Categories
Colombia

Guatape and Penol

We woke up early to head to the town of Guatape, home of Penol, the big rock, about 1½ hours outside of Medellin.

The weather was gorgeous as we headed out and were joined by our friend and guide Jonier, a longtime resident of Medellin.

In the morning we stopped off in Guatape and roamed around the town square, taking some b-roll (footage) and talking to the locals.

We took a ride in one of the three wheeled motors down to the lake waterfront where we ended up taking a canopy ride over the lake.

The "Rock" in Penol / Guatape

This was my first canopy ride and I wasn’t sure what to expect. After riding to the top with a guide who spoke no English, I rode down on my own at a very good clip. The water zoomed by underneath as the camera crew zoomed by to my right. I wasn’t really paying attention as I headed into home base at an even faster rate of speed, and to my shock, I did not slow down at all.

I wonder if this had something to do with what the guide was telling me at the top…?
I’ve really got to get out of that habit of saying “si” every time someone speaks Spanish and I can’t understand.

Were they telling me how to brake? Oh hell! Luckily there was a padded landing that I hit, albeit pretty violently. Thankfully it gives some time when I slam into it and a couple of workers come over to help me out of the harness. I’m ok but a little dazed by the hard landing.

When it was time for Renzo, the Supervising Producer, to take his turn I strongly urged him not to take the new AND expensive camera with him. MY new and expensive camera that I hadn’t even had a chance to shoot with yet since he’d commandeered it for use in the show.

He ignored my plea and headed up the canopy peak. I thought I was going to at least enjoy watching him slam into the mat and present him with a nice little bill for the camera when he breaks it.

To my shock he glides slowly down at a very conservative rate of speed and lands effortlessly on the landing pad without so much as coming close to the crash pad.  What gives?

Turns out he had asked the operator to let him down slowly so he could take some b-roll footage with the camera. It sure pays to speak fluent Spanish sometimes. While I was disappointed that Renzo didn’t share my pain, I was relieved the camera would be operational for a while longer and maybe I’d even get a chance to use it soon.

After the canopy ride we broke for lunch at a beautiful outside hilltop restaurant that served typical Colombian food. The views were amazing but about half way through lunch it began to rain like Armageddon and we had to abandon the rest of the planned agenda and head back to Medellin, unfortunately before we even had a chance to climb the famous Penol rock.

We rested up and then shot a scene with my buddy Raul and I at one of his friend’s bar/restaurants in Parque Lleras. Raul is a videographer as well and is a Colombian-American from Virginia now living in Medellin. Raul has lived in Medellin for a few months and he’s gotten to know Medellin quite well, so I really wanted his input on what it was like for an American living in Medellin, especially one with Colombian roots and who speaks the language fluently.

Afterwards we headed over Parque Poblado area to hook up with the local punk band Los Suziox (LSZX) as they rehearsed. The rehearsal space was really tight for two cameras but the music was really good. LSZX plowed through their big “hits” “Armas Silenciosas” (Silent Arms) and “Perfeccion” (Perfection) before launching into some of their older songs  that they are in the process of re-recording.

Andres from the band "Los Suziox" and Robert

About half way through rehearsal they surprised me with a rendition of Social Distortion’s “Don’t Drag Me Down”. They knew it is my favorite song so they invited me to sing lead while Andres (lead singer) sang backup. It was a thrill and we made it through most of the song without a hitch, but I do shudder to think I’ll have to look at the footage when we review the dailies. Hopefully that will never see the light of day.

After a brief on camera interview with the band we headed back to the hotel to pack. Turns out I had neglected to bring sunscreen to Guatape and paid the price. I was sporting a beautiful farmer’s sunburn.

So far so good but I can’t say I’m comfortable being on camera just yet. I know it’s just a matter of time but I’m not sure how much longer I want to continue feeling this discomfort. Life was so much easier behind the camera, directing someone else.  Now I have to worry about bags under my eyes from lack of sleep, sunburns and what to wear.

Speaking of sleep I better get some. Tomorrow is another early day as we have to wake up early to catch the bus for the 5 hour ride to Pereira. I’m off to pack!

