. Funny, huh?

I was warned that the Spanish was very different in Buenos Aires, but I sometimes can barely understand a single damn word that is spoken. Maybe that will change after a few days once I get used to the accent. In fact, I would call it a whole different dialect! In fact, it's fine that Brian has to do all the talking and translating now, lol.

Furthermore, I don't have reliable internet. I'll try to post as often as I can at a cafe, but pictures may have to wait. Plus, it's time to party my ass off. This city, like New York, never sleeps! Last night, people are up and about chatting in the park and playing with their kids in the streets... at 2am!!

Tchiao, Cartagena!

My original trip of 28 days to Cartagena has been cut down to 15 days. That's fine with me! It certainly has been a wonderful experience and has challenged me on several levels. As a result, I have grown as a person and learned a lot about myself.

Cartagena was nothing I had expected. I really didn't know what to expect. When I lived in DC, I knew a lot of Colombians. They were all fair skinned. In Cartagena, everyone for the most part is dark-complected. This I didn't expect. Once I learned the history of Cartagena and realizing the huge Carribean influence here, it all made sense. I later realized that all the Colombians I knew in DC were from Bogotá.

The weather is so hot. Like, OMFG hot. I figured it would be rather breezy being off the Carribean Sea. Wrong. It was almost 34 C each day (96 F) and ridiculously humid. Brian and I originally wanted to go to Argentina for 4-6 weeks. Then, I complained that I wanted to go somewhere warmer. Spain was out of the question because the Euro is killing the Dollar right now. We compromised on Cartagena, and I also wanted to go somewhere Brian hadn't been. He's been all over the world.

So yeah, never again will I go to the Carribean for a so-called relaxing vacation. We could stay on a resort, I guess, but that would ruin the cultural experience and keep us in a gringo-bubble. To be perfectly honest, I'm looking forward to going to Argentina where the average temperature is 60F each day. Fine with me! Not sweating my ass off every day will be great. Plus, I get really cranky when it's warm. So, for Brian's sake, we're going to more milder climates for vacation in the future =)

I still highly recommend anyone to come here. This city is full of so much history and beauty that you're overwhelmed. The people are very nice and helpful, but remember, barely anyone speaks English. Get some basics down with Spanish first. Also, don't be intimidated by the language barrier. You'd be surprised how much Spanish you will learn when it's all around you and you're forced to express necessity or seek help. Well, you have to want to learn it too. You can also really cop out and bring someone that's bilingual. But that takes out all the fun =)

One thing to remember: yes, 1 USD equals 1750 Colombian Pesos, but bear in mind that Cartagena is a vacation/resort city. The prices and buying power is nearly the same if you don't pay attention to the prices and conversions. You can get some really nice steak dinners for about $20 USD if you look around and get recommendations from locals. Oh, and when you get the bill in Cartagena (I don't know about the est of Colombia), but you get charge an IVA tax (16%) and they also put down a PV (Propina Voluntaria - Voluntary Tip). This means is you're satified with the service, that's all you need to tip. If you didn't like the service, you don't pay it. It's that simple. I've never had bad service at the restaurants. The PV is only 10% of the bill before the IVA, and believe me, your server will really appreciate the tip. Don't tip more unless the service was absolutely extraordinary. I tell you though, it's a fine line. Colombian girls LOVE American men and are sometimes way too friendly, especially if you're eating out. Don't let this make you feel obliged to give a better tip. They are just being playful and friendly. Don't be surprised if they put their cheek in your face when you leave. They want a kiss. It may make you feel uncomfortable, but just give her a peck, humbly. =)

One last thing to know about Cartagena: you can do all that we did in about a week rather than over two. You are pretty much ready to leave after a week which is the reason why we decided to spend the rest of our vacation somewhere else. I can't wait to see more of South America as well as continue to work on my Spanish. This has been the kick start that I needed.

Au revoir, Cartagena. Fue un placer. (It was a pleasure)

Trío de Viena

The other night, Brian and I noticed there was a show at the Teatro Heredia. I posted about it here. It only costs 20,000 pesos per seat. In America, something like this would easily cost about $75 USD, and this amounted to almost $25 TOTAL!

The group is from Austria. You can read more about them here.

The inside of the Theatre was absolutely amazing!!!! It was heart-wretchingly, and breath-takingly astouding. Words really can't describe the feelings I had when I stepped foot in there. Of course, I got some pictures, and of course, again, no justice is possible:


^^^ We were front and center of the stage. There were rows 5 stories high circling the stage in a panaramic style. These were the lower costing seats. On the floor you get a much better view in my opinion.

