Rosaria De La Frontera, Argentina 10.28

Best day of the trip so far. The weather here is just like Los Angeles, sunny and dry, which is a nice change from wet and humid Panama.

We started the day off shooting with some dudes at the local dump. Words cannot describe the smell... unbelievable. 

We were invited to a ranch for lunch and some local entertainment. This dude prepared the most amazing meal on the hood of his beautiful 66 jeep.

We had locally raised Argentinean steak, chorizo and wine.

Lunch entertainment

For dessert, the man sitting next to me pulled out a bag full of coca leaves and handed me a fist full… it would have been rude to turn him down so…

After lunch we shot interviews around the ranch and tired to rope some cattle with zero success. I got to spend the afternoon shooting while riding a dirt bike. It was a total blast. I dropped my camera at lunch today and it did not survive. Going to have to pick up a new one in Buenos Aires in 2 days.

Salta, Argentina 10.25

We arrived late last night in Salta, Argentina (population 1 mil.) which is in the northern part of the country. Our hotel in Salta is unbelievable. I have an amazing room and a stunning view from some french doors that open on to the cities main plaza. We spent the day in the city shooting b-roll and doing some interviews. The city itself is beautiful. Lots of colonial architecture, the city just feels historic. 

My room and the view

Our picture vehicle for this stop is a ridiculous military personnel carrier that we rented from the Argentinean army. We get some serious looks driving around the city in this beast. 

Tomorrow is a big activity day with some difficult shooting scenarios... horseback riding, a flight in an ultralight and then trail riding on some ATV's. Should have some good photos. Looking forward to some local steak and wine on our upcoming days off. 

Buenos Aires, Argentina 10.24

Going on hour 36 of my work day. We left Panama City yesterday at 2pm, flew to Houston TX, then back down to Buenos Aires, Argentina. Strange route. We arrived at 10:30 this morning and hit the ground running. It was a whirlwind day. Saw as much of the city as we could in 7 hours and now we are in the airport heading north to Salta, Argentina for 4 days. We will be back for 3 days off in Buenos Aires after that. Buenos Aires is stunning. Here is a taste of today.

 This place was supposedly in some movie called Evita? 

Colon District, Panama 10.21

We spent the day with the Embera tribe in the Colon district of Panama. Such a fun day. We were brought to the village which was in the middle of the jungle by a dugout longboat. The boat was made from the dug out trunk of a huge tree. Pretty funny sight to see these guys dressed in their customary garb in a traditional longboat with a 50 horse power engine mounted on the back... guess they are getting lazy.

We had an amazing welcoming party and the most adorable childern took our hands and lead us down the path to their village. These people were so friendly and welcoming. They preformed some of their ritual dances for us and took us on a tour of their village.

I was too busy working/puking (I have come down with a pretty nasty stomach bug) to take pictures of the village but I will try to grab some from another crew member to share with you guys. Here are some pictures of the boats and the most adorable girls ever.

I spent the morning at the dentist here in Panama City trying to communicate in my broken spanish the horrible pain I have been having in the back of my mouth... turns out that a piece of bone from my wisdom teeth surgery 10 years ago decided to push its way to the surface at this convenient time in my life. I had minor surgery to remove the bone fragment. It went wonderfully and only cost $150 dollars! I have some stitches in my gums but it feels so much better.

Last day in Panama. Off to Argentina tomorrow.

Panama City 10.17 through 10.20

I am behind so I am going to combine the last couple of days. 

Made it back to Panama City, bummed to have left Santa Catalina, I will return. Panama city is a strange place. The contrast between the rich and poor is bizarre.  There are huge beautiful 100 story buildings with penthouse suites that cost upwards of a million dollars with slums erected from scraps in the lot next door. The canal obviously plays a huge roll in the economy and the affluence in the city. No other central american country that I have been to has this dynamic. The exchange rate is even with the USD... no real deals here in the city. 

We went into Cerra Azul which is a low income neighborhood outside the city. Met some really nice kids who showed us around. 

This is our ridiculous bus that we are using around town for the show. Covered in the most bizarre airbrushed artwork.  

My new BFF Moses. 

Cerra Azul

Amazing birthday dinner for one of our producers in Panama City.

Inside our bus.

Going to find a Dodger fan in every country.

The Panama Canal brings in two million dollars a day for the city of panama. The average ship pays a  $30,000 toll to cross. 

We took these boats 45 minutes across this lake in the dark to shoot in the creepiest cave filled with all sorts of creatures, scorpions, snakes, and thousands of bats. 

I have to get a root canal here in panama on friday. In some serious pain. Will update you all on that. I am sure it will be sketchy. 

Santiago, Panama

So tired. Driven all over this country. Good pictures to come from today but going to bed and only time to post one cada noche. 4 second exposure.

10.15 Santa Catalina, Panama

We are staying in a little fishing village about 5 hours northeast of Panama City on the pacific coast. Santa Catalina is a laid back community camouflaged to the outside world by the thick palm trees that line it's pristine black sand coastline.  

I was put up in an amazing hotelish/surf hostel right on the water. Our crew is split up all over town, and somehow I got matched up with the perfect accommodations. The other guests here are a mix of 20 something’s from all over the world here for the legendary surf, hopefully I get a morning to get out there and get my ass kicked. Santa Catalina hosted the 2010 World Masters surfing competition a few months ago and the town of 250 grew to over 2,500 for that week!

It’s ridiculously hot and humid here. 

 The view from my balcony. 

 At work