Categories
Colombia

Medellin

Paula from Medellin Tourism

1st day of shooting and we get an early start meeting with Paula from Medellin Tourism office. Paula has a whole agenda planned for us so we start the trip off with an intense schedule that includes stops all over Medellin.

We begin at Barefoot Park where I am forced to remove my shoes and wade around in the water, grass and sand and get in touch with Mother Earth. The park is tranquil and the weather is splendid but I am in desperate need of a tan. I probably haven’t been this white in months… why didn’t we start in Cartagena?!

I’m pretty nervous and not used to the camera following my every move. This is going to take some serious getting used to.

We head from there to the Metro Cable and take the cable car up to the barrio Santo Domingo, and to one of the five new libraries the city has constructed in poor areas throughout the city. The views from the Metro Cable are stunning! And looking down gives you a glimpse of barrio life from above. It’s a must do when traveling to Medellin.

Metro Cable - A Must Do In Medellin
Barrio Santo Domingo

After touring the library, we break for lunch and meet one of Paula’s counterparts, Cristina, from the Medellin Convention and Visitors Bureau. We have a delicious lunch and head over to Parque Explora to take in the science museum. It’s full of schoolchildren and the most memorable part was going in the earthquake simulator which simulates a 6.0 Richter scale earthquake. To be honest it wasn’t that bad, but that is of course without buildings collapsing around you.

Pueblita Paisa @ Night
Pueblita Paisa in the daytime

By the time we finished Parque Explora it’s getting late so we fight rush hour traffic and head over to Pueblita Paisa, which is a reproduction of a typical little town in Colombia. The view is incredible but it’s too dark to shoot much so we’ll have to come back tomorrow to get b-roll.

We head back to the hotel and I grab a quick workout before we head out for some legendary Medellin nightlife.  Our first stop is Woka in Parque Lleras, where we order a drink called La cucaracha or something like that and the bartenders set the bar on fire. Good TV!

Nightlife in Medellin

From there we head to a couple of really cool clubs and end up the night in Sabaneta at a place called “Dulce Jesus Mio” (My Sweet Jesus), that is a real trip. It felt like Halloween inside the bar with so many people dressed up in costumes, but to be honest I was so exhausted that I couldn’t really enjoy it. I just wanted to go to sleep. It was 3AM and I’d been up since 6AM the previous morning. All in all, a pretty intense first day!  Travel ain’t easy!

Renzo shooting in Sabaneta
Categories
Colombia

Getting Ready

Getting ready for our first day of shooting tomorrow and it’s going to be ROUGH.  What a way to start off a 20 day shoot, and travel schedule with a 15 hour day our very first day! Welcome to showbiz right? As I’m well aware this is not a very glamorous business 99% of the time. Actually, you could say the same thing about traveling.  It’s a lot of grunt work and grit along with moments of pure joy and enlightenment that sustain you, and make it all worthwhile tenfold.

I’d be lying if I said I don’t have some mixed emotions about being in front of the camera after all these years behind the camera.  It’s got to be authentic or I just won’t be able to do it.

I’m a pretty confident guy, but just to be safe, I’m really hoping that by shooting this a bit documentary style, I’ll get over the self consciousness of having cameras follow me around after a couple of  hours.

The love of travel and the creative process of producing will keep me going. Of course, the real challenge won’t be until edit when I’m forced to look and critique myself over and over and over. Ouch! I sure like critiquing other people’s work better, ha, ha!

Medellin's Pueblita Paisa

But I’m excited to get started.  Colombia is a great country and most travelers in the U.S. at least aren’t aware of all it has to offer these days so we are really excited to bring this information to people.

Tomorrow, bright and early, we’re shooting with Laura from Medellin’s Dept. of Tourism…she’s done a great job of putting together a jam packed agenda for us.  After that, it’s rehearsal with local punk band Los Suziox.

And we end the evening at the wee hours of the next morning, partaking in some legendary Medellin nightlife. As I said, I’m super excited and I’ll rally, but tomorrow is going to be exhausting. I better get off here and get some sleep tonight…for a change.