^^^This was directly to our right.


^^^This is the stage right before the performers came on. The backdrape is specific to the theater and not to the performance. The backdrape has a cartoonistic presentation of all the landmarks of Cartagena. It was fun to look at it and named everything. =)

^^^ This is the ceiling. In the middle is a beautful chandelier.

The show lasted about 2 hours. Having played the cello in the past, I was heavily enthralled in watching the cellist. It didn't take much time for me to actually "see" the music rather than just hear it. There were a couple of times where I noticed a note or two were out of tune.

So yes, I don't think many of you know, but I played the cello for several years when I was younger. Little did I know before, when this Trio played their second set, I recognized it immediately! It was the same exact piece I played in a quartet at regional competition in the 7th grade. Added to it was a Violist though. The piece is called Catorce Variaciones sobre un tema original en Mi bemol mayor, Opus 44 (1804) by Ludwig van Beethoven.

My eyes lit up and I lightly gasped when they started to play, as Brian promptly noticed. In retrospect, I'm not sure what Brian enjoyed more: the show or him seeing how much I enjoyed it.

For months before the trip, I've been aware that I'm in need of a creative outlet. Now I've found it. I'm going to do all I can to get a cello when I return. At least it will drown out the crappy saxophonist that plays out of key in our neighborhood.

Anyway, I keep learning over and over again, and on this trip especially, that the more you experience new and different things, the more you learn and discover about yourself. It all comes with the law of balance. Everything you experience that is uncertain, you can guarantee that you will have an equal, if not greater, certainty discovered as a result.

History of Cartagena

I never heard of the city Cartagena until it was mentioned as a possibility of vacation a couple months ago. Now, after being here for 2 weeks, I'm realizing how important the history of this city is - not only to Colombia, but to the whole world. Between the confrontations of the French, British, Americans, and the Colombians... hmm, I dunno how to explain it all. The story is told in the Museo Naval here in Cartagena. You just have to come to experience it yourself if you're interested.

First, you have a guy named Rafael Núñez. He is the only 4 time president of Colombia and he also wrote the country's National Anthem named ¡Oh Gloria Inmarcesible! (Oh, Unfading Glory). Núñez was born in Cartagena and the airport here is named after him. It goes without saying how much he is respected.

This is a bust of his stature in the park that houses his masoleum.









Here is the house he lived in the last 17 years of his life. His wife remained here for 30 additional years after his death. It's now a historical momument.



Here's where he rests with his wife.












One of the next places we went to was the Palacio de la Inquisición. It was the torture house in the 16th and 17th century. They tortured people for any reason possible. The list is endless. You walk through the place and it reeks of death and suffering. I don't think I was allowed to take photos but I still did.





The Guillotine.














La Horca - hanging post









You can't really see it, but there a contraption with sharp points that hold his chin up and the other end presses against the trachea.







They're having a great time.






















If you can't tell what this is, a person is laid flat and one piece of rope ties to each limb. The wheels tighten them and pretty much pull your arms and legs out of their sockets. Now, this is some pretty kinky stuff. Not my cup of tea though.





These last two pictures are of a dungeon cell. There is only one small one and many people were squeezed into here at a time. The second picture doesn't really capture it, but that a hole from above at ground level where they dropped people in. Being in there gave me absolute chills, and since I'm claustrophobic, I wasn't in there any longer than it took to take those pictures.

In the end, I've seen the similarities and disparities of the history of North and South America in general. Each was taken over and most indigenous persons were tormented and forced off their land, each had slaves from Africa and that were stationed at the Carribean islands, and each had a period of torture and torment to those that were believed to be non-religious - witches. You come to realize that the history of any place is really fucked up, but back then, it was normal thinking and doing. Hopefully, we've learned from our past and this will never happen again. However, unfortunately, race is still a huge unspoken issue in both of the Americas. We each have laws that prevent blatant and direct discrimination, but it still happens in an indirect and passive aggressive manner. If you don't believe me, then you are absolutely delusional.

Anyway, this is my last weekend in Cartagena before I go to Buenos Aires. This officially marks my vacation as being half over =( BOOO!! But whatever. After nine days in Buenos Aires, I'll be in Bogotá for a couple days. This is because Aerolineas Argentina decided to cancel our return flight on the 15th and return back to Bogotá on the 13th instead. Yup - just like that. Oh well, we'll get a chance to see Bogotá for a couple nights. We'll make the best of it!